This is an issue that everyone in the fashion industry needs to consider, address and resolve.
The exploitation of garment workers can happen anywhere, and garments coming from a particular place does not necessarily mean they were produced unethically.
However, China, Bangladesh, and India are hot spots for unethical and exploitative garment, bag and shoe production. This is because most garments in the world are made here [PDF 402KB] as a result of western businesses exporting their production to developing countries, where workers can be easily exploited and paid less.
Many garment workers sew and make clothes in what is considered ‘modern day slavery conditions’. It is critical we all recognise our responsibility in this issue as factories in these countries meet the demands of fashion brands and consumers in the west.
Image: garment workers protest.
Garment workers, who are largely women of colour, often work in unsafe conditions that would never be accepted for white people.
It is estimated that only 2% of garment workers around the world are paid a living wage.
A living wage is one that covers a person’s basic needs. This is different from a minimum wage, which may not ensure that someone can affording housing, food, utilities and other essentials for a basic but comfortable and secure life. A living wage should be the minimum accepted wage for any person. Unfortunately, it is not.
Issues of gender-based discrimination and violence are rife in the production of fashion.
Sexual assault, harassment and violence is a common experience for garment workers. In Cambodia, 1 in 3 women experience this at work. In Bangladesh, that’s 28% of garment workers.
Image: UN Women
Despite women occupying the majority of the garment sector’s total workforce, they are far less likely [PDF 116KB] to have managerial or higher-paying roles.
Image: NurPhoto
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An industry built on exploitation
Fashion can signify individual expression and has artistic merit, but, it has, since the industrial revolution, relied on exploitation of enslaved people and then wage workers.
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Tannery workers
Leather tanning almost always requires the use of heavy chemicals. These chemicals harm the humans working with them and their communities.
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