Blog

2024

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2023

Results: 8 Items

H&M praised by media for committing to pay poverty wages

H&M praised by media for committing to pay poverty wages

Last week several media outlets applauded H&M for committing to raise its purchasing prices to meet the increased legal minimum wage for the garment sector in Bangladesh. H&M is reportedly the first global brand to tell its Bangladeshi suppliers it will do so. While this may be true, the praise heaped upon H&M is unwarranted, and the fact the industry and media applaud it is indicative of a thoroughly broken system. […]

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Too poor? Shut up and work harder! How the BGMEA president tries to gloss over poverty wages

Too poor? Shut up and work harder! How the BGMEA president tries to gloss over poverty wages

The flawed new minimum wage for ready-made garment workers in Bangladesh has led to a global outcry. 12,500 taka per month will keep the countries’ 4 to 4.5 million garment workers trapped in poverty. Instead of revising the disgraceful decision, Faruque Hassan, president of the business owners’ association BGMEA, felt compelled to publish a “clarification” note. However, the only thing the note clarifies is the dimension of disrespect of the employers’ president for the labour law and the lack of empathy for the dire situation of the workforce. […]

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Cambodian garment workers: never paid enough to escape the debt

Cambodian garment workers: never paid enough to escape the debt

The new minimum wage for garment workers in Cambodia is set at 204 USD per month, despite trade unions’ demand for a much bigger increase. The new minimum wage is a huge disappointment for the 700,000 workers in the Cambodian garment and footwear sector, who are increasingly struggling to make ends meet. […]

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Nike turns its back on Cambodian workers

Nike turns its back on Cambodian workers

Nike’s Annual General Meeting will be held on September 12. The brand will likely dazzle its shareholders with the results achieved since its June announcement of a 10 per cent annual revenue increase up to US$51.2bn. […]

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2022

Results: 2 Items

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2021

Results: 9 Items

A history of negligence: How Gap and other major brands failed to draw lessons from the That’s It Sportswear factory fire

A history of negligence: How Gap and other major brands failed to draw lessons from the That’s It Sportswear factory fire

The 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse shocked and captivated the world. But outside of Bangladesh, fewer remember the trail of mass-casualty factory disasters that preceded it. Eleven years ago today, 29 garment workers lost their lives when a fire broke out in the That's It Sportswear garment factory, where they made clothes for major American brands. On this day, our thoughts are with all families affected by this fire and our aim is to ensure that incidents like this can never happen again. […]

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Nine years since deadly fire at major Walmart supplier, campaigners urge Walmart to stop hiding from real commitments to safety

Nine years since deadly fire at major Walmart supplier, campaigners urge Walmart to stop hiding from real commitments to safety

Exactly nine years ago, a devastating factory fire in Bangladesh killed at least 113 workers and injured many more. Almost a decade later, major brands and retailers whose clothes were made in this factory, such as Walmart, Disney, and Dickies, continue to put their workers at risk. We spend this day commemorating the workers who died in this preventable fire. In addition, we are continuing to remind garment brands and retailers that they must finally draw lessons from this horrific catastrophe and urgently take critical steps to prevent future fires and deadly safety incidents so that no more families have to suffer such an awful loss. […]

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Workers’ rights in the clothing industry and what consumers can do

Workers’ rights in the clothing industry and what consumers can do

The Covid-19 pandemic has been difficult for everyone, but its effects have been felt particularly acutely by workers in the garment sector. As the pandemic took hold across the globe and many countries entered national lockdowns, demand for shop-bought clothes decreased significantly, leading many major clothing brands to cancel orders, delay payments, and impose discounts on suppliers. […]

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A decade in denial

A decade in denial

How the Sustainable Apparel Coalition is denying reality, while patting itself on the back. […]

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1 - 9 of 9 Results

2020

Results: 14 Items

Brands are weathering the pandemic. Garment workers are not

Brands are weathering the pandemic. Garment workers are not

As researchers and advocates working to improve labor rights in the garment industry, we are used to heartbreaking stories. But what we are seeing during the pandemic is a new level of despair among workers, as widespread loss of jobs and income robs them of the ability to feed their families. […]

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Marking Human Rights Day: How can legislation help protect the people who make our clothes

Marking Human Rights Day: How can legislation help protect the people who make our clothes

December 10th marks the celebration of Human Rights Day around the globe –a moment to recognise the impact of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on livelihoods and to affirm the importance of human rights everywhere. In the fashion industry, and during a moment when the global pandemic has upended business-as-usual, it’s more important than ever to fight for the rights of the people working in garment supply chains and demand an end to forced labour. […]

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Global brands, global exploitation

Global brands, global exploitation

A small Thai factory without a name, more of a room than anything else, few windows, a ceiling low enough that those inside could touch it, toilets too dirty to use, one door at the front, another at the back providing the only fresh air, and no electric fans to cool temperatures of up to 37 degrees Celsius (100F). […]

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Rethinking MSIs: Binding Brands to Create Change

Rethinking MSIs: Binding Brands to Create Change

When the COVID19 pandemic hit, garment brands and retailers around the world cancelled their orders. What was to them a logical risk and cost reducing measure, meant destitution for millions of garment workers around the world. […]

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Boohoo, Leicester’s factories exemplify the shady garment sector

Boohoo, Leicester’s factories exemplify the shady garment sector

Leicester is the UK’s garment hub, and 75% of city-wide production is for Boohoo, a brand valued at $4.3 billion. The brand has faced several allegations of workers’ rights violations over the years, with campaigners raising concerns that many of their cut-price clothes are produced under the conditions of modern slavery. […]

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The devastation of COVID-19 on UNIQLO’s former garment workers

The devastation of COVID-19 on UNIQLO’s former garment workers

COVID-19 is brutal, indiscriminate in who it touches, however we are not all facing the same risks.Money can buy some protection and it provides choices, even as the options narrow. Garment workers, the vast majority of whom are women, have very few choices in this crisis. […]

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Uniqlo and the Women Owed $5.5 Million

Uniqlo and the Women Owed $5.5 Million

In the fashion game, brands always win and garment workers always lose. It’s a stacked deck, the winning hands held by those with the money. In the quest for ever-greater profits, garment workers are often treated as yet another commodity, to be swapped at will, as brands act with impunity and watch their profits rise. […]

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2019

Results: 8 Items

I made clothes for Uniqlo but I didn’t get paid

I made clothes for Uniqlo but I didn’t get paid

Whether you buy a new wardrobe or not won’t change my situation, but knowing what happened to me might get you involved. My story is about Uniqlo, the Japanese brand that’s opening stores like mushrooms in Europe. […]

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1 - 8 of 8 Results