Global Impact of Fast Fashion on Child Labor Exploitation and Environmental Costs
Shafiun Nahar Elma
Industrial & Production Engineer
National Institute of Textile Engineering & Research (NITER), Bangladesh.
Email: shafiun.elma05@gmail.com
The rise of the fast fashion industry has changed consumer needs to purchase new clothes for their wardrobe. Making trendy and cheap fashionable dresses for people that are widely accessible but this convenience comes at a significant cost. One of the most disquieting aspects of this fashion industry is its involvement in cheap child labor exploitation.
Fast fashion involves manufacturing different types of clothes in different categories based on people’s demand. Online product marketing process of these products through Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook reels are also very attractive to engage consumers who are always interested in going with the new trend. This business sector has grown in popularity since its starting period in the 1990s and early 2000s. However, this growth depends on low wages for workers in developing countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam, where labor laws and regulations are often misused by the powerful community.
The fast fashion supply chain spans multiple continents. With large manufacturing centers in Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, and China, factories in these regions face unrelenting pressure to meet tight deadlines at the lowest possible cost. For maximum product lead time is 12 days. This competitive situation forces suppliers to be frugal and workers lose regulated rights and protections. There will be more than 160 million children taking part in child labor globally.
Bangladesh, India, China, and Pakistan are major suppliers of fast fashion brands such as Zara, Inditex, H&M and SHEIN Brands often outsource production to their factories. They just work for profit and promotion, not about sustainability, quality, or ethical practices. For cheap prices and timely shipment, the brand subcontracts to another factory. These subcontractors are often located in rural areas. By hiring rural people and children to reduce production costs. Child labor is seen as more useful and cheaper than adult labor which promotes the exploitation of children. ZARA has been indicted for forcing Syrian refugees in Turkey, mostly children under the age of 10 to labor through their subcontractors. More than15 tons of clothing from the renowned Danish brand H&M have been destroyed every year.
Bangladesh, an important hub of the rapid fashion industry, has 80% of export sales earned from textile and garment. From the survey of January 22, 2022, the approximate number of child laborers in Bangladesh is above 47,00000. According to the labor law of Bangladesh, no child below 14 years of age can be engaged in labor. However, teenagers between 14 and 18 years of age can do light work that is not hazardous. A teenager can work in a factory for 5 hours a day and 30 hours a week. The maximum overtime that can be worked is one Minimum 30-minute break should be given if the total working hours are 5 hours per day and 1 1-hour break should be given if the working hours area minimum of 6 hours. But very few companies in Bangladesh work according to these laws. All these laws are hidden in the web of corruption and bribery.
The Indian garment sector, valued at about $100 billion, is disreputable for its reliance on infant hard work within the cotton and textile industries. A 2020 record using the Global March against Child Labour found that more than 12 million kids in India are engaged in dangerous occupations, inclusive of garment manufacturing.
As fast fashion expands in regions like Ethiopia, such challenges arise. While integrating these countries into the global apparel supply chain will create economic opportunities, the lack of a strong regulatory framework leaves children vulnerable to exploitation. And lack of adequate protection these countries struggle to protect children from the dangers associated with fast fashion.
In addition to violating labor rights the environmental impact of fast fashion is also severe. The apparel industry is responsible for above 10% of worldwide carbon emissions and has become the world’s second-largest consumer of water. Textile-related factories that produce low-cost but nifty clothing often dump untreated hazardous garbage. Including toxic chemicals and dyes in local water sources which is dangerous to the ecosystem and public health.
In developing countries where communities depend on the garment industry for their livelihoods, Environmental degradation increases poverty. When water sources are polluted and arable land is reduced. Families the more they sink into poverty, the more their children are at risk of labor exploitation.
Consumers in developed countries Especially the United States and Europe. You can buy new clothes for less than the cost of food. They are often not aware of the damage to humans and the environment from such practices. However, growing awareness of fast fashion’s ethical and ecological implications is slowly fading. Change consumer behavior.
In Bangladesh, readymade garment exports are valued at approximately $34 billion annually. A 2018 report by the Center for Global Development revealed that more than half of the country’s textile sector workers observe child labor in their factories. Although the government is trying to introduce laws to combat this problem, enforcement failures have allowed the practice to persist. This is especially true in informal or subcontracted production Maximum time papers of the subcontract factory are also fake and out of laws
India faces similar challenges. The Global Scrap Index estimates that more than 8 million children are forced into manual labor with maximum low wages. Most of them are in the garment and textile industry. This is despite initiatives such as the National Program on Child Labor committed to their rehabilitation. Although the problem of child labor is widespread in ways that are not occurring quickly, efforts to resolve the issue continue.
International conventions, such as those established by the ILO and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), aim to protect children from discriminatory labor practices. However, implementing their laws remains a challenge in the current situation. This is especially applicable to countries like Bangladesh and India. Where corruption and a lack of resources make progress difficult.
Recent legislation such as the EU’s Debt Diligence Directive and the UK’s Modern Scrapbook Act Designate that various companies must be held accountable for labor practices in their production supply chains.
Eliminating child labor in the fast fashion industry requires collaboration from governments, businesses, and consumers. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to eliminate child labor by 2025, but achieving the goal requires sustained global cooperation. Consumers can play a role in not supporting ethical fashion brands. And demand transparency from companies.
Fast fashion has a global impact on both child labor exploitation and environmental costs. Fast fashion brings cheap and fashionable clothes to millions of people. Hidden costs are supported by poor children and fragile ecosystems. Building a fashion industry that prioritizes human rights and sustainability will require concerted action at every level of society. Only through such efforts can we hope to eliminate unethical practices and reduce the harmful effects of fast fashion.
References:
- https://www.ilo.org/
- https://mccibd.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Bangladesh-Labour-Act-2006_English-Upto-2018.pdf
- https://www.icab.org.bd/publication/news/4/1121/Recent-Changes-of-Labour-Law-and-its-Implication
- https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd6ye3e8x9po
Founder & Editor of Textile Learner. He is a Textile Consultant, Blogger & Entrepreneur. He is working as a textile consultant in several local and international companies. He is also a contributor of Wikipedia.
