Going Dark: NGOs That Are Tackling Forced Labour
When asked what the end of the world looks like, do you think of an environment similar to the one evoked in the blockbuster film Mad Max? Scarce resources, a baron wasteland, water as a luxury commodity? Interestingly, many would immediately conjure the same image, which explains why the film imagines a world in which oil has taken priority over basic human needs. In these stories, capitalism oppresses society, but if you were to ask someone working in the sweatshops of China and India today, they would say that this is not a story, but hellish reality. Capitalism has already enslaved millions, and the end of the world, for them, is already happening - behind the sewing machines in the slums of exploitation.
Image sourced from DoSomething.org, labelled “11 Facts About Sweatshops”
A new study conducted by the University of Sheffield and the Worker Rights Consortium shows that wage theft, reduced hours, and pay and employment rights violations have increased significantly over the course of the pandemic. The report was based on a survey of 1,140 workers from 302 factories in India, Honduras, Ethiopia, and Myanmar, manufacturing for a range of major fashion brands. 80% of those who had their jobs terminated unjustly had not received any severance pay, with over a third saying that jobs they had found since offered worse pay and working conditions. Rather than paying workers better money due to the conditions of the pandemic, businesses chose to further exploit the situation by preying on the financially desperate, demonstrating a complete lack of consideration for their workforce. 68% of participants said that they had no formal contract in place, while 39% stated that their working conditions did not have enough PPE adjustments or resources. Household debt levels increased by 16% due to the unprecedented conditions of the pandemic, leaving workers with no personal savings or budgeting. These statistics are disgusting. On the Global Slavery Index, both cotton and garments (apparel and clothing accessories) are ranked in the top three for products at risk of modern slavery manufacturing, with 58% of slave labour existing in these sectors. The main countries contributing to this include China, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Argentina, and Brazil. For many, this might not be new information. So why is it being discussed now?
Last year, Extinction Rebellion launched a movement called ‘Fashion Act Now’, dedicated to the “transformation of culture surrounding consumption and destruction” in the fashion industry. They created an open letter (which is actually a video – no paper here!) including quotes from leading figures such as Stella McCartney, Virgil Abloh, and Alessandro Michele, to name a few. This movement is one of the first steps pushing the industry to work harder in its role to mitigate climate and ecological breakdown. Though their page dedicates the movement to fashion's cultural influence, there are no statements regarding those at the bottom of the food chain. This absence serves as a reminder that forced labour needs to be at the forefront of the conversation surrounding fashion's changing terrain. For too long, fashion has been discussed only in relation to those at the top of its social hierarchy, but centering the voices of those experiencing its effects firsthand might actually bring about results.
Examples of organisations that are working towards the eradication of forced labour includes United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS), the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC), and the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC).
United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) and the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC)
United Students Against Sweatshops Demands Chancellor Castro: Stop The Layoffs!
USAS is a student organisation founded in 1998, with connections at over 250 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. In April 2000, USAS founded the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), which is an independent monitoring organisation investigating labour conditions in factories that produce collegiate apparel all over the world. The USAS is widely viewed as the largest anti-sweatshop community group in the US and Canada. It expresses a great deal of scepticism towards free-trade practices such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the proposed Free Trade Agreement of the Americas. The implementation of the latter made companies move off-shore for cheaper production and manufacturing, leading to thousands of jobs being lost. In 2000, Nike and other major clothing corporations renamed the Apparel Industry Partnership (AIP) the Fair Labour Association (FLA) to compete with the WRC. However, the FLA has since been discredited after all associated non-profit organisations and unions withdrew their initial support.
On their website, USAS states that Nike that refused to give the WRC access to inspect their supplier factories, which has led to the belief that their garments are being produced under sweatshop conditions: “Nike is notorious for its labour violations, and therefore can’t be trusted to voluntarily monitor its own factories with any credibility. And more than that, workers need the ability to speak up when they are paid poverty wages, face violent union retaliation, or are refused safe factory conditions.”
Clean Clothes Campaign
Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) Missions and Values - Liberation of Workers
Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) is a global network dedicated to empowering workers and improving their working conditions in the garment and sportswear industries. Founded in 1989, CCC has worked to preserve workers’ rights in fashion companies, offering additional services as a form of solidarity when conflicts between workers and businesses ensue. CCC brings together trade unions and NGOs covering a broad spectrum of perspectives and interests, such as women’s rights, consumer advocacy, and poverty reduction. The focus of this organisation is in identifying local problems and objectives and transforming them into global actions. They also create annual reports on their morals and values, with urgent appeals being prioritised to push for accountability and development. For example, the #PayUpUniqlo campaign supported around 2,000 mostly women workers, who were denied wages and severance pay after the Jaba Garmindo factory closed down.
It’s important to have discussions about forced/slave labour, as it is one of the most widespread practices in the fashion industry, aiming to maximise profit via unsustainable production methods. If every worker was properly renumerated for their contribution, the price of a garment would rise naturally and profits wouldn’t be so damning. Workers wouldn’t continue to be abused by the fast fashion companies that exploit them, and clothing would become more than just material. In order to solve these issues, we must consider things from the ground level up. Those at the bottom of the fashion pyramid do have impact on those at the top, as without those workers, the industry would cease to exist. Unionising against those accountable for ecological destruction and forced labour in the industry is the next best way to create change, laying the foundations for further improvements to be made in the future.