Link between fashion and worker suffering an uneasy fit

LEADING Australian companies, including Oroton and Seed are under fire for failing to publicly disclose how and where their clothes are produced.

Now, a new report on the fashion industry reveals thousands of garment workers — including children — endure appalling conditions for subsistence pay, well below international guidelines.

The research, conducted by international aid and development organisation Baptist World Aid Australia, highlights the practices of more than 300 major global and domestic fashion brands,

So the next time you buy shoes or clothing, spare a thought for the garment worker paid less than $7 for a 16-hour day who may have made your purchase.

And the problem isn’t just with the 40 million garment workers overseas — it’s happening right here.

For example, ACTU President Ged Kearney admits she was brought to tears recently by the real life story of a woman who worked through the night here to to produce beautiful dresses. Each garment went on to be sold for $500. But the woman received $50 for her nigh time labour.

“This mother told an inquiry into insecure employment she worked through the night on a regular basis to sew dresses,” Ms Kearney told a seminar on supply chains this week.

“She was paid $50 for the completed garment that went on to be sold for $500. When we asked how she managed to stay wake overnight she replied: “fear”.

Now, the new fashion report from Baptist World Aid, Behind the Barcode, reveals many companies have knowledge of their complex supply chains, and the brutal working conditions endured by many as a result.

In the new guide, Oroton was graded a “D”, while Seed, Best and Less and Lorna Jane were graded an “F”.

However, there are improvements.

Target, Kmart and brands owned by the Specialty Fashion Group all scored well after being accused three years ago of having little to no knowledge of their supply chains.

See how popular brands sold in Australia rank on worker welfare

Abuses in the garment industry were highlighted after the collapse after the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh three years ago that killed more than 1,130 garment workers.

Bangladesh is now the world’s second-largest garment industry producer behind China. It exports more than $750 million worth of cheap, fast fashion to Australia.

And the new Australian fashion industry report reveals many brands still aren’t doing enough to protect workers in their international supply chains.

By claiming ignorance over their supply chains, unions and human rights groups point out there is a high risk workers are exposed to exploitation and sweatshop conditions.

“We are encouraging those companies to do more to be more transparent to let us know their supply chains are strong and that workers are being protected,” says Gershon Nimbalker, the author of Baptist World Aid’s Australian Fashion Report.

Meanwhile, an Oxfam survey of 1,000 consumers shows 89 per cent would pay more to ensure the safety of garment workers.

And the ACTU agrees, calling for more corporate accountability.

“Just as these companies declare only a tiny portion of their true income to the tax office, hiding the rest in fraudulent shell companies, so too do they declare only a tiny portion of their official workforce,” she says.

The ACTU backed calls from human rights groups for transparency in how a range of goods, from fashion to medical supplies and electronics are produced.

“We need to also expose the elaborate system of fraudulent sub-contracting arrangements that allow the richest corporations to hide human rights abuses in their global supply chains,” says Ms Kearney.

“It is through these sub-contracting arrangements that the big corporations, the ones that control 60 per cent of global production, transport and services through their supply chains, are hiding their workforce.

“Many of the workers in this hidden workforce are children — something unions and NGOs are working hard to fight across our region to expose.”