Clean Clothes Campaign news and archive

Brands accused of still blocking worker safety improvements 10 years after Ali Enterprises fire in Pakistan

In a press release on the tenth anniversary of the devastating fire at Ali Enterprises in Pakistan that killed 250 people, international NGO Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) has accused the textile industry of not doing enough to improve standards despite numerous accidents, some of them fatal, in Pakistan's textile factories. In particular, fashion...

Business

Study: Garment workers in Eastern Europe, Turkey often earn less than in Far East

According to recent figures by the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC), garment workers are on average poorer when they earn the applicable minimum wage. The share of the minimum wage as part of the EU poverty line fell from 65 percent to 61 percent between 2018 and 2021, despite nominal increases in minimum wages in many countries. In Eastern Europe...

Fashion Featured

Asian garment workers owed almost 12 billion dollars in wages amid pandemic

As fashion brands and retailers across the world return to profitability following what has been an immensely difficult period of international store courses and plummeting demand for fashion, for those making the world’s clothing, the story is far from over. According to a new report by the Clean Clothes Campaign, Asian garment workers are owed...

Fashion Featured

The Bangladesh safety accord expires in May. What next?

Bangladesh in 2021 remains a garment manufacturing hub for the world’s leading high street and mid-market brands. It is also a region with a well-documented history of factory incidents and unsafe workplaces for its garment workers. After the Rana Plaza factory collapse in 2013, which killed over 1,100 workers, the Accord on Fire and Building...

Business

The Clean Clothes Campaign launches ‘Pay Your Workers’

The new campaign 'Pay Your Workers' focuses on garment brands and retailers with outsourced production, in particular H&M, Nike and Primark, as these brands have most frequently appeared in reports from workers about the violations of workers' rights during the pandemic. The Clean Clothes Campaign network urges apparel brands and retailers to...

BusinessFeatured

Study: "Exploitation Made in Europe": human rights violations plague apparel production

Five days ago was the seventh anniversary of the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh. More than 1,100 garment workers lost their lives and thousands were injured. The event highlighted the inhuman working conditions: locked in, intimidated and grossly underpaid. Tragic, we think, but far away. New research by the Clean Clothes...

Business

Amazon finally reveals details about its supply chain

E-commerce giant Amazon has publicly disclosed the names and addresses of over 1,000 facilities which produce Amazon-branded products, following requests from organizations campaigning for more transparency in the e-commerce and fashion industries. The list of suppliers is available at sustainability.aboutamazon.com. Human Rights Watch (HRW) and...

Business

Report drives attention to risks of potassium permanganate exposure in the denim industry

Ever wondered how denim manufacturers make their jeans achieve that vintage, worn look? Sandblasting is the most common way to do that, but the procedure is quite dangerous, as workers may inhale the sand particles. When the silica present in the sand builds up in the lungs and breathing passages, workers develop a disease called silicosis,...

Fashion Featured

Clean Clothes Campaign: fashion brands pledge to ensure living wage but take little action

As more consumers become aware of the deplorable working conditions faced by millions of workers across the apparel supply chain, global fashion brands have been pledging to work with suppliers, governments and NGOs to make sure workers earn a fair living wage. But is that just lip service? And, even if they are taking action, are their programs...

Business

Garment unions and Clean Clothes Campaign concerned about deal on Bangladesh Accord

Trade union leaders are not pleased with the announcement that the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety is supposed to leave the country in less than a year. The Bangladesh Accord shall be replaced in 281 days by another entity called RMC Sustainability Council (RSC), to be governed by a board comprising representatives of the...

Business

Clean Clothes Campaign calls on H&M to create living wage fund

The Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) has called on H&M and its shareholders to create a living wage fund from the profits of the Swedish fast fashion company. The NGO is also looking to increase appeals to investors in its future campaigning approach. The CCC has submitted a proposal that H&M stockholders will vote on when they gather for the...

BusinessFeatured

Local government not ready to take over Bangladesh Accord’s responsibilities

Bangladesh’s safety inspection agencies are not ready to assume responsibility for the 1,688 garment factories under the purview of the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety, according to a report published this week by the Clean Clothes Campaign, the International Labor Rights Forum, the Maquila Solidarity Network and the Worker Rights...