IT'S TIME WE RECOGNISE THE HUMAN BEINGS BEHIND THE CLOTHES THAT WE WEAR
35 million people around the world who sew our clothes make some of the lowest wages globally 🤯
the garment industry turns over almost $3 trillion a year. yet garment workers, - 80% of them women - earn as little as $21 a month, according to Labour Behind the Labour (LBL). poverty wages, long hours, forced overtime, unsafe working conditions, sexual, physical and verbal abuse, repression of trade union rights and short term contracts are all commonplace in the clothing industry.
LBL says during the pandemic, millions of people are at risk of being laid off and have not received their full wages for months. the majority of these workers are women, many of which report skipping meals, borrowing money to buy food, and struggling to provide for their families as the pandemic’s economic crisis rages on. Boohoo, Next and Primark are some big UK clothing brands we all know of, just to name a few.
it is no secret that for decades garment workers have been exploited across the world, but out of sight out of mind right?
wrong. garment workers aren’t solely located in less economically developed countries like you may think, garment worker exploitation is happening in our own country.
cheap online fast-fashion brands such as Boohoo have had their profits soar throughout the pandemic. but at what cost? workers in Leicester are owed million of pounds in back pay after years of £3.50/hr work in illegal exploitation. for years Boohoo have refused to say where their clothes are produced. maybe because they’re made by workers on illegally low wages, working hugely long hours, paid through false pay slips and forced to work during the pandemic in unsafe conditions..
by now you must be thinking “so what can i do to help?”, you can:
sign petitions! - such as this one https://boowho.org/petition/
take to social media using the hashtags #PayYourWorkers and #GoTransparent
educate yourself, next time you purchase new clothes think twice about their ethical practises
at SQUISHO, we’re proud that our clothing supplier is approved by the Fair Ware Foundation which is an independent, non-profit organisation that works to improve conditions for workers in garment factories. our clothing suppliers work closely with their partner factories to ensure they are up to standard and looking after their employees correctly. 🤍
the eight pillars of FWF’s standards are:
employment is freely chosen
no exploitation of child labour
no discrimination of labour
a legally binding employment relationship
payment of a living wage rather than the minimum wage
reasonable work hours
safe and healthy working conditions
freedom of association
our SQUISHO clothing is not only ethical approved, but also vegan approved and made of organic cotton. 🌱
AND our collections donate to various charities! find out more about us here and check out our organic cotton adult and kids clothing!
sources:
https://labourbehindthelabel.org/boohoo-this-black-friday-pay-back-your-workers-and-go-transparent
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/boohoo-fashion-giant-faces-slavery-investigation-57s3hxcth