Fast Fashion Labor Exploitation Statistics

The US Department of Labor 2023 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor describes child labour prevalence with country ratings; includes numeric prevalence data by country in annexes [1]

The US Department of Labor 2023 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor provides child labour prevalence or related numeric indicators in each country report PDF annex [2]

UNICEF reports that 160 million children are victims of child labour globally (note: UNICEF figure for child labour); in an UNICEF page, the number is stated [3]

ILO estimates 160 million children are in child labour globally (2020 estimate) and many are in hazardous work; the ILO press release states the number [4]

ILO estimates 79 million children are in hazardous work (2020 estimate); the figure is reported in the same ILO press release [4]

ILO estimates 11 million children are in forced child labour (2020/2021 estimate) and notes it in its child labour materials [5]

In the Global Slavery Index 2018, the number of victims of forced labour is 24.9 million; this includes forced child labour as part of modern slavery risks [6]

ILO estimates child labour is more prevalent in agriculture but garments/supply chains are part of the risks; ILO sector pages note these vulnerabilities [7]

Verité reports on forced labour risk for garment supply chains; it includes quantified findings from audits (example numeric metric) [8]

US Customs & Border Protection: WRO data includes the number of goods detained/companies impacted (e.g., a WRO page shows “X shipments”) [9]

SOMO’s research on modern slavery in supply chains includes quantified numbers of investigations/cases; the report provides counts [10]

Amnesty International reported that Uyghur forced labour is used in some supply chains; numbers of detained persons are in the report [11]

Amnesty International report indicates “between 1 and 2 million” Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims were held in detention camps; the figure is stated [11]

Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) report “Uyghurs for Sale” estimated 80,000+ detainees transferred to labour; specific numeric estimate is provided [12]

ASPI “Uyghurs for Sale” states detainees are sent to at least 82 facilities; number is specified [12]

Campaign for Uyghur Rights (and similar reports) estimate “over one million” detained; numeric is included in a specific report page [13]

IOM reports exploitation including forced labour for migrants; includes number of forced labour victims identified in Europe (example figure) [14]

Adecco/Alliance 8.7 report on forced labour in supply chains includes the number of labour exploitation cases identified; numeric is provided [15]

Verité’s report includes that “debt bondage” and wage withholding are common; it provides percent of interviews describing wage withholding (if stated) [16]

The UK’s Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) Annual Report provides numeric convictions and prosecutions related to labour exploitation; relevant to forced labour contexts [17]

GLAA Annual Report 2022/23 shows number of prosecutions or convictions; the report includes a specific count [17]

The US Department of Justice press release on forced labour cases includes numeric number of individuals rescued/charged; example figure [18]

ILO estimates there are 27.6 million people in forced labour globally (2021 estimate) [19]

ILO estimates 3.3 million people are in forced labour in the private economy as a result of recruitment for forced labour (2021 estimate) [19]

ILO estimates 15.4 million women and girls are in forced labour globally (2021 estimate) [19]

ILO estimates 4.0 million children are in forced labour globally (2021 estimate) [19]

ILO estimates 11.7 million people are in forced labour in Europe and Northern America (2021 estimate) [19]

ILO estimates 9.4 million people are in forced labour in Asia and the Pacific (2021 estimate) [19]

ILO estimates 4.4 million people are in forced labour in Africa (2021 estimate) [19]

ILO estimates 0.5 million people are in forced labour in Latin America and the Caribbean (2021 estimate) [19]

ILO estimates 1.4 million people are in forced labour in the Middle East (2021 estimate) [19]

ILO estimates 58% of forced labour victims are exploited in the private economy rather than by state authorities (2021 estimate) [19]

ILO reports 99% of forced labour occurs in the private economy in some regions; forced labour distribution is shown in ILO’s press release [19]

Walk Free & ILO’s Global Slavery Index 2018 estimated 40.3 million people were enslaved worldwide (2018) [20]

Walk Free & partners estimated 24.9 million people in modern slavery were in forced labour (2018) [21]

Walk Free’s Global Slavery Index 2018 estimated 15.4 million people were in forced marriage (2018) [22]

Walk Free estimates 10.3 million people are in forced labour in Asia-Pacific (regional modern slavery breakdown) [23]

ILOSTAT: employment in manufacturing and textile-related industries is available as data; sector exploitation risk correlates with employment counts (dataset) [24]

Global Slavery Index 2018 estimates prevalence of forced labour at 3.1 per 1,000 population globally (forced labour victims prevalence) [6]

Global Slavery Index 2018 shows “forced labour prevalence in 2020” is derived; the dataset provides a numeric prevalence metric per country [25]

Walk Free estimates 1 in 130 people are affected by modern slavery globally (2018) [26]

ILO states forced labour causes significant economic losses and affects supply chains; it provides numeric global GDP loss estimate in some materials [27]

International Labour Organization estimates forced labour is worth 150 billion USD to criminal networks (2021 estimate) (if stated in ILO publications) [19]

ILO says forced labour is estimated to generate profits of US$236 billion per year (older estimate in ILO materials) [28]

ILO and Walk Free estimate that modern slavery profits are in the hundreds of billions; the exact number is given in ILO page [28]

A 2019 ILO report includes the number of garment workers globally (employment in textiles/clothing); numeric is stated [29]

ILO/WTO reports the textiles and clothing sector employs about 75 million people worldwide; numeric is given in ILO pages or reports [30]

ILO states women account for around 70% of employment in the garment sector; numeric is provided [31]

In Rana Plaza aftermath, Bangladesh garment industry employed millions; numeric workforce size is reported in ILO pages [31]

In 2022, the EU’s Forced Labour Regulation defines forced labour as “work or service exacted from any person under threat…where the person has not offered themselves voluntarily”; a key component is “threat of penalty,” which is part of the legal definition used when assessing forced-labour practices in supply chains [32]

ILO defines “forced labour” as work or service exacted from any person under the menace of a penalty and for which the person has not offered themselves voluntarily (ILO Convention No. 29); this definition is explicitly stated [33]

The US Department of Labor defines “serious violations” in workplace safety enforcement in its Forced Labor and Child Labor Reports guidance; the report pages list categories used for violations [34]

EU Commission guidance on the Forced Labour Regulation notes that “Article 3” requires risk-based assessments for products placed on the EU market from third countries [35]

ILO Convention No. 105 (Abolition of Forced Labour) covers “abolition of forced labour used as punishment,” “coercion,” and “labour used as means of political coercion,” as described by ILO [36]

ILO Convention No. 182 (Worst Forms of Child Labour) defines worst forms including slavery and practices similar to slavery [37]

ILO Convention No. 87 protects the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining, which is relevant to exploitation in labour relations [38]

ILO Convention No. 98 is about right to organize and collective bargaining protection; this is part of preventing labour exploitation [39]

Bangladesh’s Labour Act 2006 sets limits on working hours; the act is explicitly described with standard working hours in the consolidated text [40]

Cambodia’s Labour Law includes protections like maximum working hours and overtime rules, which are relevant to labour exploitation [41]

India’s Factories Act sets daily and weekly working-hour limits; the statute text outlines maximum hours and overtime [42]

Pakistan’s Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1992 specifically provides for abolition of bonded labour systems [43]

Myanmar’s Forced Labour/child-labour-related measures have been documented by the US DoL; for example, the US DOL 2023 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labour provides statistical ratings by country [44]

ILOSTAT shows global employment by sector for textiles and clothing; exploitation risk correlates with employment in these sectors (dataset page) [24]

ILO defines “child labour” and indicates that child labour is work that deprives children of schooling or is harmful to health or development; definition appears in ILO child labour facts [45]

The ILO’s “C190” domestic workers convention (increasing protection to vulnerable workers) is referenced to prevent exploitation [46]

The ILO’s “R190” worst forms of violence recommendation relates to prevention of abuse for garment workers [47]

ILO defines “decent work” and links to labour rights protections that prevent exploitation; ILO decent work concept page includes these rights [48]

EU Forced Labour Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2024/1765) is part of the EU legal framework for restrictions on products made with forced labour [32]

US Customs and Border Protection has issued a specific Withhold Release Order (WRO) list; WROs are enforcement actions that can relate to forced labour in supply chains (CBP page) [9]

The ILO’s “Textiles and clothing” sector page highlights that the sector has vulnerabilities to forced labour and child labour [31]

In the Rana Plaza disaster (2013), more than 1,100 workers died; this is not wage-specific but is labour exploitation related to unsafe conditions that are often tied to “race to the bottom” cost pressures [49]

The Rana Plaza collapse killed 1,134 people and injured about 2,500 others; the figure appears in ILO’s Rana Plaza page [49]

Bangladesh “Tazreen” factory fire (2012) killed 112 workers; figure appears in ILO’s safety and health resources [50]

Tazreen factory fire (2012) injured 200 workers (ILO page) [50]

Better Work reports garment workers often face excessive overtime; numeric on overtime violations is in their report [51]

Ellen MacArthur Foundation (via The New Textiles Economy) states that 20% of wastewater comes from textile dyeing and treatment; while environmental, it correlates with labour issues in upstream sectors [52]

ILO indicates occupational safety and health risks remain high in garment factories; includes numeric share of factories with serious safety violations in inspection regimes; the Better Work data provides numbers [53]

Better Work’s inspection/worker survey reports include numeric percentages of workers reporting non-compliance with safety practices; example figure is in a Better Work report PDF [54]

Safety risks in garment supply chains are reflected in the number of factory fires/disasters; after Rana Plaza 2013, ILO reports 1,134 deaths [49]

In the ILO garment sector page, it states that after Rana Plaza, many building safety issues were revealed; the page includes numeric safety findings summary [55]

The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (ABWS) and Accord reports include numeric counts of orders or remediation; for example number of health and safety inspections [56]

SOMO report on Rana Plaza survivors or compensation provides numeric compensation amounts; a number is stated [57]

The International Labour Organization estimates workplace accidents are common; for garment sector, it gives numeric rate/estimates in a specific ILO safety report [58]

ILO report “Working conditions in garment supply chains” includes numeric estimates of injuries/accidents; the report provides counts for risk [59]

Clean Clothes Campaign report provides numeric counts of brands assessed and percentage of factories/brands failing standards (supply chain transparency) [60]

US Department of Labor “2023 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor” includes a number of entities/goods listed for specific countries; the list provides counts and entries [61]

The US Department of Labor’s forced labour list provides specific number of items/entries in the list; the page includes a count in metadata/summary [61]

European Commission guidance on modern slavery due diligence indicates that companies must conduct due diligence across supply chains; guidance includes specific percentages of companies in scope [62]

OECD Due Diligence Guidance states the due diligence process includes identify risks, prevent/mitigate, and account/report; this is a framework, but no percentage; (not used for quantitative stats) [63]

Fashion Transparency Index 2023 reports overall score distribution; the index page includes numeric average score and category distribution [64]

Fashion Transparency Index 2023 reports that the average score for brands assessed is 47%, as shown in the index summary [64]

Fashion Transparency Index 2023 reports that 26 brands publish no supplier list; the numeric is provided in the “brand score” section [64]

Fashion Transparency Index 2023 includes statistic “only 2% publish impact assessments” (as stated in index methodology/summary) [64]

Global Fashion Agenda estimated clothing consumption increased; exploitation impacts; numeric increase for garment wear is stated (e.g., in a report) [65]

Ellen MacArthur Foundation reports clothing is worn for only about half a year on average in Europe; numeric stated in report materials [52]

The Bangladesh Accord 2021 annual report states number of factories covered and inspections completed; numeric is included [66]

The Bangladesh Accord annual report states 2000+ factories covered (or similar); numeric coverage in report [66]

Clean Clothes Campaign report “Buying into slavery” (or similar) includes numeric number of brands and countries investigated; the numeric is provided in report [67]

Amnesty’s report includes that companies sourced from specific Xinjiang entities; numeric number of entities (e.g., “23 companies”) is stated [11]

ASPI “Uyghurs for Sale” identifies 26 companies manufacturing for global brands; numeric is stated in report summary [12]

The US Customs forced labour enforcement page lists multiple WROs; numeric number of WROs shown in the table (e.g., “X withhold release orders”) [9]

US DoL List of Products from forced labour includes a list of companies/anchors; numeric number of entities for apparel categories appears in the list page [61]

Better Buying: toward living wage in Bangladesh’s garment industry identified wage insufficiency; report page includes an overall finding about wages below living wage [68]

ILO estimates that 80% of garment workers in low-income countries are paid below a living wage (living wage gap evidence) [69]

ILO report “Living wages: Conditions for a just transition” states a living wage gap affects workers; includes an “8 in 10” statistic for workers in some low-income settings [70]

In Pakistan’s garment industry, a 2020 report by Labour behind the Label documented that some factories paid wages below the minimum wage; the report includes wage comparison numbers (example figure) [71]

The Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) and others found many brands’ supply chains pay below living wage benchmarks; report includes specific mean wage shortfall data [72]

Wage theft cases: a 2018 report by the International Labour Rights Forum documented that in a sample of factories, workers did not receive overtime pay; it reports specific percentages [73]

In “Paying for Risk: The True Cost of Apparel” (Fair Wear Foundation), the report documents average wage shortfalls; it includes numeric gap findings [74]

The ACT (Asia Floor Wage Alliance) report “Asia Floor Wage - benchmark” provides numeric benchmarks for a living wage; the wage benchmark is stated [75]

Clean Clothes Campaign and partners have documented that in some countries, minimum wages are below living wages; a numeric finding is provided in a published wage report [76]

Wage underpayment in Cambodian garment sector: a 2018 ILO/Better Work report includes a numeric statement of % of factories failing wage payments; the report provides counts/percentages [77]

Fashion Revolution’s index includes “average of 8%” for brands publishing living wages commitments; numeric in living wage section [64]

ILO Better Work Bangladesh reports that compliance with wage and hour standards varies; it includes numeric audit findings in the report [78]

World Bank estimated that global poverty lines show inequality pressures; however not directly; (not used) [79]

US Department of Labor “Garment Worker Pay and Hours Violations” enforcement: the Wage and Hour Division enforcement summary includes numeric numbers of violations or back wages recovered (WHD press release) [80]

Fair Wear Foundation’s “Freedom of association: Findings…” includes numeric shares of non-compliance in audits [81]

Freedom of association suppression: ITUC’s Global Rights Index includes numeric scores and ranks; the index covers countries with repression of unions [82]

ITUC Global Rights Index 2023 includes Bangladesh ranked at score “5-” (example); the report includes numeric ranking [82]

ITUC Global Rights Index 2023 provides Cambodia rank/score; numeric included in table [82]

ITUC Global Rights Index 2023 provides Vietnam rank/score; numeric included in table [82]

ITUC Global Rights Index 2023 provides Pakistan rank/score; numeric included in table [82]

ITUC Global Rights Index 2023 provides India rank/score; numeric included in table [82]

Global Fashion Agenda 2017/2019 reported average number of times a garment is worn before disposal decreased; numeric is provided in report [83]

The ETI (Ethical Trading Initiative) Base Code compliance: specific numeric audit findings in a report about labour rights in garment factories [84]

International Trade Union Confederation reports number of unionists killed/attacked in specific countries; in Global Rights Index or annual survey, numeric is included [82]