Deadly garment-worker protests in Bangladesh highlight fast fashion’s labor issues
Fast reckoning… Thousands of garment workers in Bangladesh — the world’s largest clothing exporter after China — are protesting over low wages. At least three workers have died during the unrest. Mainstream retailers like H&M and Zara parent Inditex are the primary buyers of products made by the country’s 4M garment workers, who earn as little as $75/month.
Bleak conditions: Protesters are seeking a minimum wage of about $210/month. That’s nearly 3X the current rate, but still less than what US workers would make in a week at $7.25/hour. FYI: a survey found that garment workers’ daily food intake is far below the recommended amount.
Coming unstitched: It’s the largest-scale protest by Bangladeshi garment workers in a decade. 150 factories have been shuttered “indefinitely.” Last week, Bangladesh’s PM Sheikh Hasina rejected demands for a pay raise beyond 56%.
Key industry: From 2011 to 2019, clothing exports from Bangladesh more than doubled to $33B. The garment industry makes up 16% of Bangladesh’s GDP, and 85% of its exports.
Beyond Bangladesh… Fast fashion’s reliance on cheap manufacturing is raising red flags. Brands like Shein have soared in popularity thanks at least in part to ultracheap prices made possible by low-cost labor overseas. In August, a bipartisan group of US lawmakers urged the SEC to pause Shein’s IPO until it can prove it doesn’t use forced labor in China to make its clothes. This year, a House committee alleged that Wish rival Temu regularly ships products made with forced labor to the US.
No one wants to foot the labor bill… Studies show that 93% of brands currently don’t pay garment workers a living wage, and that just 27% have a public strategy for doing so. Major fashion brands including Adidas, Gap, and Abercrombie recently said they would pay more to help Bangladeshi manufacturers cover wage increases. But factory officials claim that getting brands to follow through on promises when placing orders is easier said than done.