Workers Rights news and archive

Best of Bangladesh (BoB) tells positive stories of textile production, but not without controversy

The first edition of Best of Bangladesh (BoB) came to fruition this month. On September 4-5, the Gashouder Westergas in Amsterdam flooded with professionals from different sectors to celebrate five decades of trade between Europe and Bangladesh. The event, organized by the Bangladesh Apparel Exchange (BAE), looked to revolutionize the image of...

Fashion

Fair Wear and GoodWeave partner to combat child, forced labour in fashion supply chains

Fair Wear Foundation and GoodWeave International, two organisations advocating for fair working practices in the textile industry, have joined forces to address child and forced labour in “hidden and informal parts of apparel and textile supply chains”. They said their combined resources will help companies “seeking to respect human rights and...

BusinessFeatured

Ralph Lauren, Diesel and Hugo Boss face Canadian watchdog investigation for forced labour claims

A number of fashion and apparel companies are facing investigations by a Canadian watchdog in regards to complaints alleging there was evidence of forced labour in their production. The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) published its initial reports for each of the companies in question, responding to a series of complaints...

Fashion Featured

Labour rights group urges Next and Superdry to pay owed Cambodian Workers

The Labour Behind the Label (LBL) initiative is leading efforts to ensure fashion companies Next and Superdry fulfill their obligation of 500,000 dollars owed to Cambodian garment workers affected by the Wai Full Textiles factory closure during Covid-19. According to LBL, Next, Superdry, and Asos received supplies from Wai Full Textiles. The...

BusinessFeatured

H&M to investigate alleged labour abuses at Myanmar garment factories

Swedish fashion giant H&M is set to investigate 20 alleged cases of labour abuses at its supplier factories in Myanmar, according to a report. It comes after a wider investigation by the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), seen by Reuters, uncovered 156 cases of labour abuses at Myanmar garment factories in the year to February...

Business

L’Officiel reaches settlement agreement over failure to pay freelancers

L’Officiel USA, the American subsidiary of the French media firm, has announced that it has come to a final resolution over its alleged failure to pay freelancers, without the admission of wrongdoing. The agreement was reached with the City of New York, which had sued the agency back in November 2021 in light of claims that it violated the...

Business

Inditex to make 'gradual' exit from Myanmar

Inditex, the parent company of Zara, Zara Home, Pull & Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius and Oysho, will no longer source clothes from Myanmar, an Inditex spokesperson has said. The fashion giant is halting purchases as a result of a campaign by global labour union IndustriALL to persuade companies not to invest in the country...

Business

Gap becomes newest signatory of Pakistan Accord

American retail group Gap Inc. has become the latest member to sign the Pakistan Accord, bringing the total number of partner garment and textile brands to 64. In a statement on its LinkedIn, International Accord said: “The International Accord is pleased to welcome Gap Inc. as a signatory to the Pakistan Accord. “We are encouraged by Gap Inc.’s...

CultureFeatured

SAG/AFTRA strikes: Why should the fashion industry pay attention?

It's been six days and counting since the cast of the highly anticipated motion picture Oppenheimer walked out of their UK premiere following the announcement that wider Hollywood would be joining the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike. The highly publicised move sparked widespread discussions surrounding what exactly the strike is...

Business

Inditex believed to be making Myanmar exit

Spanish fast fashion giant Inditex is understood to have outlined an exit plan from Myanmar in response to calls made by global trade union IndustriALL for fashion brands to cease production in the country. The Zara-owner is reportedly looking to reduce the number of active Myanmar-based manufacturers, according to Sourcing Journal, which cited...

BusinessFeatured

Marks & Spencer, Dune, Chanel fined for minimum wage breaches

Marks & Spencer, Dune Group, and Chanel Limited are among a group of businesses that have been “named and shamed” by the UK government and ordered to pay “short-changed” staff. According to the Department for Business and Trade, 202 companies failed to pay the minimum wage to their lowest paid employees following an investigation by His Majesty’...

BusinessFeatured

European Parliament approves draft law to improve environmental, social practices of supply chains

The European Parliament has voted in favour of a draft law to ensure large companies crack down on suppliers not following certain rules in terms of their social and environmental practices. The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) addresses areas including child labour, slavery, labour exploitation, pollution, environmental...