When I was a kid, my friends and I would make jokes about Victoria’s Secret: the bra cups are infused with chemicals that will permanently make your boobs bigger, any male who buys gifts there actually gets an amazing discount, the mysterious “Victoria” is actually a man who is selling his personal lingerie collection.

Well, earlier this week, Victoria’s Secret finally got out. It’s not pretty, it has nothing to do with being sexy, and it’s not even the least bit funny.

On Wednesday, Bloomberg Markets Magazine released an investigative report linking the lingerie company to child labor practices in West Africa: Victoria’s Secret manufactures its cotton underwear in Sri Lanka, using textiles made in factories in India; a portion of those fabrics use cotton picked in the country of Burkina Faso, a landlocked country that was supposed to produce organic, fair trade cotton. Victoria’s Secret originally entered into the production deal in 2007 with the goal of ”improving the lives of some of the world’s poorest women and children through the responsible sourcing of cotton,” yet was unknowingly exploiting children and endorsing the practices they aimed to fight.

The article follows Clarisse, a 13-year-old child laborer who was pulled out of school to work in cotton fields, doing everything from carving plots that span the size of four football fields to fighting away harmful bugs usually controlled by inorganic pesticides, all while barefoot and susceptible to 100-degree heat during the summer planting season. And what happens if Clarisse gets tired and slows down? Let the farmer himself share his genius technique: “I sometimes beat her…This is when I give her work and she doesn’t deliver.”

The parent company Limited Brands released a statement:

“If this allegation is true, it describes behavior that is contrary to our company’s values and the code of labor and sourcing standards that we require all of our suppliers to meet,” the statement said. “These standards expressly prohibit child labor.” CNN reported that the company claimed to have immediately “began working with key stakeholders internally and externally to fully investigate this matter…we are prepared to take swift action to prevent the illegal use of child labor in the fields where we source Fairtrade-certified organic cotton in Burkina Faso.”

Though the news is shocking to those at VS headquarters, the practices are nothing new to farmers and regulators in Burkina Faso. The U.S. Labor Department has repeatedly cited the country for the worst forms of child labor, while the State Department has done the same regarding child trafficking to conventional cotton fields there. Somehow, this flew under the radar; even Fairtrade International, the world’s largest group of its kind, certified that Burkina Faso’s organic crop met its standards.

Some people are saying that though not all of VS’ cotton supply comes from Burkina Faso, the company should be boycotted; Victoria’s Secret should’ve been more aware of their own contracted labor practices, even if fair trade officials weren’t. However, others argue that it’s just another part of American consumerism that we customers blindly support.

For example, if you wear jeans, use eye shadow, or own a pair of gold earrings, you have at least 8.3 slaves working for you — according to Slavery Footprint, a new online campaign launched in collaboration with the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, created to raise awareness of modern day slavery. Here’s another not-so-fun fact: there are more slaves in the world today – an estimated 27 million people – than at any other time in history.

After taking the interactive, online lifestyle survey, it’s clear that it isn’t just our overpriced cotton underwear that’s supporting modern day slavery: it’s everything. Daily essentials like cars and coffee, college staples like smartphones and laptops. Oranges, cocktail shrimp, mascara and mouthwash, the list goes on.

Find out your Slavery Footprint now — college students can enter the Slavery Footprint Campus Challenge for a chance to win a trip for two to the 2012 mtvU Woodie Awards!

Read the full Bloomberg article here and watch the video coverage online.

What’s your Slavery Footprint? Will you continue to shop at Victoria’s Secret? What companies are endorsing these practices, unknowingly or otherwise?

Ashley is a UC San Diego grad who is holding on way too tightly to a potential career in magazines and goes to Vegas all too often. She’s fascinated with celebrities and strawberry beer and doubles as a pathological texter/emailer/blogger. Feed the addiction with tweets @cashleelee. Thanks in advance.

Whitney Port, ex-“Hill’s” star and current star of “The City,” recently showed her newest Whitney Eve collection at the Fresh Faces in Fashion event in Miami, FL.  Co-star Lauren Conrad has proven to us all that just because someone dresses well or has trendy personal style, does not make them a good designer (or even a good discount designer).  Arch-nemesis Heidi Montag has also proven that turning yourself into real-life Barbie does not mean you can change your career choice daily: you cannot be a “singer” one day and a “designer” the next.

After two boring, copycat lines from these battling blondes failed miserably, we all expected (and maybe hoped?) that Whitney’s would be equally lame.  Just because of her MTV status, Whitney is a character that we love to hate.  We deem her untalented, famous for being famous and of course we all know that her “jobs” are staged for the show.  Before her lines are even shown, we get ready to read Whitney-bashing reviews and joke about how much they suck.

Whitney’s first line, although more creative than Lauren’s (and obviously Heidi’s) was still somewhat expected.  The patterns and details were unique, but the hemlines reflected the lifestyle of a typical Hollywood Barbie.  Look after look, models pranced down the runway in the miniest of mini’s, minimal coverage throughout. The actual design wasn’t terrible, but because of the skank-factor we were still free to ridicule.

But after viewing her latest, I’ve gotta say, she’s proved us all wrong.  Surprisingly, Whitney’s latest line was more conservative and mature but stayed edgy, creative, and sexy.  There were knee-length skirts and somehow even floor-length skirts?  An appearance of pants also made the cut while a pair of white lace leggings supplemented a mini-skirt.

This didn’t look like some boring line by a wannabe designer; Whitney’s designs were the real deal. Could it be that a Hill’s star actually has talent?? Could Whitney Port be the next Marc Jacobs, Gwen Stefani, or, dare I say it, DVF?

With a clear vision and obvious talent, I think Whitney Port may be a not-so-reality-TV success story.

It was truly an incredible experience. I had the opportunity to both work backstage and watch the shows. I got a truly unique perspective and learned some very interesting things about the goings on of fashion shows. Here are the five biggest things you don’t know about your favorite designers’ biggest events.

1. The models are people too (kinda).
The models actually are, for the most part, friendly. I know, it’s shocking. Some are rude, but generally they’re nice. They also eat. A lot. Before one show, I watched a group of these pin-thin girls eat mountains of Double-Stuf Oreos, gummy worms and cheese. Gross, right? I can’t decide if that makes me hate them more or a little less. At one show I was told there wasn’t enough food backstage. The models threw such a fit about it that the designer ended up ordering boxes of pizza for them. So yes, they eat. And they can read. And yes, they are very, very scary skinny. And a lot of them are super young, even as young as 15 or 16.

2. The hair and makeup is absolutely stunning.
Okay, so I’m a little biased due to my obsession with hair, but the amount of effort poured into each look is incredible. The lead hairstylist shows a whole team what they want to create for the look and their favorite two products to use. Some of the most popular backstage? Redken’s Fabricate 03 Heat Texturizer; Thickening Lotion 06 Body Builder; and their brand-new style connection line, Wool Shake, Matte Sponge and Velvet Gelatine. You’d never think hair is important (it’s the clothes that matter, right?) but it truly complements the clothes and brings the entire show to life.

3. The prep-work vs. actual show time.
PR people and the designers pour everything into Fashion Week (which you might know if you’ve been following Kell on Earth). In the industry, it’s the most important time of the year. I cannot stress enough how crazy people get over this event. Full blown, Britney 2008 cray-cray. You know how accountants have a busy season? Well, this is our busy season. Only it’s with sequins and press releases instead of Excel spreadsheets and audits. Months go into designing and creating the clothes for these shows, setting up the venue, picking the perfect stylists, finding models, inviting celebs and so on and so on. And the end result? About a 10-15 minute show.

4. Nothing is ever on time. Ever.
People are shocked if a show is running on time. If it’s not the set, it’s the music. If the hair’s done, the make up isn’t. If everything is running smoothly, then rehearsal inevitably cuts into the actual show time. Marc Jacobs used to be notorious for always running behind, but these past few years he’s been the timeliest of all. He also took an nontraditional route with…

5. The celebrities.
Marc Jacobs didn’t let them into his show because he claimed they were “boring” and distracted from the clothes. And he’s right. Well, about the second part. I could hardly call my experience sitting mere feet away from my hero, Christina Hendricks, at Badegly Mischka “boring.” But it was distracting! I mean, come on, how can you focus on the clothes when Anna Wintour’s daughter is sitting RIGHT THERE and you’re just wondering what kind of badass life she lives and then, boom, before you know it, you’ve missed the entire evening wear line.

It’s a fact: I love the Jersey Shore and recently it seems nobody is letting me forget it. The Situation and Snooki are everywhere: on every talk show, every gossip website, every tabloid, and recently even gracing the Grammy’s red carpet (where The Situation obviously took off his shirt…)

And now it has gone too far.
The Seaside Heights residents themselves were just invited to Fashion Week.

Snooki the fashionista? Yeah, I didn’t think so either.

The Grammys were one thing – I mean, those guys sure know how to beat a good beat – but now this? I mean yes, I am shamelessly and unconditionally in love with the Guido crew, but this is Fashion Week! Only the most glamorous and influential fashionistas are invited! The only fashion show these kids belong at is Ed Hardy… or maybe Fredrick’s of Hollywood for my girl, JWoww.  That makes a little more sense than getting front row seats to DVF, Marc Jacobs or any other high profile designer showing their goods. How do you think Anna Wintour is going to feel when she can’t see over Snooki’s elaborate pouf? And what will Nina Garcia have to say about her signature corset?

Sadly, though, giving tickets to the Guidos isn’t even the worst part. It is rumored that some of the cast has been approached to model a few shows. JWoww the model?  Something tells me she wouldn’t have the right look to work a DVF wrap dress… or anything that’s meant to cover more than nipples and lady bits. Oh and Sammi Sweetheart is in on the model opportunity too, because when I think “couture” I instantly imagine these two.

Well, at least the NYC tanning salons will get some quality business before the shows kick off on February 12th. You know this invite calls for some GTL.

I’ll be honest – if I didn’t read CollegeCandy, I never would have known about MTV’s new show, House of Jazmin. I’d like to say it’s because I don’t bother with the dribble on MTV, but the real reason is because I get so engrossed in the drama on MTV shows that I am forced to fast-forward straight through the commercials and miss everything that is comin’ up.

So I watched this new show, AKA MTV’s answer to the loss of Lauren Conrad. MTV’s attempt at another show that might possibly gross as much money for the network as The Hills. MTV’s response to people who complained about how scripted/fake/annoying The Hills is.

And what did we get?
A real girl who is driven and talented and adorable.

And boring!

I am the first person to stand up and throw stuff at the TV during an episode (or full day marathon) of The Hills; I hate all the BS drama and how fake of a life LC and her friends are living in L.A. I’ve been begging for something more realistic to show people what life is really like in the real world, but now that I have it I realize why it’s never been done before.

It’s just really boring. There is a reason I don’t have my own reality show and it’s because it would consist of a lot of me sitting in front of my laptop or eating cereal out of the box in front of my TV. It’s not TV-worthy, and either is Jazmin’s life.

I watch MTV because I want to see music videos (ha! who am I kidding!?) be entertained by the bullsh*t. I wanna be swept away in someone else’s ridiculous dramz for a bit. Drama that is a-plenty on other MTV shows:

Drama on The Hills: Heidi and Spencer tell the world about Lauren Conrad’s giant…lady parts.
Drama on The Real World: Fork throwing, punching, someone getting sent home because he can’t handle a job running Spring Break in Cancun….

Drama on House of Jazmin: A model’s eyeshadow didn’t match everyone else’s in the show. Oh, and the bartender was late to the fashion show. (Although I can see how a party without booze is a serious issue…)

Hell, the only interaction Ms. Jazmin had with a male was the old man in the fabric store…when she was bartering for fabric.

I am impressed with Jazmin’s talent and success at such a young age – she’s a great role model for young women, which MTV needed – but I’m just not sure I’m sold on her show. As much as I hate on The Hills, I live for that stuff. My life is boring enough on its own – I don’t need to watch someone else’s.

But I will. I’ll watch it every week and see if it gets any better (or if Jazmin’s grandmother can indeed get those models to eat) and break it all down here.

Blair is still hell-bent on going to Yale, even though her little tiff with S. a couple of weeks ago may have maimed her chances. The solution? Serena gets Blair to babysit the Dean’s niece to earn brownie points. Only problem (and who didn’t see this one coming?) is that little Emma is on a mission to lose her virginity.

Gossip Girl put it quite poetically: Lady B…outsoxed by a young fox. Because, of course, if there’s a young, horny virgin on the prowl, she’s bound to get intercepted by the one and only Chuck Bass.

Favorite line of the night, courtesy of Mr. Bass: “The only thing I like aged is my scotch.” LOVE it.

However, Mr. Bass laments to Blair that he holds very few things sacred, and one of those things is humping in the back of a limo. How sweet, in a pervy Chuck Bass kind of way. Needless to say, the jailbait bounced and hit up a club in search of Mr. Right Now.

Meanwhile, Little J. is planning her big, risque fashion debut… at a charity gala being thrown in honor of Lily and Bart. Like that doesn’t have “disaster” written all over it. She pulls the “Do you care about me?” card with Nate…isn’t it a little early to try to whip your new boy toy, Little J.? Nonetheless, Nate takes the bait and the next thing we know, GG is loading Jenny and Nate’s second kiss into an RSS feed.

Gossip Girl actually played quite the role in tonight’s episode – as everyone was running around trying to figure out who was where (and with whom), they all kept going back to GG, and finally, Chuck managed to lure Emma (the young virgin) back to Blair by getting GG to post some fake story about Emma’s rival, Muffy. If you’re lost here, don’t worry. It was all just some filler material, though it did raise the question of how the hell Chuck can pull even the mysterious Gossip Girl’s strings.

My favorite part of the night? Blair tries to have a heart-to-heart with Emma about how her first time should be special, and finally mutters the L-word, in reference to Chuck. I squealed a bit here, though I don’t know if I believe that Blair knew she loved C-Bass during the limo trysts. Oh well, B. Saying it once opens the flood gates for more confessions in the future.

BTW, Blair got some juice on Emma’s mom, but decided not to blackmail her, and karma came back around: it looks like B’s going to Yale after all. Jenny’s fashion show was a success, though Rufus tried to get her arrested for her shenanigans, which prompted Jenny to flee (and it looks like she’ll be getting in way too deep in the coming weeks); Dan kicked Nate out of the house; Vanessa threw a temper tantrum over Jenny and Nate; Jenny dumped Nate out of respect for V (though she promptly bounced anyway); and Aaron the art dude may or may not have a harem of girlfriends. We’ll find out when he takes S to dinner next week.

What to look for next week: Dan finally grows some balls (or thinks he does), and it looks like his Chuck Bass story is going to press…which can’t be good for anyone on the Upper East Side.

Dude, this BETTER be for a video

The Gossip Girl treatment

Get the hell outta Galveston

Real authors everywhere read and weep

MaryKate and Ashley are sh*tty neighbors

Chuckys love J. Simpson

The Project Runway fashion show (spoiler!)

We’re not the only ones…

Stay ahead of the curve: the top 10 colors for spring

Kayne’s Ninja Turtle mash-up!

Michael Phelps swims like a fish, but walks like a duck

America Ferrera is pretty awesome

Who beats up Roger Ebert??!

Janet Jackson goes space-age ugly

Oh God. Lindsay Lohan wants to be a mom.

Scary baby preacher.

The NYT takes on your filthy habit.

The tales of self-love always have a happy ending.

The VMAs in 2 minutes (which would have been long enough!).

Joe Francis shot down by Donald Trump.

Triumph the Comic Dog visits the RNC….for me to poop on.

The Gap is back and turning heads at Fashion Week.

Don’t let that smile fool ya; Ann Curry is a biatch.

What you’ve been missing from Fashion Week in NYC.

Sorority Forever: A new web series that may be worth checking out.

Thanks to a little piece of wire, some lace straps, and cups (not the porcelain kind) this hasn’t been an issue for a century now.

Happy 100th birthday bra!

Vogue first wrote about bras in 1907, when they were simply around for function and comfort. Nowadays, even members of the itty-bitty-t*tty committee get pleasure out of bra shopping, so much so that it’s become an important part of everyday fashion.

You know what I mean, like when you’re feeling sneaky, sultry, and seductive in an oversized hoodie because shhh, you’ve got your ‘unstrap me or else’ black lace bust booster on underneath. Hellooo, why do you think they call it Victoria’s Secret???

The clever contraption’s birthday comes at the perfect time, with the ever-so-popular Victoria’s Secret fashion show on tonight. (Airs on CBS at 10!)

In a college culture where any silly event is morphed into a full-on blowout boozin’ binge bash, I think I’ve already heard of four different VS viewings tonight, each with a lingerie dress code and lots and lots of champagne.

What better reason to break out the bubbly than a b-day for brassieres?

So here is a little gossip to keep your blues at bay until the weekend finally comes!

• Ashley Olsen was spotted sucking face with Lance Armstrong at an NYC Hotel Bar on Monday. Apparently, they left together around 2 am. This Sunday, Lance will be partying down with his foundation at the restaurant where I work and if Ashley Olsen shows up, I might just pee my pants. (NY Post)

• Roberto Cavalli confirmed to the press that J.Lo is prego and he has been designing clothes for her as she grows. All this took place at the launch of his new Vodka. Yes, Vodka. Now we all knew J.Lo was preggers but what I want to know is why Roberto Cavalli is selling vodka. Last time I checked, fashion designers and disterllies had little in common. (People)

• The Catholics are fired up at Britney for pictures appearing in her new CD. In one, Britney is confessing, in the next she’s sitting on the priests lap. It’s about the only press she is getting from her new album since Jive has totally given up on her doing any promo for Blackout. And the courts agree she is still a bad mom. Oh, Britney. (ET Online, NY Daily News)

• J. Simp and Owen Wilson went on a date last Sunday out in LA. Shouldn’t he be worrying more about his recovery and less about Jessica Simpson’s breasts? Just saying… (http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/bwiddicombe/2007/10/31/2007-10-31_for_owen_wilson_jessica_simpsons_just_wh.html”>Gatecrasher)

• Mischa’s little sister Hania has already got the troubled teen routine down. She arrived at a fashion show last week wasted and the designer wouldn’t let her walk. Apparently she already has one rehab stint under her belt. Bring on the next! (Page Six)