Labour Behind the Label news and archive

Labour Behind the Label stages rally for Leicester garment workers

UK non-profit Labour Behind the Label was behind a rally that took place over the weekend in support of garment workers in the Leicester manufacturing industry. With further support from trade unions and workers’ rights organisations, the protest, which took place in Spinney Hill Park, was in regards to job losses and factory closures in the...

BusinessFeatured

Major retailers named in new report exposing exploitation of garment workers in Pakistan

A new report by garment worker solidarity group Labour Behind the Label has accused a slew of major retailers of violating human rights in their Pakistan-based supply chains, largely driven by what the firm called “informalisation” of the workforce. Developed alongside human rights law firm Global Rights Compliance, the report details evidence...

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...

Retail

Female UK garment factory workers at higher risk of dying from Covid

Female garment factory workers in the UK have statistically significantly higher death rates related to the coronavirus than the rate among other women of the same age in the population, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). In the ‘assemblers and routine operatives’ category - which includes jobs such as sewing - 21 deaths were...

BusinessFeatured

Boohoo under fire, over 1.1 billion pounds wiped off company value

Boohoo has come under intense scrutiny in the past week, despite sales soaring during the pandemic. At the end of June the company announced a controversial payout scheme which would see its management team net 150 million pounds. Earlier this week allegations of modern slavery surfaced, pertaining to one of its Leicester suppliers, which...

BusinessFeatured

Boohoo accused of being behind Leicester’s coronavirus surge

Fast-fashion e-tailer Boohoo, which reported strong Q1 sales up 45 percent last month, has been accused of fuelling the coronavirus spread in Leicester, after claims that the factories in its supply chain told staff to come into work during lockdown despite being sick. A report from Labour Behind the Label, a garment worker’s rights group,...

BusinessFeatured

Thousands call on leading UK footwear brands be more transparent

London - 13,606 people are calling on UK’s leading footwear brands and retailers to become more transparent and share where their shoes are produced. More than 13,000 consumers have signed a petition launched by the ’Step Up’ campaign, part of the Change Your Shoes project created by a coalition of 18 organisations including Labour Behind the...

Fashion Featured

M&S, Bonmarché & Nygård urged to compensate Cambodian workers

London - Marks & Spencer, Bonmarché and Nygård are being called upon step forward and take responsibility for the compensation of 208 workers in Cambodia, who were left without jobs or salaries following the sudden closure of a garment factory. On July 1, 2016, 208 garment factory workers at the Chung Fai Knitwear Factory in Phnom Penh,...

BusinessFeatured

UK fashion brands still lacking transparency in their supply chains

Although many high street fashion retailers and footwear brands are starting to recognise their responsibilities towards both their workers and consumers there still remains a lot of work to be done when it comes to supply chain transparency. Even though apparel brands have taken important steps towards greater accountability following the Rana...

Design

Asda to phase out sandblasted jeans

Supermarket retailer, Asda, has confirmed that they will be starting to phase out the use of sandblasting on their George fashion line pieces. This announcement comes after new research has shown the damaging effects sandblasting techniques can have on workers’ health. "As part of Walmart's global commitment, we are already in the process of...

Fashion

Taking Liberties: The story behind the UK high street

Some of the biggest names on the British high street use Indian sweatshops which pay poverty wages and break labour laws to keep costs to a bare minimum, according to a new report.Surveying the garment industry in Gurgaon, India, it shows that the workers making clothes for higher end retailers - M&S, Debenhams, Arcadia, Monsoon and NEXT – are...