Majority of garment workers have gone hungry during pandemic as brands' responses to crisis impact suppliers, research reveals
"HUNGER IN THE APPAREL SUPPLY CHAIN Survey findings on workers’ access to nutrition during Covid-19", November 2020
... This research report presents the findings of a survey of 396 garment workers across 158 factories in nine countries... It presents new data about how garment workers’ food security—and linked dynamics of employment status and income—has deteriorated amidst the pandemic. Workers from our sample reported making clothes for over 100 apparel brands and retailers... the brands and retailers that were identified by survey respondents with the most frequency were: adidas, Gap, H&M, Nike, The Children’s Place, PVH, Gildan, Walmart, JCPenney, and Express. Our data reveal an alarming pattern: garment workers’ declining incomes are leading to widespread hunger among workers and their families, as they are increasingly unable to obtain adequate food and nutrition. These dynamics are a direct result of apparel brands’ responses to the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the long-term trend of low wages for garment workers in brands’ supply chains, which has left workers unprotected.
... 77 percent of workers reported that they or a member of their household had gone hungry since the beginning of the pandemic...
Apparel companies carry responsibility for workers in their global supply chains. They should take stock of how their responses to the pandemic are impacting suppliers and workers and take immediate action to address ongoing harms...