Fairtrade campaigners raised fresh concerns over the conditions in a factory making feminist T-shirts yesterday, after the Fawcett society insisted their merchandise was produced ethically.

The Fawcett Society issued a statement on Tuesday evening rebuffing allegations that their This Is What A Feminist Looks Like T-shirts were made by women working in ethically inappropriate and unacceptable conditions.

The group's deputy CEO Dr Eva Neitzert confirmed there was "expansive and current evidence" to prove that the factory where their fundraising merchandise was made "conforms to ethical standards.

"We are currently working closely with an international trade union body to scrutinise it so that we can be absolutely assured of its provenance, authenticity and that all findings are robust and factual," she added.

According to Fawcett, an audit confirmed that workers at the factory in Mauritius were paid the minimum wage and that a trade union was represented in the factory.

But garment workers' rights groups were not happy with the response arguing that industry standards are simply too low to accept.

Labour Behind the Label policy co-ordinator Anna McMullen told the Star: "Most factory standards are far below what we would consider human rights, if you really looked at whether workers are able to live with dignity.

"Saying that a factory has complied with an ethical audit is by no means guaranteeing that the women in those factories are being treated fairly."

The anti-sweatshop campaign said it was trying to work with the Fawcett Society to bring feminist and workers 'rights agendas together.

And she argued it was high-street fashion retailer Whistles - not the Fawcett Society - that should take responsibility for having the T-shirts made under cheap labour conditions.

"We need equal rights, equal pay, decent pay for workers and for women who are exploited around the world," added Ms McMullen.

"They took on what Whistles had said to them as fair and they probably were a bit naive not to look into that further."

War on Want policy director Ruth Tanner added: "It's time for corporations to be legally held to account otherwise we will continue to see massive profits being made on the back of worker exploitation."