Exploited workers, luxury brands – a dark shadow cast over fashion industry profits

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 06. 09. 11:55

The global clothing sector has become a trillion-dollar business, but beneath the glittering surface lie serious human rights and social abuses. According to a recent report by the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC), the vast majority of the 60 million workers who drive the global fashion industry continue to work in inhumane conditions, while the sector’s profits are breaking new records year after year.

The price of a T-shirt: 29 euros, of which the worker receives 18 cents

The CCC analysis broke down how the revenue from a T-shirt sold for 29 euros in Europe is distributed: the Bangladeshi factory worker receives just 0.18 euros of this, or less than 1 percent of the final price. The largest share goes to retail chains (nearly 60%), followed by brand profit (12%), material costs (12%) and transportation (8%). The factory – apart from its workers – can realize barely 4 percent in profit.

54 thousand forints per year for the national team jersey – 1 pound per hour wage in the factory

A shocking example is the scandal of the English national team’s 2022 World Cup jersey: the 115 pounds (54,200 HUF) tops were produced in Thailand, where the hourly wage was only 1 pound. The workers worked 60 hours a week, often without using their phones, under full control.

Child labor in the supply chain

According to the UN and UNICEF, there are around 152 million children working worldwide – nearly half of them are aged 5–11. The textile and automotive industries are particularly affected: in India, the number of exploited children is estimated at 30 million. Although ESG regulations and stricter European due diligence obligations have improved the situation somewhat, it still happens on a large scale that big brands cannot prove that all workers at their suppliers earn at least the minimum wage.

Withdrawal from Myanmar – an ethical turn that has come too late?

Due to the military junta’s violations, several international companies – including Lidl, Aldi, C&A, Tesco, Mango, Primark, Inditex and H&M – have announced their withdrawal from Myanmar by 2025. Reputational risk is playing an increasingly important role behind these decisions: forced labor, child labor and human rights abuses have become serious brand-damaging factors.