MEXICO CITY, Might 30 (Reuters) – Mexico has accused worldwide trend manufacturers Zara, Anthropologie, and Patowl of cultural appropriation, saying they used patterns from indigenous Mexican teams of their designs with none profit to the communities.
Mexico’s Ministry of Tradition mentioned in a press release Friday that it had despatched letters signed by Mexico’s Tradition Minister Alejandra Frausto to all three world corporations, asking every for a “public rationalization on what foundation it might privatize collective property.”
The Ministry of Tradition says Zara, owned by Inditex, the world’s largest clothes retailer, used a sample distinctive to the indigenous Mixteca group of San Juan Colorado within the southern state of Oaxaca.
Anthropologie, owned by URBN, used a design developed by the indigenous Mixe group of Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec, whereas Patowl copied a sample from the indigenous Zapoteco group in San Antonino Castillo Velasco, each within the state of Oaxaca, based on the Ministry of Tradition.
URBN, Inditex, and Patowl couldn’t be instantly reached for remark.
The extent to which trend designers have profited from incorporating cultural designs with out acknowledging their origins or pretty compensating communities has been some extent of rivalry in recent times.
In 2019, the Mexican authorities accused trend home Carolina Herrera of cultural appropriation of indigenous patterns and textiles from Mexico in its assortment.
(Reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez and Sharay Angulo, writing by Laura Gottesdiener, Modifying by Chizu Nomiyama)
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