Rana Plaza in Bangladesh collapsed in 2013, killed more than 1,100 garment workers. Bayazid Akter/Demotix. All Rights Reserved.
Martin Luther King once said, “all labour that uplifts humanity has dignity and status and should be undertaken with meticulous excellence”. This sentiment has been largely lost in our world of global supply chains and bargain-basket prices, but I would see it revived. As good a place as any to start such a project is in Bangladesh, where millions upon millions of people work under harsh conditions to supply multinational companies with the goods westerners want to buy – yet there is little concern for ensuring their rights as labourers in return. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the ready-made garment industry.
Another May Day has just passed and once again designers and their spring collections eclipse any mention of the grim reality facing the people who make our clothes. Right now in sweatshops across the world, millions of garment workers, mainly women, struggle to survive on poverty wages while also providing for their children. Sometimes they are forced to work 14-hour days in appalling conditions. The fast fashion industry is inherently, inextricably exploitative. It’s not about one brand being bad and another one less so. Regardless of the label sewn onto the back of the neck, to remain competitive in this industry requires companies to pay poverty wages to the people who produce clothing.
