'Top fashion brands’ business practices are undermining progress on ending worker exploitation'

'Top fashion companies that are pledging to end worker exploitation in their global supply chains are hampering progress through their own irresponsible sourcing practices, concludes a new report on working conditions in the Southern Indian garment industry powerhouse.   The research by three UK Universities (Bath, Sheffield and Royal Holloway, University of London) in Tirupur found that social audits, intended to call out exploitation, are frequently manipulated and cheated by suppliers in order to retain business with brands. Suppliers complain that such ethical certification systems are too costly and add little value.   Short production windows, cost pressures and constant fluctuations in orders by brands and retail chains like Nike, H&M, Adidas, Primark and Walmart make it very difficult for local suppliers to comply with the standards on decent working practice that the companies say they expect.   The South Indian garment industry clustered around Tirupur accounts for 45-50% - around $3.6 billion in 2017 - of all knitwear exports from India. Suppliers in the region have improved their working conditions over the past decade. However, heightened competition from lower-cost countries like Bangladesh and Ethiopia has meant that brands can force prices down, leaving little scope for further ethical improvements.' 

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