The
Garment sector was one of the first industries in which debates about supply
chain responsibility and labor rights came to the fore. Since the late 1980s
civil society organizations such as the Clean Clothes Campaign have been urging
companies to improve working conditions throughout their supply chains.
Public
indignation about sweatshop conditions have catalyzed the emerging of
initiatives to improve working conditions in the garment supply chains, such as
company codes of conduct and multistakeholder initiatives. These initiatives
have undoubtedly led to some improvements; still questions can be raised as to
which extend things have really changed for the better on the work floor.
Company codes of conduct for example look good in letter but in practice the
effectiveness of these codes is often undermined by the brand companies' own
purchasing practices.
The
garment sector is hit hard by the global economic recession. As consumer demand
has stagnated many operating facilities have had to shut down leaving thousands
of garment workers unemployed. Women, who are mainly found in garment
production, are particularly hard hit. Also migrant workers are among the first
ones to lose their jobs. Many of them are now returning to their rural home
towns. To maintain their competitiveness many countries find themselves forced
to further reduce production costs. Major tendencies in the sector include:
further flexibilisation of labor and increasing pressure on workers to reach
production targets.
Garments News
06-03-2012
Today, the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) and the India Committee of the Netherlands (ICN) are presenting a sneak preview of their upcoming report on labour abuses in the South Indian garment industry. The two-pager preview is published on the occasion of a meeting of the Sumangali Bonded Labour group of the UK-based Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI). SOMO and ICN call upon garment brands to take their responsibility to ensure that workers’ rights are respected throughout their supply chain.
20-05-2011
Big garment brands and retailers have their products made under exploitative and unhealthy conditions by girls in Tamil Nadu, South India. The girls, mostly younger than 18 and from a Dalit (‘outcaste’) background are employed under the Sumangali Scheme. In its worst form, this employment scheme stands for bonded labour, as described in ‘Captured by Cotton’ a report published today by SOMO and the India Committee of the Netherlands (ICN). The report features cases studies of four large manufacturers.
16-09-2010
Indian textile workers make clothing in harrowing conditions for clothing chain stores such as C&A and H&M. The workers are barely permitted to leave the factory site, are paid more than a quarter of their wages only after three years, and there are no trade unions. These findings were published by the Dutch newspaper Volkskrant in early September, after a visit, together with SOMO, to the textile factory KPR Mill. Other Dutch and Belgian newspapers, television and radio also showed interest in the story. Dutch political parties submitted written questions about this issue in Parliament. H&M and C&A both responded in the press.
24-07-2009
India’s garment industry has been rapidly growing the last few years. The growth of the garment sector however, did not go hand in hand with an improvement of working conditions for the garment workers. In contrast, the rising daily production targets for garment workers caused increasing and often unpaid overtime work, verbal abuse and harassment by supervisors.
