PBringing constraints and injunctions, fashion has accompanied the emancipation of women, from Coco Chanel’s trousers in the 1920s to the “crop top” [tee-shirt court, littéralement, « crop top » veut dire tee-shirt coupé en anglais] in the 1990s and 2020s.
But those who make our clothes – because they are overwhelmingly women – face poverty, precariousness and continuous violations of their rights. Their salary does not allow them to feed their families or send their children to school. They are poorly protected by the social laws of their country and their working conditions are exhausting, even dangerous. How to show this reality?
Fashion is also a political issue. On the occasion of the International Women’s Day [organisée le 8 mars], we want to highlight the history and reality of these women. We call for legislative change to end brand impunity through an ambitious EU Duty of Vigilance Directive and European Citizens’ Initiative Good Clothes, Fair Pay.
The “fast fashion” model is based on overproduction and the exploitation of the most vulnerable workers. Nearly 80% of textile workers are female workers. Largely in the majority, they are essential to the functioning of the fashion industry, but face socio-economic and political factors that make them more vulnerable than their male counterparts. Exploited and ignored, they are often forced to accept indecent, even illegal working conditions.
Without contract or social protection
The workers face abusive overtime, sometimes forced and unpaid, deductions from their wages and numerous gender-based violence. Despite working days that can exceed twelve hours, six to seven days a week, they struggle to make ends meet. Depending on the country, they are paid two to five times less than necessary to meet their needs.
Far from the image of the ranks of workers in the factories where the majority of our clothes are made, another reality is often unknown to us. Who knows that the embroidery on his favorite t-shirt was sewn by a woman at home, working without a contract or social protection? However, in South Asia, fifty million women work from home in textiles.
Faced with pressure from brands to produce more at less cost to maximize their profits, garment factories are using homeworkers to meet unsustainable deadlines and order volumes. Invisible, they are the least paid and the most precarious in the sector.
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