Victoria’s Secret has a new sheen of female empowerment. It’s not working

Picture a fleet of merchant ships far out on the glistening Pacific, each one carrying about 600,000 tons of freight.

The cargo is curious: candy-colored strips, strings and scraps composed mostly of synthetic polymers from factories — some say sweatshops in places such as Sri Lanka and Jordan. It’s all dignified with the posh word “lingerie,” which is F…