Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
93% of brands surveyed are not paying garment workers a living wage
Garment workers in Bangladesh earn approximately 50% of what is considered a living wage
Only 4% of the price of a piece of clothing typically goes to the worker who made it
The Rana Plaza collapse in 2013 killed 1,134 garment workers due to structural failure
Over 2,500 workers died in the Rana Plaza collapse and the Tazreen Fashions fire combined
Sandblasting jeans causes silicosis, a fatal lung disease, affecting thousands of workers before bans were attempted
80% of the world’s 60 million garment workers are women
One in three female garment workers in Vietnam reports experiencing sexual harassment
In Bangladesh, 60% of female garment workers report suffering intimidation or violence at work
An estimated 25 million people are in forced labor globally, with fashion being a high-risk sector
20% of the world’s cotton comes from the Uyghur Region, implicating it in state-imposed forced labor
160 million children are in child labor globally, with many in the lower tiers of the fashion supply chain
Only 48% of major brands publish a list of their first-tier manufacturers
Less than 12% of brands publish a list of their raw material suppliers (Tier 3)
Union busting occurred in 35% of factories audited by the Fair Labor Association
Forced and Child Labor
- An estimated 25 million people are in forced labor globally, with fashion being a high-risk sector
- 20% of the world’s cotton comes from the Uyghur Region, implicating it in state-imposed forced labor
- 160 million children are in child labor globally, with many in the lower tiers of the fashion supply chain
- In the Uzbek cotton harvest, over 1 million people were historically forced to pick cotton annually by the state
- Children as young as 6 years old have been found working in Indian spinning mills
- The Global Slavery Index 2023 lists garments as the second-highest risk product for modern slavery
- Forced labor has been documented in the spinning and weaving of textiles in Tamil Nadu, India
- Syrian refugees in Turkey have been found working in garment factories without permits or legal protections
- North Korean laborers have been reportedly sent to Chinese garment factories under forced labor conditions
- Beading and sequins often utilize child labor in home-based settings to evade factory audits
- Debt bondage affects 30% of migrant garment workers in Thailand due to excessive recruitment fees
- In Brazil, "slave-like" conditions have been found in workshops producing for major high street labels
- Audit reports fail to detect forced labor in 50% of cases where it is present due to coaching of workers
- Trafficking victims account for 15% of the workforce in some Southeast Asian fishing and textile hubs
- Turkmenistan uses systemic forced labor for its annual cotton harvest, supplying global markets
- Child labor in cotton seed production is prevalent in India due to the delicate dexterity required
- Migrant workers in Malaysia’s garment sector often have their passports illegally retained by employers
- Subcontracting allows 40% of production to move to unregulated workshops where child labor is unchecked
- Forced overtime is a standard requirement in 60% of Chinese garment factories supplying export markets
- Indigenous children are often trafficked to work in textile mills in Southern India
Interpretation
These figures deliver a grim punchline: an estimated 25 million people live in forced labor and 160 million children toil worldwide while fashion—blamed for 20 percent of Uyghur-region cotton and ranked the second-highest risk product for modern slavery—depends on everything from state-forced Uzbek and Turkmen harvests and very young children in Indian mills to Syrians and reportedly North Korean workers in factories, passport-confined migrants in Malaysia, debt bondage for 30 percent of Thai migrant garment workers, beading and sequins stitched by children in home workshops to dodge audits, Brazilian workshops producing for big high-street labels described as slave-like, subcontracting that shifts 40 percent of production into unregulated shops, forced overtime in 60 percent of Chinese export factories, trafficking making up 15 percent of some hubs’ workforces, and audits that fail to detect half of the forced labor they are supposed to catch—proof that a cheap T-shirt still costs human lives.
Gender and Discrimination
- 80% of the world’s 60 million garment workers are women
- One in three female garment workers in Vietnam reports experiencing sexual harassment
- In Bangladesh, 60% of female garment workers report suffering intimidation or violence at work
- Nearly 60% of women in the garment sector in Bangalore have experienced gender-based violence
- Many female workers are forced to sign contracts pledging they will not get pregnant during employment
- 70% of women supervisors in garment factories report being paid less than male counterparts for the same role
- Pregnancy discrimination leads to the illegal firing of thousands of garment workers annually
- The "Sumangali" scheme in India traps young women in exploitative apprenticeships with promised dowry payments that are often withheld
- Women make up less than 25% of leadership roles in garment factories despite being the vast majority of the workforce
- Verbal abuse is reported by 90% of female workers in the fast fashion supply chain in Sri Lanka
- In Lesotho, a binding agreement was signed in 2019 to combat rampant gender-based violence in jeans factories
- Mothers in the garment industry often have no access to childcare, forcing them to leave children in unsafe conditions
- During COVID-19 layoffs, women were disproportionately targeted for dismissal compared to men in 74% of documented cases
- Mandatory pregnancy testing is still a common practice in Export Processing Zones in Central America
- Female homeworkers doing piece work for fashion brands earn 50% less than factory counterparts
- Quid pro quo sexual harassment is prevalent in recruitment for higher-paying positions in factories
- Only 12% of brands publish data on the gender pay gap within their own supply chains
- Women in Indonesian factories reported being humiliated in front of colleagues for not meeting production targets
- Lack of menstrual hygiene management in factories causes high absenteeism among female workers
- Migrant women workers in Jordan face passport confiscation and gender-specific movement restrictions
Interpretation
Fast fashion's bargain isn't cheaper shirts—it's discounted human rights, paid mostly by women who endure sexual harassment, violence, pregnancy policing, withheld promises and dowries, lower pay and blocked promotions, no childcare or menstrual support, and routine humiliation while brands keep their supply-chain books closed.
Health and Safety
- The Rana Plaza collapse in 2013 killed 1,134 garment workers due to structural failure
- Over 2,500 workers died in the Rana Plaza collapse and the Tazreen Fashions fire combined
- Sandblasting jeans causes silicosis, a fatal lung disease, affecting thousands of workers before bans were attempted
- 60 garment workers were injured when the ceiling of a factory collapsed in Cambodia in 2013
- Workers in tanneries are exposed to chromium VI, increasing cancer rates by 50% in surrounding communities
- Garment workers regularly face 10 to 16-hour workdays during peak seasons
- In 2021, over 20 workers died in a fire at a garment factory in Cairo, Egypt
- Fainting due to malnutrition and overheating affects hundreds of workers annually in Cambodian factories
- Lack of potable water and sanitation access is reported in 40% of factories in Delhi’s garment district
- 90% of workers in the leather tanning industry in Bangladesh die before the age of 50 due to toxic environments
- Between 2012 and 2017, more than 500 fires occurred in garment factories in Pakistan
- Factory noise levels often exceed 85 decibels, causing permanent hearing loss in 20% of long-term workers
- Repetitive strain injuries affect approximately 60% of garment sewing machine operators
- During the pandemic, thousands of garment workers were denied PPE while making masks for Western brands
- The Ali Enterprises fire in Pakistan killed over 250 workers due to barred windows and locked exits
- Cotton farmers suffer higher rates of pesticide poisoning, with 200,000 deaths annually from pesticide exposure globally
- Only 25% of factories audited in Bangladesh had fully functional fire alarm systems prior to the Accord
- Frequent denial of bathroom breaks leads to high rates of urinary tract infections among female garment workers
- Inadequate ventilation in spinning mills exposes workers to cotton dust, causing byssinosis (brown lung disease)
- Structural integrity audits following Rana Plaza found safety violations in over 80,000 factories
Interpretation
Fast fashion produces clothes that outlive the people who made them, laundering tragedy into trend: Rana Plaza alone killed 1,134 workers and with Tazreen and Ali Enterprises the death toll runs into the thousands, while silicosis, chromium poisoning, fires, locked exits, lack of potable water and sanitation, 10 to 16 hour workdays, denied PPE and bathroom breaks, deafening noise, and repetitive strain leave workers and whole communities sick, maimed, and dying far too young.
Transparency and Rights
- Only 48% of major brands publish a list of their first-tier manufacturers
- Less than 12% of brands publish a list of their raw material suppliers (Tier 3)
- Union busting occurred in 35% of factories audited by the Fair Labor Association
- Only 1% of brands disclose the number of unionized workers in their supply chain
- During the pandemic, brands cancelled $40 billion in orders, refusing to pay for completed goods
- 65% of audits are announced in advance, allowing factories to hide violations
- In Myanmar, over 300 union leaders were arrested or issued warrants following the 2021 coup
- 85% of brands do not disclose their annual production volumes, hiding the scale of overproduction
- The dismissal of workers attempting to form a union is practiced in over 50% of export zones
- Freedom of Association is the least respected right in the fashion industry according to ethical trade audits
- Only 29% of brands explain how they assess supplier performance on labor standards
- 50% of brands lack a confidential grievance mechanism for workers in their supply chain
- Short-term contracts are used in 90% of Indian garment factories to prevent workers from accessing benefits
- Brands often switch suppliers if costs increase by as little as $0.05 per unit, destabilizing workforce security
- Less than 5% of brands pay their suppliers within 30 days, causing delayed wages for workers
- Shadow factories (unregistered subcontractors) produce up to 30% of fast fashion items, evading all oversight
- The breakdown of collective bargaining agreements has increased by 20% in the last decade
- Workers who strike are blacklisted in databases shared among factory owners in Bangladesh and Cambodia
- Only 2 brands out of 250 reviewed by Fashion Revolution disclose the prevalence of violations in their supply chains
- Purchasing practices of brands (rush orders, design changes) are the root cause of 60% of forced overtime cases
Interpretation
Fast fashion's glossy image masks a system propped up by invisible, underpaid hands, where brands hide suppliers and production volumes, cancel $40 billion in pandemic orders, bust unions, use announced audits and secrecy to avoid accountability, enforce short term contracts and rushed purchasing to shave pennies, and outsource the human cost to unprotected workers.
Wages and Poverty
- 93% of brands surveyed are not paying garment workers a living wage
- Garment workers in Bangladesh earn approximately 50% of what is considered a living wage
- Only 4% of the price of a piece of clothing typically goes to the worker who made it
- Minimum wages in most garment-producing countries are set at less than half of the living wage benchmark
- In Ethiopia, garment workers have earned as little as $26 per month, making them the lowest paid in the world
- 96% of major fashion brands do not disclose the number of workers in their supply chain who are paid a living wage
- 77% of UK retailers believe there is modern slavery in their supply chains due to low wage pressures
- During the COVID-19 pandemic, garment workers globally lost an estimated $11.85 billion in unpaid wages
- In Karnataka, India, garment workers are often paid 25% less than the legal minimum wage
- 50% of garment workers in Myanmar reported borrowing money to cover basic needs due to low wages
- The gap between the minimum wage and a living wage in Sri Lanka’s garment sector is approximately 45%
- Piece-rate pay systems force workers to skip meals to meet production quotas to earn a basic wage
- In Los Angeles, garment workers were found to be earning an average of $6.22 an hour before recent legislation
- 35% of surveyed garment workers in Vietnam do not earn enough to cover their basic living costs
- Brands keep 30 to 50 times the amount of profit compared to the amount paid to the workers in the Global South
- 80% of garment sector workers are trapped in a cycle of poverty despite working full time
- Wage theft in the garment industry amounts to millions of dollars annually due to unpaid overtime
- Inflation in production countries often outpaces minimum wage adjustments, reducing real wages by up to 10% annually
- In Cambodia, 80% of garment workers experience food insecurity due to low wages
- Since 2000, while fashion industry revenues doubled, real wages for garment workers in top production hubs have largely stagnated
Interpretation
Call it fast fashion because profits race ahead while wages crawl, with industry revenues doubling since 2000 even as workers receive as little as 4% of a garment’s price, routinely earn far below a living wage, and are driven into debt, hunger, and wage theft while brands hide the truth and pocket outsized gains.
References
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