Fashion Victims
War on Wants new report ‘fashion victims’ (download the report at www.waronwant.org) has found workers in Bangladesh are regularly working 80 hrs a week and being paid just 5 pence an hour to produce the cheap clothes available at Primark, Tesco and Asda’s ‘george’ range.
All three stores have made a public commitment to increase their wages and pay the minimum wage (equivalent to £22 per month) to their workers. All three have pledged that their workers should not work for more than 48 hours per week on a regular basis and they should have one day off in seven.
They’ve lied.
Sadly the workers interviewed by War on Wants stated that they are often forced to work 140 hours a month overtime or face dismissal in order to get the latest looks into Britain’s shops in time. And instead of the minimum wage of £22 they get just £8 per month.
The workers told War on Wants reporters how the managers of factories had been warned before the social auditor’s visits and the workers were bullied into lying to the auditors about pay, working hours and safety.
Bargain retailers such as Primark, Asda and Tesco are not loosing any of their own profits to sell cheap clothes, they do it by exploiting the women who make the clothes. Desperate for jobs and with no other employment options, these women can’t just leave because the pay is awful and they are forced to work unpaid overtime. They have no choice, they are trapped into staying and the billionaire owners of Primark, Asda, and Tesco know this and exploit their desperation.
It seems a double blow because of the amazing potential of overseas investments. UK companies could invest in countries like Bangladesh and open factories which paid fair wages, which protect the environment, which have flexible working hours, which support their staff with paid holidays, child care and training. Even if they provided all these services they would still save money in comparison to owning and operating a factory in the UK.
There are no employment laws to protect the Bangladeshi women who work in these factories, there are no strict environmental laws stating how waste must be disposed of, or setting limits for the amount of toxins released in the rivers. This open lawless environment gives companies an amazing choice. Do they choose to ensure their investment helps to provide security and employment, support the education of their employees and their children, protect the environment and improve the economic stability of the country? Or safe in the knowledge that there is no legislation that can touch them, do they choose to take advantage of the country’s need for investment and locate themselves wherever a government offers tax breaks, where they don’t need to reduce waste or dispose of their chemicals safely, where they can just pour them into the nearest river and where the workers are so desperate for jobs they will settle for anything and not make a fuss about having a union, a minimum wage, a safe working environment or time off ?
To abuse this need and maximise their profits ? Or invest supportively and invest some profit in human welfare? Does it seem a tough choice?
We know from the prices they charge for their clothes and the work of organisations like War on Want that Primark, Asda and Tesco have chosen the first option. They take advantage of desperate people and force them to work long hours in dangerous conditions for a tiny wage that doesn’t even meet minimum wage standards.
Are you going to allow them to continue? Do you think there is no alternative?
As consumers we own companies like Primark, Asda and Tesco. They are millionaires because every week millions of us give them our money. We have an amazing choice before us. We can give these companies our money and fund them to continue to abuse women who don’t have the luxury of choice. Or we can choose to not give our money to these companies. Instead we can financially support companies who respect human rights, treat people with respect and pay them a fair wage. Companies who source their materials with respect for the earth and dispose of their waste safely. These companies supply quality clothes whose prices reflect the effort that has gone into making them and honour the chain of relationship involved.
Check the ethical pages for sources of fair trade clothes and lookout for the fairtrade ranges coming into M&S, Topshop and Monsoon. If you want to help stop this exploitation or at the very least if you don’t want to fund it; follow the advice of War On Want…
- Check out www.cleanupfashion.co.uk
- Buy ethical clothes that last a long time.
- Buy from charity shops.
- Have clothes swaps with friends.
- Write to the companies you are avoiding and tell them why - see addresses are in the downloadable report on www.waronwant.org)
- Write to companies you do buy from or used to buy from and ask them about their policy, tell them you want guarantees about how their staff are treated - see addresses in the downloadable report on www.waronwant.org)
- Write to the UK government and ask them to support the regulation of UK companies overseas.
