Sustainable RTW: The New Norm

SUSTAINABLE FASHION 101
WAGES
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The legal minimum wage in most garment-producing
countries is rarely enough for a worker to live on.
Most of the world’s garments are made in Asia, and yet the
workers who make them are not paid enough to live on.
It is estimated that the minimum wage in Bangladesh still
only covers 60% of the cost of living in a slum.
In Cambodia and China the minimum wage would need to
be at least twice as high to cover the basic cost of living
(Clean Clothes Campaign, 2014).
In the Cambodian garment industry, over 80% of workers
are women, aged 18-35.
In India, Bangladesh and across Asia likewise, most garment
workers are women. Many of these women have children
and families to provide for and no other income earners in
the family to contribute.
According to Clean Clothes Campaign, one worker’s salary
typically supports at least three people in a family. Not only
do low wages keep garment workers in a cycle of poverty,
but they also add to the pressure to work long overtime
hours, which impacts on health and safety, as well as on
productivity.
FURTHER READING:
Introduction to Fashion’s Social Issues
Research Report: The Living Wage: Core Principles & Global
Perspectives
ETHICAL FASHION FORUM // BRAND SHOWCASE 2017
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