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Article

25 Feb 2018

Author:
Thomson Reuters Foundation

Groups launch Garment Worker Diaries to document the lives and wages of workers in Cambodia, Bangladesh, and India

"Who made my clothes? Asian workers' diaries show 'human cost'," 23 February 2018

year-long study of more than 500 workers in Cambodia, India and Bangladesh found women often work overtime or borrow money from their husbands to feed their families and pay rent.

“I wouldn’t have enough money if we ate a lot,” read one entry by Chenda in Cambodia, where researchers found most workers were in their 20s and married, with some primary education and earned about $45 for a 48-hour week.

The largely female workforce in South Asia is often underpaid, faces verbal and sexual harassment on a daily basis and is forced to work long hours, campaigners say.

The research...was carried out by transparency campaigners Fashion Revolution and The C&A Foundation, affiliated with retailer C&A, which partners with the Thomson Reuters Foundation on trafficking.

The diaries’ aim, they said, was to show “the human cost” of fashion and improve workers’ lives.

“This gives brands something to consider above and beyond their margins when deciding where to make their clothes,” Eric Noggle, research director at Microfinance Opportunities, said...

Researchers found that India had the best living and working conditions and Bangladeshi women earned the least per hour, often forcing them to borrow money.

In Cambodia, despite earning the minimum wage and supplementing their income with overtime, researcher found that most workers were still short of money, which meant they had limited access to quality food and medical care.

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Note: The Garment Workers Diaries can be accessed here.