Reliance Retail—India’s largest retailer owned by the Ambani family—recently announced a new partnership with Shein – a fast-fashion company facing questions of alleged forced labour of Uyghur Muslims in its supply chain. Through this partnership, Shein is set to begin selling their products in India ending a four-year ban. As two of the world’s leading garment manufacturers, China and India underscore their disregard for human rights abuse against minorities in their countries by forming such partnerships.
Since the turn of the century, “fast fashion” has defined companies in the fashion industry that put profit over people and the planet. These companies favour lower-quality materials to make cheaper products with shorter lifespans. The result is consumers buying more clothes that they wear fewer times. In fact, Americans are purchasing four times more clothing now than they did in 2000. 65% end up in landfills within a year.
The environmental damage of this clothing waste extends from the pollution of land and waterways at production sites to global oceans where 9% of microplastics come from clothing. It’s anticipated that clothes made from polyester will increase in 2025 to three times the amount produced in 2007–the year when polyester became the world’s dominant fibre.
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With so many fashion companies on the market, it can be hard to discern which are engaging in unsustainable and unethical production practices. One rule of thumb is reading the tag to see which companies produce clothing in countries with lax labour laws, particularly Vietnam, India, China and Bangladesh. By outsourcing this production to countries like these, clothing companies reduce their production costs and limit their legal liability to unethical labor practices.
Source: Blum Center for Developing Economies, UC Berkeley, 2019
Muslims & Other Marginalized Minorities Working In the Indian Garment Industry
India is the world’s second-largest manufacturer and exporter of clothing in the world, with the United States and European Union accounting for nearly half of total clothing exports. Nearly 13 million people are formally employed in factories, with millions more employed informally in home-based settings. These informally employed, home-based workers often manage the “finishing touches” of garments including hand embroidery, bead and sequin work, and buttons.
Source: Blum Center for Developing Economies, UC Berkeley, 2019
A 2019 study by the Blum Center for Developing Economies at UC Berkeley researched the exploitation of women and girls in the home-based garment sector across India and found that of these home-based workers, 85% work exclusively on products destined for the United States and the European Union. The report also found that:
- 99.3% of the workers were Muslim or of a minority community (Scheduled Caste)
- 99.2% worked for below minimum wage in conditions of forced labour as defined under Indian law
- 95.5% of the workers were female.
The lack of visibility of these workers in the reported supply chains of these products underscores how fashion companies ignore rampant exploitation in their labour force, including children. Another study showed that 36% of the children received no payment for their work in the home-based garment industry in Delhi.
In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the “Make in India” campaign to bolster India’s status as a global leader in manufacturing–a title that China has held for decades. But in racing to claim larger shares of the global garment industry, both India and China besmirch their reputations through exploitative practices.
Forced Labor of Uyghur Muslims in China
China’s exploitation of Uyghurs and other minorities has been well documented by investigative reporting and deemed by the United Nations Human Rights Council as committing “crimes against humanity.” Not only has China forcibly removed Uyghur Muslims from their homes and into labour camps, but they’re also attempting to erase their culture.
Source: Human Rights Watch, 2024
From manufacturing and garment-making to cotton picking in the Xinjiang region, Uyghur Muslims toil to produce the majority of the world’s clothes including 20% of the world’s cotton. As a result, “virtually the entire [global] apparels industry is tainted by forced Uyghur and Turkic Muslim labour.”
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Prominent fashion companies–including both fast fashion and luxury brands–have been publicly named and shamed for their complicity in engaging Uyghur forced labour in their supply chains. The list of companies includes Shein who several rights groups have accused of allegedly using forced labour of Uyghur Muslims in its supply chain. Some companies have taken steps to change their sourcing, but many have not. Several Western governments including those of the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Canada, have imposed sanctions. Yet, China continues to deny committing human rights abuses towards Uyghurs.
Even with China and India’s well-documented unethical labour practices, fashion companies in the region strive to maintain business as usual. They will continue to dominate the industry until they start pursuing sustainable triple-bottom-line business strategies that value profits along with people and the planet. Despite the plethora of evidence pointing to successful business models that are also sustainable and ethical, the rhetoric of there being little incentive for businesses to change or reveal the truth of their production practices will continue. However, consumers worldwide can chart a different course by demanding a change.
Changing Consumer Habits
Fast fashion leaves an indelible mark on the planet, and it is marred by rampant labour exploitation. The demand and rapid production of garments require significant amounts of raw materials, which causes habitat loss, excessive water use, and pollutes local land, air, and water. It’s estimated the industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions.
Shifting consumer habits away from fast fashion is an important step towards reducing the industry’s impact on the environment and putting an end to labour exploitation. Here are some steps you can take to curb fast fashion and be a part of the solution:
- Buy less, and more thoughtfully, including upcycling or purchasing second-hand
- Choose higher quality, non-polyester products and wear them for longer
- Repair, resell, or repurpose what you own instead of throwing it away in landfills
- When buying new, prioritize local stores or those with high sustainability and ethical standards
- Hold fast-fashion companies accountable for their unsustainable and unethical practices while avoiding purchasing from them unless practices change positively.
