Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that 160 million children engage in child labor globally with many linked to fashion supply chains
The fashion industry contributes often to the 79 million children currently performing hazardous work globally
Approximately 11% of all child laborers work specifically in the manufacturing and industry sector which includes garment production
Children in the fashion industry are frequently exposed to hazardous chemicals including dyes and bleaches leading to chronic illness
In leather tanneries children work with toxic chemicals like chromium often without protective gear
Child laborers in cotton picking face pesticide poisoning which can cause long-term neurological damage
High demand for fast fashion drives wages down increasing the likelihood of families sending children to work to supplement income
Parents of child laborers often earn significantly below the living wage forcing reliance on children's income
Piece-rate pay systems in fast fashion incentivize families to use their children to increase output volume
Cotton is the most common product produced by child labor appearing on the US Department of Labor list in 17 countries
Uzbekistan previously utilized state-sponsored forced child labor for cotton harvesting though recent reforms are reducing this
In Bangladesh the National Child Labour Survey estimated nearly 1.2 million children engaged in hazardous work often in textiles
Nearly one-third of children aged 5 to 14 in the least developed countries are out of school often due to work
Working children are 20% less likely to attend school than non-working children in similar demographics
Girls in the garment sector are often pulled out of school earlier than boys to work in home-based assembly
Economic Drivers & Wages
- High demand for fast fashion drives wages down increasing the likelihood of families sending children to work to supplement income
- Parents of child laborers often earn significantly below the living wage forcing reliance on children's income
- Piece-rate pay systems in fast fashion incentivize families to use their children to increase output volume
- Debt bondage is a key economic driver where children work to pay off parental debts to factory owners or recruiters
- A 10% increase in adult wages can lead to a statistically significant decrease in child labor hours
- The COVID-19 economic shock plunged up to 66 million children into extreme poverty increasing child labor risk
- Fast fashion brands chasing the lowest production costs move to countries with weak labor law enforcement and lower wages
- In Bangladesh the minimum wage for garment workers is often insufficient leading to 64% of families borrowing money to buy food
- Poverty is cited as the main reason for child labor in 48% of cases in the garment sector in Ho Chi Minh City
- Children often earn less than half the wage of an adult for the same work in the informal textile sector
- The "Sumangali" scheme in India lures young girls into low-wage textile work with promises of a marriage dowry payment
- Subcontracting chains in fast fashion dilute profit margins making child labor a cost-cutting measure for bottom-tier suppliers
- Economic insecurity from seasonal cotton farming drives families to utilize child labor during harvest seasons
- The total illegal profits generated from forced labor including children in the private economy is estimated at 150 billion USD annually
- Inflation and rising living costs in production countries like Sri Lanka have pushed more adolescents into the workforce
- Retailers cancelling orders during economic downturns results in unpaid wages pushing worker's children into labor
- Children in the footwear industry in parts of Latin America contribute approximately 20% to household income
- Global inequality allows fast fashion consumers to buy shirts for the price of a coffee while producers' children work to survive
- The prevalence of child labor falls by 11% when average household expenditure rises by an amount equivalent to one adult wage
- Absence of state-funded social protection for adult workers forces children to act as economic safety nets
Interpretation
Fast fashion's race to the bottom turns children into unpaid economic bandages, as squeezed adult wages, piece-rate pay, debt bondage, pandemic shocks, order cancellations and offshoring to weakly regulated countries force families to send kids into factories where they earn far less than adults under schemes like Sumangali or seasonal harvest pressure, while evidence shows modest increases in adult wages or social protection sharply reduce child labor, proving the cheapest shirt is only affordable because a child's future is being banked against it.
Education & Social Impact
- Nearly one-third of children aged 5 to 14 in the least developed countries are out of school often due to work
- Working children are 20% less likely to attend school than non-working children in similar demographics
- Girls in the garment sector are often pulled out of school earlier than boys to work in home-based assembly
- The "double burden" of work and household chores leaves girl child laborers with zero leisure or study time
- Premature entry into the workforce reduces future earnings potential by approximately 15-20% perpetuating the poverty cycle
- Child laborers in fashion often lack basic literacy complicating their ability to understand labor contracts later in life
- School closures during COVID-19 increased the permanent dropout rate leading to a surge in child labor entry
- Vocational training programs are often inaccessible to former child laborers due to lack of primary education
- Children in the Sumangali scheme face social isolation and are prevented from contacting family affecting social development
- Indigenous children are disproportionately represented in child labor particularly in Latin American textile agriculture
- Exposure to adult environments in factories exposes children to substance abuse and early sexual activity
- Migrant children working in textiles often lack access to local schools due to language barriers and documentation
- Former child laborers suffer from higher rates of depression and anxiety in adulthood
- Seasonal school absenteeism is highest in cotton-growing regions during harvest times
- Lack of education among child laborers hinders the economic development of the entire nation by reducing human capital
- Conditional cash transfer programs have been proven to increase school enrollment and decrease child labor in textile regions
- Educational infrastructure in garment-hub slums is often insufficient to accommodate the population of children
- Social stigma associated with poverty often discourages working children from returning to school
- NGOs estimate that providing education to all children currently in child labor would cost 760 billion USD but yield high economic returns
- Only 26% of countries have a completion rate of secondary education for children which correlates with high child labor rates in supply chains
Interpretation
Fast fashion is not simply about making clothes; it is sewing poverty into the seams of childhood by pulling girls and marginalized children out of school and into factories, costing them leisure, literacy and future earnings, inflicting mental and social harm, undermining national human capital in countries where only 26 percent complete secondary school, and yet solvable problems like conditional cash transfers and a roughly 760 billion USD investment in education would yield far greater returns.
Global Prevalence & Scope
- The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that 160 million children engage in child labor globally with many linked to fashion supply chains
- The fashion industry contributes often to the 79 million children currently performing hazardous work globally
- Approximately 11% of all child laborers work specifically in the manufacturing and industry sector which includes garment production
- Child labor in the global supply chain including fashion has increased for the first time in two decades due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- 72 million child laborers are found in Sub-Saharan Africa a growing hub for textile raw material sourcing
- 62 million child laborers are located in the Asia and the Pacific region which serves as the primary hub for fast fashion manufacturing
- Boys make up 97 million of the global child labor workforce often trafficking into physical labor like cotton farming and tanning
- Girls account for 63 million child laborers and are statistically more likely to be involved in commercial sexual exploitation linked to industrial centers or domestic garment work
- Children aged 5 to 11 years account for over half of the global child labor figure many entering the workforce for textile agriculture
- The number of children aged 5 to 17 years in hazardous work has risen by 6.5 million since 2016 impacting industry sectors
- Migrant child workers are significantly more vulnerable to forced labor in garment supply chains specifically in regions like Turkey and Thailand
- Nearly 60% of child labor occurs in agriculture which includes the farming of cotton jute and silk for fashion
- The ILO reports that child labor prevalence is three times higher in rural areas where raw material extraction for fashion occurs
- Approximately 1 million children engage in child labor in the cocoa and cotton sectors combined in specific West African regions
- Informal economy work accounts for about 86% of child labor making it invisible to standard fashion audits
- In the poorest countries slightly more than 1 in 5 children are engaged in child labor often supporting global supply chains
- The US Department of Labor lists 78 countries where child labor is used to produce goods like garments and textiles
- Global progress against child labor has stalled since 2016 leaving millions in fashion supply chains without protection
- Without mitigation strategies the number of children in child labor could rise by another 8.9 million by the end of 2022 due to poverty affecting garment workers
- Modern slavery which includes forced child labor affects an estimated 50 million people globally with textiles being a high-risk sector
Interpretation
Fast fashion may sell bargains, but its supply chains carry a hidden price: an estimated 160 million children are trapped in child labor worldwide, many working in garment manufacturing and raw material farming concentrated in Sub Saharan Africa and Asia, increasingly younger and more exposed since COVID with hazardous work rising and much of the abuse hidden in informal markets and modern slavery, unless brands, governments and consumers urgently change course.
Health, Safety & Conditions
- Children in the fashion industry are frequently exposed to hazardous chemicals including dyes and bleaches leading to chronic illness
- In leather tanneries children work with toxic chemicals like chromium often without protective gear
- Child laborers in cotton picking face pesticide poisoning which can cause long-term neurological damage
- Cotton dust inhalation known as byssinosis is a common respiratory condition among children working in spinning mills
- Children in garment factories often work 12 to 14 hour shifts depriving them of sleep and development time
- Repetitive strain injuries and finger crush injuries are common among children operating sewing machines designed for adults
- In the footwear industry children are exposed to solvent glues that can cause dizziness and nerve damage
- Sexual harassment and abuse are prevalent risks for female child workers in textile factories particularly in informal settings
- Factory fires and building collapses like Rana Plaza disproportionately threaten child workers who may be unable to escape quickly
- Children working in home-based garment assembly often suffer from poor vision due to lack of adequate lighting
- Lack of potable water and sanitation in sweatshops leads to high rates of gastrointestinal diseases among child workers
- Children in yarn spinning mills are often confined to factory hostels restricting their freedom of movement
- Heavy lifting in textile transport creates spinal deformities and stunted growth in adolescent laborers
- Noise pollution from looming machines causes permanent hearing loss in child workers
- Child laborers in sandblasting denim units face high risks of silicosis a fatal lung disease
- Psychological trauma is high among child garment workers due to verbal abuse and threats from supervisors
- Children working in sericulture (silk) often suffer burns and skin infections from handling boiling water and silkworms
- Ergonomic hazards in carpet weaving lead to permanent musculoskeletal disorders in young children
- Lack of ventilation in small garment workshops exacerbates the transmission of airborne diseases like tuberculosis among children
- Children in the gemstone and jewelry sector for fashion accessories risk injury from cutting tools and grinding wheels
Interpretation
If low prices are the style, the true trend of fast fashion is children paying with poisoned lungs, damaged brains, crushed bodies, stolen sleep and dignity, and futures sacrificed to toxic factories, collapsing buildings and endless, unsafe shifts.
Specific Material & Regional Data
- Cotton is the most common product produced by child labor appearing on the US Department of Labor list in 17 countries
- Uzbekistan previously utilized state-sponsored forced child labor for cotton harvesting though recent reforms are reducing this
- In Bangladesh the National Child Labour Survey estimated nearly 1.2 million children engaged in hazardous work often in textiles
- India is home to the largest number of child laborers in the world with high concentrations in cotton seed production
- Child labor is found in the production of garments in Argentina Brazil China India Jordan Malaysia Thailand and Vietnam
- Syrian refugee children in Turkey have been documented working in garment factories supplying European brands
- Footwear manufacturing involves child labor in countries including Bangladesh Brazil India Indonesia and Vietnam
- In Pakistan child labor is prevalent in the carpet weaving industry and cotton agriculture
- The carpet industry in Nepal traditionally employed high numbers of children though certification programs have improved this
- Cambodia's garment sector has seen instances of underage workers using borrowed ID cards to bypass age checks
- Leather production in Egypt utilizes child labor in various stages of tanning
- Myanmar's garment industry resurgence has been linked to reports of workers as young as 14
- Child labor in silk production is documented in India and Uzbekistan
- In the Philippines child labor is used in the production of fashion accessories and coconuts for textiles
- Turkmen cotton is banned in the US due to state-imposed forced labor including child labor
- Madagascar utilizes child labor in the production of sapphires often used in jewelry
- Burkina Faso has high rates of child labor in cotton harvesting a primary export for the country
- 32% of the workforce in the informal garment sector in Delhi slum areas consists of adolescents
- Ethiopian garment parks have faced scrutiny for low wages that may incentivize hiring younger workers
- Moroccan textile suppliers have been implicated in hiring underage girls as domestic and textile workers
Interpretation
These statistics expose an ugly truth: the low price of fast fashion is paid by children, from state ordered cotton harvests and refugee kids in garment factories to carpet looms, leather tanneries and gemstone mines across dozens of countries, meaning every bargain garment carries a hidden, sometimes forced, human cost.
References
Want to learn more about our methodology and data sources? Visit our About page to discover how we create these comprehensive statistic reports.