Exploitation in the fashion world under human rights scrutiny

Labor exploitation, obstacles to union organizing and the environmental impact of discarded waste are some of the textile industry problems that most alarm international organizations.

Among the various forms in which social exploitation manifests itself, the fashion industry has in recent years become a sector that raises concern. The textile industry linked to the fashion market has become one of the areas of human rights violations worldwide that draws the most criticism and warnings from international bodies. Repression, abuse, conditions of slavery, lack of regulation and the systematic denial of union organizing are some of the elements being denounced in a market that grows exponentially every year.

This was the basis of the recent Amnesty International (AI) report, which denounces the situation, finding some of its most extreme examples in countries such as Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan. The document, titled “La trampa de la moda” (The Fashion Trap), reviews the multiple violations suffered by the workforce in these regions. Enabled jointly by governments and companies, these societies reproduce a production model to the detriment of human rights.  

The investigation draws on surveys conducted through more than 80 interviews at some twenty factories in these countries, where factory owners, heads of fashion companies and political regimes form a network of widespread exploitation. One of the most worrying elements in these cases is the obstruction of union organizing. 

The impossibility of collective agreements and bargaining frameworks in these countries leaves hundreds of workers (especially women workers) in conditions of absolute vulnerability. Grueling working hours, excessive workloads, precarious conditions and low wages are some of the most prominent consequences. 

Likewise, the consequences of these problems extend directly or indirectly to children. According to data released by UNICEF, some 100 million children around the world suffer the consequences of textile exploitation. This is either because they are subjected to child labor or because they are the children of parents working in those contexts. The European Commission has also raised this problem in relation to child exploitation in cotton, the raw material at the base of the textile industry and a focus of debate on the industry's role in modern slavery.  

In 2024, an audit by the mega-corporation Shein covering the previous year detected several cases of child labor at the companies that produce the clothing it sells globally. The production and marketing practices of Shein have been the subject of geopolitical debate over its legal regulation and the working conditions of those involved in its operations, including suppliers, workers and distributors, among others. 

Fashion and discrimination against women

In addition to the human rights and labor problems, the textile industry also has a problem of exploitation of women, since half of the jobs in a garment factory are held by women. As reported by AI, out of a total of approximately 94 million people whose jobs depend on the textile industry, it is estimated that more than 60% are women, according to data from the ILO. Amnesty has denounced that, in this sector, human rights and labor abuses are “systemic” and that, in a field where men's wages are low, pay is even lower among women.

Cheap and fast: “fast-fashion” exploitation

The global expansion of garment production, combined with consumption channeled through the internet and social media, has generated a new wave of mass overproduction. Fast fashion is a phenomenon linked to the mass sale of garments produced quickly and sold at low prices in the retail sector. A report by the Australian Human Rights Institute states that in Asia alone the textile industry employs some 60 million workers, and that a large share of them work on an outsourced basis for the large corporations. This increases the risk of rights violations in an increasingly demanding market. 

Seventy-five-hour working weeks, wages of £0.30 per garment and tons of clothing burned as surplus are some of the conditions that have been pointed out in connection with the “fast-fashion” model. The humanitarian organization Anti-Slavery International has warned about the scale of overproduction by firms such as Shein and the risk of breaching UN recommendations on climate change. According to figures from the Geneva Environment Network, 60% of the materials used in the fashion industry are plastic and less than 1% of the material is recycled, while the impact of textile waste on the environment is severe.

Guillermo Whpei

President of Fundación para la Democracia