Walmart and Centric Brands (the licensing partner for IZOD) are investigating their Cambodian supply chains following allegations that their suppliers illegally employed inmates from the country’s biggest women’s prison to produce garments.

The American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) wrote to the Cambodian ambassador in November 2022 that there were "strong concerns regarding credible reports" of inmates at Correctional Center 2 (CC2), near the capital of Cambodia, producing textiles and other garments as part of a rehabilitation program, according to Reuters.

Other items produced at the prison appeared to be linked to Centric Brands, Walmart, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Under Armour, according to people familiar with the matter, including two CC2 inmates.

The people showed Reuters a reusable Walmart bag and an IZOD-branded polo shirt, which they said was made at the prison factory where inmates had worked. Information printed on the items’ tags indicated the products were destined for the U.S. and Canada. The factory of origin for these items was not disclosed in trade records, and Reuters could not confirm the products were made at the CC2 prison.

"We find the allegations very concerning," a Walmart spokesperson said in June. "Forced labor of any kind is abhorrent, and we believe all people should be treated with dignity and not be exploited." As of the middle of August, the spokesperson said Walmart's investigation into its Cambodian supply chains remains ongoing.

Meanwhile, Centric said it had placed a hold on imports from a Cambodian factory in June and that it would “immediately terminate” relationships with any supplier found to be using prison labor. In August, Centric said that it did not find any evidence to support the claim that prison labor was used to make the aforementioned polo shirt, but the company still decided to end its relationship with the factory.

Previously, Cambodia’s Ministry of Commerce Secretary, Sok Sopheak, said the country fined three local companies — W Dexing Garment, IGTM and Chia Ho Garment Industrial — $150,000 and suspended their export licenses for three months after they allegedly used CC2 inmates to produce hotel slippers that were later exported to Japan and Europe.