Fashion Made by Children – Child Slave Labor News (2024)

Haley DeAngelo

March 2020

“H&M is under fire for contracting with factories that allegedly violated child-labor laws.”¹ H&M is owned by Stefan Persson, Sweden’s richest person. In Myanmar, H&M has kids who are between the ages of 14 and 17 slaving away in sweatshops. H&M is not the only company that violates the child slave labor laws, Gap, Old Navy, Intermix, Hill City, and Athleta.

How does H&M break the child slave labor laws?

They had kids working there as young as 14, but they were working 12 hours or more a day. “They employed anyone who wanted to work,” Zu Zu, one of the girls who started work aged 14, told the authors of Modeslavar, or Fashion Slaves in English.² Even though the age doesn’t fall into the child labor, the hours do. A PIECE OF WORK: H&M’S TAKE ON CHILD LABOUR IN MYANMAR statest that,

Moreover, the interpretation of ‘exclusion of work’ by H&M is neither straightforward at the inter-country nor at the intra-country level. To begin, H&M’s interpretation does not hold water at the inter-country level. H&M started contracting with manufacturers in Hlaing Thar Yar Township only last year, after the European Union lifted many trade sanctions (which were mainly installed for political reasons). The reason is that Myanmar is an attractive country for H&M, a company that made it its mission to offer fashion at the ‘best’ price. Myanmar has a competitive advantage compared to other countries that offer low-skilled factory labour. The labour costs in Myanmar are among the cheapest in the world. This competitive advantage is further strengthened by patchy human rights regulation and little enforcement. For instance, only last year, the minimum age to work was raised from thirteen to fourteen years in the new Minimum Wages Law.³

How does the Gap violate the child slave labor laws?

“Gap simply wants to get its clothes produced as cheaply as possible, the advocates argue, and it’s dressing up the move as global philanthropy.”⁴ The reason it is so cheap is because they don’t have to pay the workers.

“The attraction for Gap is obvious: the lowest wages in the region, anemic regulation and weak labor unions,” said Scott Nova, executive director of the Worker Rights Consortium, an independent labor rights monitoring organization. “This adds up to cheap garments for Gap, at the price of a lot of misery for the workers who will make those garments.”⁵

If you look up If gap uses child labor it will say that they no longer do. This is because they go through a third party. “We purchase private label and non-private label merchandise from over 1,000 vendors. Our vendors have factories in about 40 countries.” ⁶

Gap Inc revealed supplier information, including the factory name and full address, in a 47-page document published last week, that includes facilities in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Egypt, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Lesotho, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Philippines, Portugal, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Turkey, the US, and Vietnam.⁷

Just because Gap factories do not use child labor doesn’t mean that where they get their cotton from doesn’t. China, Myanmar, Indonisia, Cambodia, Nicaragua, Turkey, Egypt, El Salvador, Lesotho and Guatemala. These are just few of the countries the use child labor for clothing and other things.

Children are forced to work 28 days a month, don’t get paid until the end of year and are beaten when they misbehave. One 15-year-old worker from Wenshan, Yunnan, was quoted as saying he works at least 28 days a month, starting work each day at 7.30am and never finishing before 10pm. ⁸

Children in Indonesia engage in the worst forms of child labor, including in commercial sexual exploitation, sometimes as the result of human trafficking. Children also perform dangerous tasks in the production of palm oil and tobacco.⁹

“We thought that brands were getting the message on child labour but this investigation shows the risks involved in constantly trying to cut labour costs,” said researcher Pauline Overeem. “The widespread use of children in Myanmar to manufacture clothes for western brands is alarming and depressing and we urge all companies to take responsibility and to ensure that children are getting the education they need and deserve.”⁹

Tens of thousands of Cambodian families – including children – are trapped in bonded labor, forced to make bricks in return for kiln owners settling their debts, British researchers said in October.Child workers are often from families who have had to migrate because climate change has hit their harvests, said Dy The Hoya, a program officer with the Phnom Penh-based Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights.¹⁰

Children in Nicaragua engage in the worst forms of child labor, including in commercial sexual exploitation, sometimes as a result of human trafficking. Children also perform dangerous tasks in agriculture. National policies to eliminate child labor and protect children have not been fully implemented, and the government lacks a specific and consistent mechanism to coordinate efforts to address child labor. In addition, the government does not dedicate sufficient resources to child labor law enforcement and does not publish complete criminal law enforcement data on child labor.¹¹

Children in Turkey engage in the worst forms of child labor, including commercial sexual exploitation and recruitment by non-state armed groups. Children also perform dangerous tasks in seasonal agriculture and in small and medium manufacturing enterprises.¹²

Squished inside a second-story room in Dhaka, Bangladesh, flanked by 20 other women, the girl hunches over her machine, illuminated by harsh fluorescent lights. She is making pockets for blue jeans — one of thousands of child workers in Bangladesh piecing together designer clothing she’ll never be able to afford herself. ¹³

Some girls are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation under the pretext of temporary marriage to wealthy foreign men, mostly from Persian Gulf countries. In the past 2 years, Egyptian children were trafficked to Italy, where they were used for bonded child labor, commercial sexual exploitation, and illicit activities. Although the numbers decreased in 2017, and further in 2018, approximately 930 unaccompanied Egyptian children were registered in Italy in 2018 and another 300 had escaped from their shelters in Italy. Some Egyptian children continued to fall victim to labor exploitation in agriculture and food services, and some were sexually exploited.¹⁴

Children in El Salvador often lack economic and educational opportunities and are vulnerable to the worst forms of child labor, including commercial sexual exploitation. They are also recruited by gangs for illicit activities such as delivering threats, collecting extortion money, serving as surveillance, trafficking drugs, and committing homicides. Children often emigrate to escape violence, extortion, and forced recruitment by gangs, in addition to seeking economic opportunities and family reunification. Once en route, they become vulnerable to human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. El Salvador’s Trafficking in Persons Special Prosecutor indicated that girls between the ages of 10 and 17 were the most at risk of being trafficked.¹⁵

Indigenous children account for more than half of child laborers in Guatemala, and children in rural areas are more likely to work than children in urban areas. In agriculture, working conditions for children involve using machetes and other dangerous tools. Children as young as age 5 work in coffee fields picking coffee beans and mixing and applying pesticides. Children, both Guatemalan-born and from other countries, are engaged in commercial sexual exploitation, including in sex tourism. Girls, LGBTI persons, and indigenous Guatemalans are particularly vulnerable to trafficking. Traffickers are increasingly using social media to recruit children. Multiple sources indicate that children are recruited into gangs to serve as lookouts, couriers, and drug dealers.¹⁶

Lesotho is a source, transit, and destination country for human trafficking. Children in Lesotho are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation and forced to work as domestic workers and animal herders, each sometimes as a result of human trafficking. Children involved in animal herding are exposed to harsh weather conditions, sometimes leading to death. Children, especially orphans, sometimes voluntarily travel to South Africa for domestic work, and upon arrival are subsequently detained in prison-like conditions and sexually exploited. During the reporting period, one case of child trafficking was reported.¹⁷

H&M and Gap industries are both terrible companies because they both uses child labor. Just because they do not use it in their factories doesn’t mean where they get their supplies from doesn.t either.

Notes

1. Bain, Marc. “H&M Reportedly Used Garment Factories That Worked Teens for 12-Hour

Shifts.” Quartz. Quartz, August 22, 2016. https://qz.com/763384/hm-reportedly-used-garment-factories-that-worked-teens-for-12-hour-shifts/.

1. Butler, Sarah. “H&M Factories in Myanmar Employed 14-Year-Old Workers.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, August 21, 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/aug/21/hm-factories-myanmar-employed-14-year-old-workers.
2. “A Piece of Work: H&M’s Take on Child Labour in Myanmar.” Human Rights In Business. Accessed February 12, 2020. http://humanrightsinbusiness.eu/portfolio/a-piece-of-work-hms-take-on-child-labour-in-myanmar/.
3. Bhasin, Kim. “Gap Is Starting To Make Clothes In Myanmar, Where Workers Are Horribly Mistreated.” HuffPost. HuffPost, June 11, 2014. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/gap-myanmar_n_5481484.
4. IBID
5. “Gap Inc’s Suppliers Performance.” CSIMarket. Accessed February 13, 2020. https://csimarket.com/stocks/suppliers_glance.php?code=GPS.
6. Wright, Beth. “Gap Reveals List of Factory Names and Locations.” just, September 12, 2016. https://www.just-style.com/news/gap-reveals-list-of-factory-names-and-locations_id128784.aspx.
7. “Under 16 and Working 16 Hours a Day … Chinese Clothes Factories Import Cheap Child Labour from across China.” South China Morning Post, July 20, 2018. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2048231/clothing-factories-eastern-china-import-child-labour-migrant.
8. Chamberlain, Gethin. “How High Street Clothes Were Made by Children in Myanmar for 13p an Hour.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, February 5, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/05/child-labour-myanmar-high-street-brands.
9. Ferrie, Jared. “’Major Strides’ to Cut Child Labor in Cambodia’s Fashion Factories.” Reuters. Thomson Reuters, December 11, 2018. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-childlabour-garments/major-strides-to-cut-child-labor-in-cambodias-fashion-factories-idUSKBN1OA1P1.
10. “Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor – Nicaragua.” U.S. Department of Labor. Accessed February 14, 2020. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/nicaragua.
11. “Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor – Turkey.” U.S. Department of Labor. Accessed February 17, 2020. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/turkey.
12. Nonkes, Mark. “A Look at Child Labor inside a Garment Factory in Bangladesh.” World Vision, January 18, 2019. https://www.worldvision.org/child-protection-news-stories/child-labor-garment-factory-bangladesh.
13. “Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor – Egypt.” U.S. Department of Labor. Accessed February 17, 2020. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/egypt.
14. “Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor – El Salvador.” U.S. Department of Labor. Accessed February 17, 2020. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/el-salvador.
15. “Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor – Guatemala.” U.S. Department of Labor. Accessed February 17, 2020. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/guatemala.
16. “Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor – Lesotho.” U.S. Department of Labor. Accessed February 17, 2020. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/lesotho.

Biography

“A Piece of Work: H&M’s Take on Child Labour in Myanmar.” Human Rights In Business. Accessed February 12, 2020. http://humanrightsinbusiness.eu/portfolio/a-piece-of-work-hms-take-on-child-labour-in-myanmar/.

Bain, Marc. “H&M Reportedly Used Garment Factories That Worked Teens for 12-Hour Shifts.” Quartz. Quartz, August 22, 2016. https://qz.com/763384/hm-reportedly-used-garment-factories-that-worked-teens-for-12-hour-shifts/.

Bhasin, Kim. “Gap Is Starting To Make Clothes In Myanmar, Where Workers Are Horribly Mistreated.” HuffPost. HuffPost, June 11, 2014. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/gap-myanmar_n_5481484.

Butler, Sarah. “H&M Factories in Myanmar Employed 14-Year-Old Workers.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, August 21, 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/aug/21/hm-factories-myanmar-employed-14-year-old-workers.

Chamberlain, Gethin. “How High Street Clothes Were Made by Children in Myanmar for 13p an Hour.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, February 5, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/05/child-labour-myanmar-high-street-brands

Ferrie, Jared. “’Major Strides’ to Cut Child Labor in Cambodia’s Fashion Factories.” Reuters. Thomson Reuters, December 11, 2018. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-childlabour-garments/major-strides-to-cut-child-labor-in-cambodias-fashion-factories-idUSKBN1OA1P1.

“Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor – Egypt.” U.S. Department of Labor. Accessed February 17, 2020. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/egypt.

“Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor – El Salvador.” U.S. Department of Labor. Accessed February 17, 2020. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/el-salvador.

“Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor – Guatemala.” U.S. Department of Labor. Accessed February 17, 2020. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/guatemala.

“Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor – Lesotho.” U.S. Department of Labor. Accessed February 17, 2020. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/lesotho.

“Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor – Nicaragua.” U.S. Department of Labor. Accessed February 14, 2020. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/nicaragua

“Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor – Turkey.” U.S. Department of Labor. Accessed February 17, 2020. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/turkey.

“Gap Inc’s Suppliers Performance.” CSIMarket. Accessed February 13, 2020. https://csimarket.com/stocks/suppliers_glance.php?code=GPS.

Nonkes, Mark. “A Look at Child Labor inside a Garment Factory in Bangladesh.” World Vision, January 18, 2019. https://www.worldvision.org/child-protection-news-stories/child-labor-garment-factory-bangladesh

“Under 16 and Working 16 Hours a Day … Chinese Clothes Factories Import Cheap Child Labour from across China.” South China Morning Post, July 20, 2018. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2048231/clothing-factories-eastern-china-import-child-labour-migrant.

Wright, Beth. “Gap Reveals List of Factory Names and Locations.” just, September 12, 2016. https://www.just-style.com/news/gap-reveals-list-of-factory-names-and-locations_id128784.aspx.