With the world’s insatiable appetite for low-cost disposable clothing, designed to be worn for a season and then discarded, the fashion industry is continually under pressure to produce value-for-money clothing at any cost. It may not even occur to some of us that our well-intentioned, cheap purchases could be costing us, and others, much more than we realize.

The recent economic downturn has led many people to cut their clothes in a more affordable way. For some, this has meant narrowing down the product choices when it comes to fashion and opting to shop at the stores that offer the lowest prices.

In fact, most street fashion has, at one time or another, been accused of using sweatshops in the manufacture of their clothes and shoes, and with little control over a supply chain that takes place in the Other side of the world. some retailers almost seem to have caved in on the issue. But that doesn’t mean the consumer has to, and with a host of alternative options available, it’s up to us to put our money where our mouth is and shop more sustainably.

What is an exploitation workshop?
As the name suggests, a sweatshop is not a very pleasant place. Imagine rows and rows of people, some as young as 14 (and in some countries even younger) working in crowded conditions, repetitively sewing a collar or button on thousands of garments a day. It is common for these workers to be forced to work shifts of 12 hours or more, often without breaks for meals or entertainment, and to work overtime on weekends or after hours to meet quotas, on pain of losing your job if denied.

And the bread does not end there.

Many of these workers sleep in nearby employee housing owned and operated by their employer, and conditions are just as bad there. Bare stone floors, no running water, and no toilets are common, so you can imagine these workers feeling like it’s one nightmare after another.

Some of these workers may not even have started volunteering for the company. Many are tricked into factory work, either through human trafficking or promised higher wages that never materialize. It is common for workers to be indebted to the farm employer, either because they ‘owe’ money for their accommodation or because they have ‘lent’ them the cost of their training or uniform.

Why are there still sweatshops in the world?
With the fashion industry trying to maximize its profits through lower production costs, the majority of garment manufacturing now takes place abroad, mostly in the poorer parts of the world. In the last decade, much has been done to promote the plight of these workers, with brands like Nike, Gap and Benetton repeatedly urged to toughen their policies and prevent sweatshops from operating in their supply chain.

Since then, most large companies have taken steps to change policies and have attempted to overhaul their supply chain to eradicate any child labor or exploitative practices in their supply chain. As an example, Nike and Gap now publish the following policies:

• All workers must have at least 1 day off in every 7
• Zero tolerance for underage workers
• No forced overtime
• GAP requires all workers to be at least 14 years old, or the legal age to work in their own country, and Nike requires workers to be 16 or 17 years old.

It all sounds great, and I’m certainly making progress, right?

Wrong.

In a BBC Panorama investigation broadcast in 2012, the program found that despite the good intentions of these companies, the real situation was not improving at all due to difficulties in policing the supply chain. They highlighted a factory in Cambodia, where workers demonstrated:

• Overtime was constantly imposed on them. If they refused more than three times, they were fired.
• Living conditions were small wooden cabins with 3 or 4 people per room, no running water and regular power outages.
• Children as young as 11 or 12 years old work on the production lines because their families cannot afford to live without their wages.

the problem is getting worse
A recent study by the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF) agrees with the notion that the sweatshop industry is still alive and well, naming and shaming many popular brands that they claimed , “routinely broke every rule in the book when it came to labor rights.”

It seems that the problem is impossible to control, as many factories tend to employ workers on temporary contracts or as day laborers, thus circumventing all the usual requirements of sick and vacation pay, as well as law-abiding employment contracts. In a factory in the Philippines, 85% of the workers were ‘temporary’, making it almost impossible for trade bodies to have significant influence over labor practices there.

Of the 83 factories surveyed by the ITGLWF, none paid workers a living wage and most did not even pay the legal minimum wage. Many workers are paid the equivalent of just 11 pence an hour and it is generally estimated that the average percentage of the retail cost of a garment that goes to the people who made it is in the region of 0.4 to 4% .

And it’s not just the money
Sweatshops are incredibly harsh environments. With no air conditioning and typical crowded conditions, they are literally factory floors to make you sweat. Add to this the lack of health and safety at work, and you have a recipe for disaster waiting to happen.

Industrial accidents in sweatshops are common, and workers are often injured by the cutting or sewing equipment they use. A worker, Zhou Shien Pin, moved to a factory from a remote corner of China hoping to earn enough money to build a house for his family. Just a few days after starting the job, he touched an exposed high-voltage wire on the factory floor and suffered burns to his face and chest, immediately melting his toes. He was paid compensation, but most of the meager £2,500 he received was swallowed up by medical bills.

The alternative?
If you disagree with the sweatshop industry, it may seem like there is no sure way to eliminate the likelihood of unethically produced clothing in your wardrobe. After all, even if the company has strict policies on slave labor, how can you be sure that the supply chain meets their standards?

Fortunately there is another way.

Choosing ethically made clothing from reputable, local sources is one way you can let your money do the talking and say ‘no’ to underground work.

As more people become interested in ethically produced clothing, a number of high-quality brands have sprung up around the world, determined to fill the gap in the market and provide a stylish alternative to foreign-produced clothing. The next time you need a new shirt or a new pair of jeans, consider where it came from and what the actual cost of your purchase choice is.