Pay-to-play, pay-to-stay: the high cost of Indonesian apparel jobs
When Susi, a 25-year-old sewing operator in Indonesia, found work at a garment manufacturer in West Java, she paid one… month’s wages upfront to a middleman to secure her job. She quit the strenuous job within one week, but received no refund. To secure her next position, Susi repeatedly paid around a month’s wages for […]
Sourcing from Myanmar Requires Extraordinary Due Diligence. Here’s Why
As fashion brands and retailers begin to reset and reshape their supply chains as they emerge from the global coronavirus… pandemic, a new multi-year investigation has identified some of the risks at stake when sourcing from garment factories in Myanmar. Highlighted exclusively here on just-style, child labour and audit deception are among the ongoing challenges.
A Close Look at a Fashion Supply Chain Is Not Pretty
TAL Apparel is one of the most powerful companies in the global fashion supply chain that many consumers have never… heard of. Its factories make huge numbers of shirts — particularly for men — for brands including Brooks Brothers, Bonobos and LL Bean. In fact, TAL Apparel claims it makes one in six dress shirts […]
Fashion Transparency Index 2020 Edition
In Malaysia, Transparentem’s multi-year investigation identified endemic labour rights abuses of migrant workers in five factories…
The Dark Secrets Lurking Inside Your Outdoor Gear
Reports of unfair labor practices in the apparel industry seem to come with depressing regularity, and most recently, they’ve involved… some prominent outdoor gear brands. In late June, a nonprofit called Transparentem released a report alleging abuse, including physical force and forced labor, at Malaysian factories that supply brands like Nike and Under Armour. Then, […]
Transparentem Exposes Environmental and Human Rights Abuses of Fashion Industry
Operating a trillion-dollar market worldwide, the fashion industry has been linked to significant environmental and human rights abuses – generating… unprecedented pollution, employing people and children under conditions akin to slavery, and exacerbating a culture of mindless and highly damaging consumerism.
H&M’s Different Kind of Clickbait
The H&M group sells an estimated three billion articles of clothing per year. Its revenue makes it among the top…
Human Rights Due Diligence in Malaysia’s Manufacturing Sector
An investigation by non–profit Transparentem found serious labour abuses at five apparel factories in Malaysia, where hundreds of migrant workers… had paid illegal recruitment fees, ranging from RM 3,109 up to RM 18,182 (GBP 596 –3,489), sometimes exceeding one year’s salary. Four of the factories investigated also commonly retained workers’ passports and other documents, practices […]
Breaking The Chain
It’s difficult to face the reality that there are 40 million people living in slavery throughout the world. That’s more… enslaved people today than in 1860, the date at which most Americans believe the practice to have been at its peak, soon to be ended with slavery’s official abolition in the US.
23 Companies Part of Transparentem Forced Labor Investigation
Benjamin Skinner discusses Transparentem on MSNBC…
