By Miko Takama

Fast fashion relies on global inequality and it is powered by cheap labor within its supply chain to generate huge profits with low production costs. It takes a CEO from a big fashion company just 4 days to earn the same amount a Bangladeshi sweatshop worker earns over her lifetime. 

Many describe the conditions of such workers as modern slavery, Bangladesh is now one of the worst countries in the world for workers’ rights. Forbes also stated in an article, “Bangladesh is one of the most corrupt countries in the world.” But why do sweatshops still exist in Bangladesh?

In the fiscal year 2018, 41 million workers, 80% of which are women, produced more than $30 billion worth of “ready-made garments”. For export, ranking Bangladesh the number two apparel producer, after China/Hong Kong. There are 4,500 sweatshops throughout the country. These factories are a major source of profit for giant retail corporations in the U.S. and Europe, such as Primark, H&M, and Uniqlo. 

“83% of their foreign currency is coming from this sector,” said Siddiqur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). 50 million people depend on the garment industry and the country’s economy is dependent on it. The government is planning to double output in 4 years. In 2018, 10% of Bangladeshi parliament members owned garment factories and 30% had family members who were owners. The Bangladeshi government wants and needs sweatshops to exist. 

In 2013, Rana Plaza, an eight-story garment factory collapsed, killing at least 1,132 people and injured more than 2,500 people, recorded as the worst-ever garment industry disaster. Several large cracks appeared on the vaulting just one day before the collapse, however, all garment workers were still ordered to come back to work the next day. 

In the wake of the disaster, some brands suddenly felt compelled to pay something for the loss of life or limb, by the fear of reputational damage. Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) hammered out brands to pay $30 million endowments to help ease the burden for families of the deceased as well as those who sustained catastrophic wounds. However, the access to the funds had been complicated and most of the money did not actually reach these workers. 

The Bangladesh government and garment factory owners fear the eruption of such protest efforts will negatively impact investor profits. In 2017, at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stated, “We are highly committed to ensuring compliance with regard to labor rights, workplace safety, and environmental standards in the industry.” Amid international pressure in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza disaster, the Bangladeshi government raised the minimum wage for garment workers but it is still extremely low and far below the living wage (It is currently $0.42 an hour). 

NGOs like International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF), a nonprofit human rights organization fighting for “the dignity and justice for workers in the global economy” have long had a presence in Bangladesh to combat unethical labor. The ILRF’s strategies are: advance legal and policy reforms; demand greater accountability; and support and strengthen the influence of workers and local organizations. But these strategies have been difficult to be implemented. 

There is still government opposition to freedom of association and unionization, and the brutal crackdown on protesting garment workers is still happening. 

In April 2018, Dana Thomas, the author of Fashionopolis, traveled to Bangladesh to see if conditions in garment factories had improved in Rana Plaza. In 5 years, 97,000 safety infractions, such as locked doors, nonexistent fire exits, and dangerous wiring had been corrected in 1,600 factories. 

A study published by Stern Centre for Business and Human Rights stated that there is still $1.2 billion worth of repairs needed to “remediate remaining dangerous conditions” in Bangladeshi garment factories. Despite all the social audits, workers’ economic and human rights have not improved, while companies’ have revenues increased and factory owners have gotten richer. 

And now, Bangladeshi garment workers are facing ruin as global brands are refusing to pay factories for their orders as a result of retail constriction following the coronavirus outbreak, estimated at $3.17 billion worth of orders. These brands include TJX (T.J. Maxx Marshalls, etc.), Arcadia (Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins, etc.), and luxury conglomerates like LVMH. The pandemic has led factories to furlough or lay off more than half of the country’s garment workers. 

Many of these workers moved from smaller villages to Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh where most of the country’s garment factories are located, to find work. They have families in their villages who are dependent on their wages. Their wages are already low, which means most of them do not have a lot of savings to dip into right now. Now the biggest problem for them and their families is food. 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced more than $8.5 billion in stimulus measures that include loans to help factory owners pay workers’ salaries. However, factory owners said they are hesitant to take out the loans. The money would have to be repaid within 2 years, a commitment they fear making given how unclear the pandemic remains. 

Improving the garment industry in Bangladesh is tricky, considering the collusion and corruption. It is unlikely that the Bangladeshi government or factory owners grant a pay rise, or that the aforementioned retailers commit to working only working with ethical factories and pay at least living wages to those workers, given that their businesses depend entirely on the cheap labor. 

If there is a strict regulation that leads to costs of production being higher, multinational corporations leave for another country where they can find cheaper production, and manufacturers will lose contracts soon, as there is no long-term commitment by those corporations to actually improve the workers’ lives.  

All of this is created by the fashion industry that only cares about quarterly returns, every three months shareholders demand more profits or threaten to pull out. How can they develop long-term strategies to improve workers’ lives if the only thing they are chasing is profit? Where’s the investment in workers today? 

Perhaps the time for voluntary commitments for corporations is over, and what we need are legally binding commitments. Huge fashion brands will not change a thing as long as they can keep making profits. Forcing them to change by law can help, but they can be also forced by shame or pressure as well. 

The pressure can come from consumers; it can be something as simple as a boycott. We, as consumers have to say “We are not going to buy from brands that treat people horribly, and let factory workers starve to death.” 

If you would like to put pressure on these brands that are refusing to pay for their orders and support factory workers, please go to the link and sign the petition here: https://payupfashion.com/

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