You’ve likely followed the mass faintings of garment workers that have taken place in Cambodia this year. While most reports have cited gruelling working conditions and worker exposure to toxic chemicals as likely causes, reasons for the faintings remain unclear. - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - Fast Facts // Cambodia “The face...
Since 1993, more than 1,400 women have been violently murdered in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico (Maquila Solidarity Network). Thousands more remain missing. These femicides have gone unsolved since the murders have not been properly investigated by local and/or international authorities. While the found bodies of women rest buried in mass graves, the killers roam free. Ciudad Juarez is a war-zone— no one is protected from the systemic violence and corruption that plagues its citizens. In 2010 MAC cosmetics and American design house Rodarte partnered to deliver a limited edition line of cosmetics inspired by the plight of the Juarez woman....
The fashion industry is often seen as a complicated paradox. So much so that many professionals working in the field of worker rights and environmental security frequently shy away from using the word ‘fashion’ itself. In its place, they vote for ‘garment,’ ‘apparel,’ ‘textile,’ etc. While it’s natural for industry jargon to vary—different circles will have their own set of terminology—it is important to recognize that in the end we are all talking about the same thing: fashion. Fashion, after all, designs the stage and sets the pace for the performance. For our part, if we cannot connect human...
Two weeks ago, SA founder, Mary Hanlon alerted us to a little reported story on massive worker strikes in Bangladesh. Following that, we decided to create Social Alterations // Visual Lab and introduced The Bangladesh Project. We noticed a lack of context in the reports circulating, so we decided to just go ahead and give our readers the details behind the story. Although the protests were most dramatic during the past month, this story has been unfolding for a long time. Let’s go back one year to July 2009. The world economic downturn was in full swing. In Ashulia, a...
Last week, Mary wrote about the large scale garment worker protests in Bangladesh. If you don’t know about this issue, I urge you to read more on Mary’s post as well as other sources such as The Guardian, Reuters, and The Daily Star. To view a powerful photo gallery click here. In February 2010, the Bangladesh Garments Workers Unity Council, a federation of Bangladeshi garment worker organizations, submitted a list of 5 demands to the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA). These demands are: increase the minimum wage to 5,000 Taka removing labour (Amendment) act-2009 cease plans to...
Yet another update on forced and child labour in Uzbekistan’s cotton sector. The Cotton Campaign continues to report on the flagrant abuse of human rights by the Uzbek government. There have been some unfortunate incidents linked to this year’s harvest (to read more about them click below) including: An account of a student who was expelled (despite having a legitimate medical excuse) from her school for not participating in the harvest. Bakhtiyar Hamrayev, an Uzbek activist, was attacked after the airing of a BBC story on this issue. The beginning of the court hearings in the case of Ganihon...
Children working the cotton fields this year in Uzbekistan. In August, SA posted an update on Uzbekistan’s forced and child labour in the Cotton sector. SA continues to follow the story and unfortunately, matters have continued to decline. As expected, the Uzbek government is once again relying on forced and child labour during this year’s harvest season. The Cotton Campaign (through Ferghana.ru) reports that 8 out of 12 provinces have kicked off a mass mobilization into the cotton fields. It is quite disappointing to learn that this practice continues in Uzbekistan despite government guarantees that child labour is...
Uzbekistan is the second largest exporter of cotton in the world. Unfortunately, this cotton comes at a high price. Thanks to a number of campaigns, it is no secret that Uzbekistan uses forced labour especially child labour during the harvesting seasons. When it’s time to harvest the cotton, the government shuts down schools and public offices while people are forced into the fields to pick cotton, often for long hours with no protective gear, inadequate food and water. According to some accounts, children as young as seven are forced into the fields. Those who do not meet quotas are...
