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Fast Fashion and the Gendered Reality of Exploitation

Another report has come out, exposing the brutal reality behind Shein and other fast fashion giants operating in China and Southeast Asia. This time, a BBC investigation "reveals" (as if we didn't know before) that many garment workers endure grueling 75-hour weeks just to scrape by.

"If there are 31 days in a month, I will work 31 days," one worker confessed.

This is not an isolated case—it’s the standard operating model of an industry built on human and environmental exploitation.

The Gendered Reality of Exploitation

While reports often focus on wages and working hours, they rarely emphasize a critical fact: the vast majority of garment workers are women. Around 80% of the 75 million people in this industry are female, many between 18 and 24 years old. Fast fashion does not exploit workers equally—it disproportionately targets women, trapping them in cycles of economic and social oppression.

The exploitation of these women is the result of two interlocking systems: capitalism and patriarchy. Fast fashion brands operate within a monopolistic model, dictating prices that force factories to cut costs wherever possible. The easiest target? The wages and working conditions of their lowest-paid employees. The average monthly wage in Bangladesh’s garment industry is approximately $96, less than a third of what is needed to escape poverty, according to a 2019 report by the Fair Labor Association.

These women, often with little bargaining power, bear the brunt of these cost-cutting measures. Their work is essential to the industry, yet their labor is devalued, their wages suppressed, and their rights ignored.

To add to this economic injustice, women are also subject to specific violence due to their gender. "In 2019 a survey was released by ActionAid UK which discovered that 8 in 10 garment workers in Bangladesh had experienced or witnessed sexual harassment and violence at work.

They also found that 1 in 10 women surveyed was being subjected to sexual harassment, molestation and assault in the workplace at the time of being questioned."

To learn more about workers conditions in general and the social impacts on their lives and communities, read our article here.

The Surprising Solution To Dangerous Sweatshops That Make Our Clothes ...

A System Designed to Keep Women Down

Beyond low wages and excessive hours, women garment workers face structural barriers that keep them trapped in exploitative jobs. In many garment-producing countries like Bangladesh, cultural norms limit women's economic independence. They are often expected to be grateful for employment, even if it comes with dangerous working conditions and pay far below a living wage. Leaving is not an option when other job opportunities are scarce, especially for women with limited access to education or alternative employment.

Subcontracting and informal employment worsen this situation. Many workers are not even officially employed by the brands that profit from their labor. Instead, they work for middlemen, with no contracts, job security, or legal protections. This setup shields fast fashion companies from accountability while making female workers even more vulnerable.

The Perception of Female Workers as Disposable

Fast fashion brands actively choose to employ young women because they are perceived as more "compliant"—less likely to unionize or resist poor conditions. This perception has long fueled the textile industry’s reliance on cheap female labor. In Bangladesh, for example, where the garment sector is the largest employer of women in manufacturing, workers earn an average of just $96 per month—less than a third of what is needed to escape poverty. Their ability to negotiate for better conditions is nearly nonexistent because the system ensures they remain easily replaceable.

The Vulnerability of Immigrant Women Workers

Another category of women are even more prone to exploitation: immigrants.

Fast fashion companies, like Shein use algorithms to dictate production, leading to large orders (counted in millions of items that have to be produced within days/weeks) that factories scramble to fulfill to secure contracts. This model fosters the temporary hiring of immigrant workers. This particular group is more exposed to exploitation practices as they are often unaware of their rights, lack proficiency in the local language, and are forced to accept poor working conditions out of desperation. This is not an issue confined to the Global South—immigrant workers in the Global North, including countries like Turkey, are similarly subjected to exploitation. This context can also easily lead to child labor. This phenomenon, which had also been observed in the supply chain back inthe 1990s in places like the USA, is rooted in systemic power imbalances that leave immigrant women particularly vulnerable to abuse.

Beyond Economic Reform: A Feminist Issue

Addressing fast fashion’s labor abuses is not just about economic justice—it’s a feminist issue. The power imbalance between multinational corporations and female garment workers is not accidental; it is a structural issue. A system that prioritizes profit over human dignity will always exploit the most vulnerable, and in this case, that means women.

Credit: Labor behind The Label

Supporting Worker Movements: A Global Responsibility

However, these women are not passive victims. They are often at the forefront of protests and activism, pushing for better wages and working conditions. For example, in Bangladesh, after the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse, widespread protests led to a raise in the minimum wage and with the support of European campaigns such as Clean Clothes Campaign pressuring brands, obtained the signature of Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety, a legally binding agreement between brands and trade unions to ensure higher levels of safety in Bangladeshi garment factories.

Although, these protests, however, are frequently met with violence, both physical and sexual. More recently, in November 2023, a new wave of protests for a wage increase was met with government and factory-owner retaliation. When the government finally conceded a raise, it was immediately condemned as it was merely covering the inflation that the country had faced and would represent only half of what is needed to stay out of poverty. Sadly, both the government and factories owners responded by violence and threats of shutting down production and withholding wages by applying a “no work, no pay” rule.

Our role in supporting these movements is crucial. By aligning our advocacy with their efforts, we can help amplify their voices and push for meaningful change.

Our campaigning has an impact when supporting theirs.

Check out:

https://www.antislavery.org/join-the-whomademyclothescampaign/

Who made my clothes campaign calling on brands to end modern slavery conditions and calling for more trasnparency from al actors involved.

The Labour behind the Label campain

Learn more with fashion revolution on:

https://www.fashionrevolution.org/good-clothes-fair-pay/

https://www.fashionrevolution.org/whomademyfabric/  

Sources

Ahmed, Fauzia Erfan. “The Rise of the Bangladesh Garment Industry: Globalization, Women Workers,and Voice.” NWSA Journal, 22 June 2004, https://link-galegroup-com.libaccess.lib.mcmaster.ca/apps/doc/A120353243/AONE?sid=lms.

Anastasia, Laura. “The Real Cost of CHEAP FASHION: Many of our trendy, inexpensive clothes are madein places like Bangladesh, where workers–including children–toil under conditions that may shockyou.” New York Times Upfront, 4 Sept. 2017, p. 8+. Gale OneFile: Contemporary Women’s Issues,https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A512374636/CWI?u=ocul mcmaster&sid=CWI&xid=5b1afeab. Accessed 3 Dec. 2019.

Chang, A. (2020). The Impact of Fast Fashion on Women. Journal Of Integrative Research & Reflection, 3, 16‑24. https://doi.org/10.15353/jirr.v3.1624

https://wempower.co/how-the-fashion-industry-is-exploiting-female-garment-workers-and-what-can-you-do-to-stop-it/

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