Major fashion brands are expanding by violating workers’ rights: Amnesty

WEB DESK: Global fashion giants are thriving on the exploitation of low-paid and unpaid women workers across South Asia, Amnesty International has revealed in a new report. The organisation says millions of garment workers, most of them women, are trapped in a cycle of silence, intimidation and poverty, while brands, factory owners and governments maintain what it called an “unholy alliance”.

According to Amnesty, weak oversight in Pakistan has allowed extremely low wages to become “epidemic”, and forming a union has become nearly impossible. The report states that in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, violations of basic labour rights, anti-union crackdowns and pressure from state authorities have become routine.

The findings come from two new investigations: “Denying garment workers in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka the right to organise” and “Fashion’s Indifference: The urgent need for brands to protect workers’ rights.” Together, they detail widespread abuses observed between September 2023 and August 2024, based on 88 interviews connected to 20 factories.

Amnesty Secretary General Agnès Callamard said fashion brands, factory owners and regional governments had jointly sustained a system built on the exploitation of women working in “the lowest-paid and harshest conditions for decades”. She said the entire business model of the garment industry prioritised profit over fundamental rights, particularly those of women in the four South Asian countries.

As part of the study, Amnesty asked 21 major global brands for information on their human rights and labour protections. Adidas, ASOS, Fast Retailing, Inditex, Otto Group and Primark provided full responses. Marks & Spencer and Walmart offered partial information, while Boohoo, H&M, Desigual, Next and Gap failed to provide any meaningful data.

The report says the lack of accountability and corporate indifference continues to fuel systemic exploitation, and urges governments and brands to take immediate steps to protect workers and ensure fair wages, safe workplaces and freedom of association.