Watch Transparentem’s Virtual Side Session from the 9th OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector
On February 14, Transparentem hosted a virtual side event on migrant worker rights, as part of the 9th OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector. At the event, Transparentem discussed findings and outcomes from three of our investigations in Malaysia and recommendations for further improvements to protect workers’ rights–in Malaysia and […]
Transparentem Virtual Side Session: Mitigating Forced Labor Risk among Migrant Workers in Apparel Production
The 9th OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector will take place on 16 – 17 February 2023 both virtually and in person at the OECD Conference Centre in Paris. The OECD Garment Forum is accompanied by a vibrant agenda of side sessions organized by partner. Transparentem is pleased to present […]
Tech-Driven Tools To Uncover Labor Exploitation
“The report Hidden Harm: Audit Deception in Apparel Supply Chains and the Urgent Case for Reform, by the nonprofit organization Transparentem, documents many cases of deception during social audits in India, Malaysia, and Myanmar.”
Migrant Workers in Malaysia’s Garment Sector Face Severe Exploitation
On Sept. 23, the Malaysian immigration department arrested a Bangladeshi garment factory owner, along with 45 illegal foreign workers, on suspicion of using fake temporary work permits obtained by hacking government systems. The workers, aged between 17 and 67, consisted of Bangladesh, Indonesian and Myanmar nationals, according to immigration director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud.
2021 Apparel and Footwear Benchmark Report
Where labor rights abuses are identified at a subcontractor, it is important that remedy is provided to impacted workers, as ensuring the subcontractor is authorized is not the responsibility of workers. What should be the norm is only practiced sporadically: for example, the US sportswear company Brooks was highlighted by the investigative organization Transparentem for […]
Mind the Gap: Migrant Workers Need Respect for Rights, Not Commitments on Paper
In spring 2018, Transparentem, an NGO focused on investigating labor rights abuses, approached apparel companies with forced labor findings at… Malaysian factories. Such findings are not new; the organization also noted that similar findings and mistreatment of migrant workers had already been identified in the Malaysian apparel and footwear sector ten years earlier. In October […]
Du sang et des larmes sur les gants malaisiens
En 2019, après des mois d’enquête et de pressions, l’ONG américaine Transparentem a obtenu 1,6 million d’euros de réparations pour… 2500 immigrés employés dans l’habillement malaisien qui avaient payé pour être recrutés.
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 […]
