SJSU Students Fight To Stop Sale Of Campus Merchandise Made In Sweatshops

SAN JOSE (KPIX) -- Students at San Jose State University want to make sure the clothes sold at their school aren't made in sweatshops. They're asking the school's president to commit to their cause.

Tuesday students won their first victory. The university president's Chief of Staff met with the group and said she's looking into their concerns.

"We only think it's right to fight for that and to walk around our campus with integrity knowing that the WRC has an ethical eye on the factories that make our apparel," said one student.

Students staged an anti-sweatshop demonstration on campus Tuesday in hopes the school's president would see their message.

The group wants SJSU to join a list of nearly 200 other schools including Santa Clara University and UC Berkeley partnered with the Worker Rights Consortium or WRC.

The University says Barnes and Noble College distributes the clothes.

"Barnes and Noble has accountability practices in hand," said Jay Baily the president's Chief of Staff. "I'm getting up to speed on the issue right now so I'm going to see what their accountability practices are, but we certainly share their concerns which is why we're meeting now."

The students said they're also turning in nearly one thousand petitions while they wait to see if the university will join the WRC.