"Myanmar's textile workers pay the price for Australia's fast fashion addiction", 23 July 2017

Garment workers in Myanmar are struggling to cover everyday living costs while factory owners enjoy the surge in demand from the global fashion brands expanding into Australia...

A report from the Burma’s Women Union, published in May, featured interviews with workers from nine factories that supply H&M, Marks and Spencer and C&A. They revealed a cycle of poverty and debt for workers. Most garment workers reported working up to 11 hours a day, six days a week.

Ma Than Dar, the director of garment workers union Thone Pan Hla, has been horrified by workers’ recent stories.

“Workers choosing not to drink too much water so they don’t have to use the bathroom as they will miss out on bonuses,” she recounts...

Labour activists also say many business owners view the minimum wage – which is the second lowest in the region after Bangladesh – as a maximum price rather than a floor price...

Sustainable fashion researcher Marianne Caroline says the biggest obstacle preventing consumers buying sustainably is a lack of information...

Caroline says the first step lies with the brands themselves, who should collect this supply chain information from the factories they use and release it publicly.

[Also refers to Virya Couture.]