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The issue of child labor in fast fashion is quite acute today. Global brands using cheap labor have pledged to eradicate this practice. In 1992, about 10% of the garment workers were under the age of 14. The following year, when the US Child Labor Restriction Bill appeared, about 50,000 underage workers left factories (Minney). At the same time, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association pledged to phase out child labor and return children to school. The association also supported a 2010 law prohibiting the employment of children under 14 years of age (Statista Research Department). Unfortunately, these promises in the garment industry have yet to be fulfilled. For example, the Bangladesh government states that child labor is not currently used in this industry. However, unfortunately, this is far from being the case everywhere, and this problem must be addressed as soon as possible. Unfortunately, it is impossible to do this without actions by the state.
There are many reasons for the high level of child labor in fast fashion, in particular, different aspects of modern consumer culture. People are looking for new beautiful clothes at a low cost, so factories produce substandard goods in significant quantities. In addition, to reduce production costs, company owners are moving factories to emerging countries such as, for instance, India of Bangladesh (Hammer and Plugor). This can be considered one of the effects of globalization, which allows these organizations to become international. Thus, they can build new factories all around the world. Unfortunately, this trend only makes the industry worse. In poorer countries, these companies often hire women and children, and their wages are unreasonably low. In addition, the working conditions in these places are appalling, which undoubtedly has a negative impact on childrens health. Therefore, this problem must be approached carefully and comprehensively to truly eliminate such options for cooperation between employers and employees.
Most of the kids working in the fast fashion industry come from low-income families. Families in comparatively affluent garment regions rarely send their daughters to work in factories. However, in poorer regions, even with initiatives to reduce the cost of schooling for girls, many young women still drop out of high school. Often they do not have the opportunity to get paid work, and as a result, they have only one option: marriage. Consequently, when many girls have to choose between factory labor and early marriage, not hiring girls under the age of 18 can do more harm than good. To free girls from this choice and reduce the presence of kids in factories, it is necessary to combat poverty in rural areas actively.
By refusing to receive education, children become part of a system from which, over time, it becomes impossible to escape. According to UNICEF and the International Labor Organization, around 170 million children are employed in the garment industry worldwide (Moulds). Workers are also forced to work overtime without wage increases. This means that mothers have to either leave their children alone or take them to work. Many factories have what they call day care, which is actually just a corner where the babies wait for their mothers.
Consumers around the world are rejecting child-made clothing, and this trend is commendable. Children under the age of 18 should go to school and learn vital life skills, not work long hours in poor conditions. The garment industry is indeed in need of substantial reform. However, so far, to not expose women and girls to new, unnecessary suffering, the promise to eliminate child labor may not be the right solution. Building a new labor system would take a long time and effort because it is necessary to reconsider work attitude completely. However, it is possible, but only with the right intentions from the side of factories and readiness for cooperation and changes from the side of employees.
Works Cited
Moulds, Josephine. Child Labour in the Fashion Supply Chain. The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, Web.
Minney, Safia. Slave To Fashion. New Internationalist, 2017.
Published by Statista Research Department. Number of Children Involved in Forced Labor 2012, by Forms of Forced Labor. Statista, 2014, Web.
Hammer, N., and R. Plugor. Disconnecting Labour? The Labour Process in the UK Fast Fashion Value Chain. Work, Employment and Society, vol. 33, no. 6, pp. 913928.
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