"Made in Poverty: The True Price of Fashion", February 2019

Oxfam, together with the Bangladesh Institute for Labour Studies and the Institute for Workers and Trade Unions in Vietnam, has interviewed more than 470 workers across Bangladesh and Vietnam... All of them were part of Australian clothing supply chains at the time of interview, employed in garment factories that supply at least one iconic Australian clothing brand...

Not only are almost all the workers... being paid well below a living wage; they are also struggling to feed themselves and their families... They fall into spiraling debt, live in poor conditions and cannot afford the healthcare or education they and their families need. Workers in Bangladesh told stories of... pulling their children out of school in order to send them to work in the garment sector to bring in more money...

[The] research also reveals the strategies and practices used by Australian companies that drive wages down. Interviews with factory owners and managers showed that, despite clear commitments on important fundamental rights at work in their Codes of Conduct, Australian companies place pressure on garment factories... undertake fierce price negotiation, often jump between contracts instead of working with factories over the long term, squeeze lead times for orders and operate with a separation between their ethical and standards staff and their buying teams, who negotiate directly with factories...