Fast Fashion Worker Exploitation Statistics

Approximately 11% of children in the world are engaged in child labor many in fashion supply chains

One in five pieces of cotton apparel worldwide is linked to Uyghur forced labor in Xinjiang

160 million children are in child labor globally with the textile industry being a major employer

The Sumangali scheme in southern India traps thousands of young girls in bonded labor

State-imposed forced labor dominates the cotton harvest in Turkmenistan

Uzbek government forces over a million citizens to harvest cotton annually though reforms are slowly starting

In the Global Slavery Index fashion is listed as the second highest risk category for modern slavery

Child labor has been found in the sequin sewing industry in home-based centers in India

North Korean forced laborers have been documented working in Chinese garment factories

58% of major companies cannot identify where their raw materials come from increasing forced labor risks

Migrant workers in Malaysia paid recruitment fees equivalent to 3 years of salary binding them to factories

Children as young as 12 have been found working in leather tanneries in Bangladesh

Forced labor generates $150 billion in illegal profits per year much of it in manufacturing

There are virtually no checks on child labor in the informal subcontracting levels of fast fashion

Syrian refugee children have been identified making clothes for British brands in Turkey

Brazil has a 'Dirty List' of employers that includes fashion brands involved in slave labor

71% of fashion companies do not disclose their approach to assessing modern slavery risks

Evidence of prison labor being used for garment production has surfaced in Vietnam

Debt bondage affects 50% of migrant garment workers in Thailand

The US bans cotton from Turkmenistan and Xinjiang explicitly due to forced labor prevalence

Approximately 80% of the world's 75 million garment workers are women

One in seven women garment workers in Bangalore has been forced to commit a sexual act at work

The gender pay gap in the fashion supply chain can be as high as 60% in some regions

60% of female garment workers in Bangladesh report using intimidation or violence to reach production targets

Routine pregnancy tests are required for hiring in factories in export processing zones in Mexico

90% of female workers in Lesotho reported gender-based violence in Levi's supplier factories

Women are disproportionately represented in low-skill roles while 80% of supervisors are men

Verbal abuse is reported by 74% of female garment workers in Vietnam

Many female workers in Indonesia are fired upon becoming pregnant to avoid maternity pay

In Tirupur India predominantly female workers are recruited into Sumangali schemes that restrict marriage

Less than 2% of major brands have a specific strategy to address gender-based violence

Sexual harassment is cited as a primary reason for high turnover among female workers in Cambodia

Female garment workers in El Salvador have reported managing menstrual cycles with scraps of fabric due to bathroom restrictions

44% of female workers in Myanmar reported feeling unsafe at their factory

Home-based workers who are 90% women earn 50% less than factory workers

Reports indicate an increase in sexual demands for wages during the Covid-19 payment crisis

In Turkey Syrian refugee women are paid significantly less than their male counterparts in textile shops

Age discrimination affects women over 35 who are often deemed 'too old' for fast fashion lines

Only 3% of supply chain leadership positions are held by women despite the workforce being female-dominated

Widows and single mothers are often targeted for the most precarious department roles in India

Silicosis a deadly lung disease affects thousands of workers sandblasting denim

43 million tons of chemical inputs are used in textile production annually affecting worker health

Tanneries in Hazaribagh Bangladesh put workers at 90% risk of skin or respiratory diseases

Garment workers exposed to synthetic fibers report a 30% higher rate of respiratory issues

The life expectancy of a tanner in Dhaka is less than 50 years due to chemical exposure

27 million workers suffer from work-related diseases in the industry globally per year

Bisphenol A (BPA) a chemical linked to infertility is found in the blood of receipt-handling retail workers

Prolonged standing leads to musculoskeletal disorders in 60% of assembly line workers

Noise levels in textile mills often exceed 90dB causing permanent hearing loss in 20% of staff

Cotton farmers suffer from acute pesticide poisoning at a rate of 3 to 10% annually

Workers in viscose production are exposed to Carbon Disulfide causing madness and heart attacks

Heat exhaustion causes fainting in hundreds of Cambodian garment workers every year during summer

Due to fiber dust byssinosis (brown lung disease) persists in cotton spinning mills

Less than 15% of textile workers in developing nations are provided with proper PPE like masks

Chromium VI used in leather tanning is a known carcinogen affecting groundwater and workers

Mass fainting episodes are reported in 1 in 5 Cambodian footwear factories

Eye strain and vision loss affect 40% of embroidery workers due to poor lighting

Anemia is prevalent in over 50% of female garment workers in Bangalore due to poor nutrition

Formaldehyde usage in wrinkle-free clothing is linked to myeloid leukemia in textile workers

Microplastic inhalation is an emerging threat with workers inhaling thousands of fibers daily

93% of brands surveyed are not paying garment workers a living wage

Garment workers in Bangladesh earn as little as 33 cents an hour

During the COVID-19 pandemic garment workers lost an estimated $11.85 billion in wages

Only 2% of the retail price of a typical pair of jeans goes to the worker who made them

In Ethiopia some factory workers have earned a base pay of just $26 a month

Less than 10% of workers in the global fashion supply chain are paid a living wage

77% of brands in the UK do not report on the living wage gap in their supply chains

In Myanmar the minimum wage for garment workers was set at approximately $3.50 per day before recent political instability

96% of fashion brands do not disclose the number of workers in their supply chain paying union dues

Bangladeshi garment workers' minimum wage covers only 48% of the basic cost of living in a slum

Over 50% of garment workers in Bangalore India have accrued debt to meet daily expenses

European fashion brands refused to pay for $16 billion worth of goods during the start of the pandemic impacting worker wages

A living wage in Cambodia is estimated to be over $500 while the minimum wage sits around $200

In Vietnam the minimum wage meets only about 37% of a living wage benchmark

99% of fast fashion workers in Los Angeles earn piece-rate wages often resulting in sub-minimum wage pay

Fashion CEOs earn in 4 days what a female garment worker in Bangladesh earns in a lifetime

Inflation in 2022-2023 effectively cut garment worker real wages by over 10% in major production hubs

Wage theft in the garment industry amounts to millions of dollars annually even in developed nations like the US

Major brands often demand 5% to 10% price reductions from suppliers year-over-year forcing wage suppression

85% of garment workers in Indonesia surveyed reported having to borrow money to buy food

Garment workers often work 14 to 16 hours a day specifically in peak seasons

Forced overtime is a standard practice in factories for 65% of major supply chains

The Rana Plaza collapse in 2013 killed 1134 garment workers due to structural negligence

In the past decade over 1500 large-scale fires have occurred in garment factories globally

Only 12% of garment workers have access to a formal trade union

60% of factories in Delhi informal settlements operate without fire extinguishers

Short-term contracts are used to employ 80% of workers in some Asian hubs avoiding benefits payouts

Approximately 260 workers died in the Ali Enterprises factory fire in Pakistan due to barred windows

Workers in 35% of surveyed factories are denied bathroom breaks to maintain production speed

Retaliation against union leaders occurs in 20% of supplier factories for global brands

In Cambodia over 40% of union leaders have been fired or suspended since the pandemic began

90% of workers in the fast fashion supply chain have no sickness insurance

Factory lines are often set 20-30% faster than standard time measurements allow causing burnout

Millions of home-based garment workers have no legal standing or employment contracts at all

In 2020 major brands cancelled $40 billion in orders leaving factories unable to pay workers

50% of sourcing managers admit to switching suppliers if production time is too slow encouraging unsafe speeds

Factory lockdowns during protests in Bangladesh have led to thousands of arbitrary dismissals

Migrant workers in Thailand often have their passports confiscated by factory owners

Subcontracting to unauthorized factories occurs in roughly 30% of standard production orders

Only 55% of global brands publish a code of conduct that applies to second-tier suppliers