That cotton t-shirt you bought for £2 from a fast fashion brand? It’s fairly likely that child labour was involved in its production.
We’d all like to think that child labour in the fashion industry is a thing of the past. Sadly, that’s not the case, and most of us have been supporting it without knowing.
What is “child labour” in the fashion industry?
Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through work that:
- Deprives them of their childhood
- Is mentally and/or physically harmful
- Interferes with school attendance
Child labour in fashion can happen at any stage of the supply chain, from harvesting resources to spinning yarn and putting the actual garments together.
Cotton production, however, tends to be the most likely, since 71% of all child labour is found in agriculture.
But is child labour in fashion still a thing nowadays?
Photo credit: Adam Cohn
Yes, child labour in fashion is still a thing. Even though it’s forbidden by law in most countries, it continues to be a problem, especially in developing areas.
It’s not a coincidence that those are exactly the countries from which most fast fashion brands outsource their garments.
And, as if it weren’t heartbreaking enough that child labour in fashion still exist, it’s been rising, too. It declined by 30% between 2000 and 2012, but then the number of children in child labour rose by 8.4 million (reaching 160 million worldwide) within 4 years.
The COVID-19 pandemic was amongst the main factors, from schools being closed to the economic challenges it presented.
Why is there child labour in fast fashion?
Sadly, cheap and unregulated child labour is especially still a thing in fast fashion because it helps keep the costs so low.
Some of the reasons that maintain child labour in the fashion supply chain are:
- Many of its stages involve low-skilled tasks
- Some employers prefer hiring children for cotton picking because their smaller fingers are less likely to damage the crop
- Children are considered more obedient, and they’re often lured in with fake promises
- At least 29.8 millions of people are kept in modern slavery conditions: sometimes, when the adults in a family can’t survive on their wages alone, they feel like they have no other choice than to bring their children into slave labour in fashion
What you can do about child labour in the fashion industry as a conscious consumer
Of course, it’s an extremely difficult situation, and nobody can solve it overnight. However, here are some starting points to fight against child labour in fashion:
- Educate yourself and share your knowledge. Maybe, before reading this article, you didn’t know that many fast fashion clothing hid child labour. Being aware of it is already a great first step!
- If you can, consider donating to organisations actively working to tackle child labour, like Anti-Slavery International
- Demand transparency and avoid fashion brands that don’t tell you who made their clothes. Remember: if a garment is so cheap that it sounds too good to be true, it usually hides a dreadful price
- Support ethical and transparent fashion brands
- Choose organic cotton over cotton
- Look for third-party certifications like Fair Trade International, Better Cotton Initiative, or Fair Wear Association. On Project Cece, you can use them as filters to browse the clothing range of hundreds of fairtrade fashion brands!
Overall, we believe that being vocal and voting with our money are some of the best things we can do to fight child labour in the fashion industry (and beyond).
Just because we can’t see it, it doesn’t mean it's no longer there!
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T-shati ya pamba ya £ 2 kutoka kwa mtindo wa haraka Inawezekana sana kwamba kazi ya watoto ilihusika katika uzalishaji wake. Sisi sote tungependa kufikiri kwamba kazi ya watoto katika sekta ya mitindo ni jambo la zamani. Kwa kusikitisha, sivyo ilivyo, na wengi wetu tumekuwa tukiiunga mkono bila kujua. Ni nini "kazi ya watoto" katika sekta ya mitindo? Kazi ya watoto ni kazi ambayo huwatia katika hali ya kutokuwa na maisha ya utotoni, ambayo ni hatari kwa akili na mwili, ambayo huathiri ufikiaji wa shule, na ambayo inaweza kutokea katika hatua yoyote ya mlolongo wa usambazaji, kutoka kwa kuvuna rasilimali hadi kutengeneza vitambaa. Kwa upande mwingine, idadi ya watoto wanaofanya kazi katika kilimo ni kubwa, kwa kuwa asilimia 71 ya watoto wanaofanya kazi katika kilimo ni watoto. Lakini je, kazi ya watoto katika mitindo bado ni jambo la siku hizi? Picha: Adam Cohen: Kazi ya watoto katika mitindo ya nguo bado ni jambo la kawaida Ingawa imepigwa marufuku kisheria katika nchi nyingi, inaendelea kuwa tatizo, hasa katika maeneo yanayoendelea. Si bahati mbaya kwamba hizo ndizo nchi ambazo bidhaa nyingi za mitindo ya haraka hutumia nje nguo zao. Na, kana kwamba haikuwa ya kutosha kuvunja moyo kwamba kazi ya watoto katika mtindo bado ipo, imekuwa ikiongezeka, pia. Idadi ya watoto wanaofanya kazi ilizidi kuongezeka kwa asilimia 8.4 milioni mwaka 2012 na kufikia milioni 160 duniani kote. Janga la COVID-19 lilikuwa moja ya sababu kuu, kutoka kwa shule kufungwa hadi changamoto za kiuchumi zilizowasilishwa. Kwa nini kazi ya watoto inazidi kuwa maarufu? Kwa bahati mbaya, kazi ya watoto ya bei nafuu na isiyo na udhibiti bado ni jambo la haraka kwa sababu inasaidia kuweka gharama chini sana. """Wanaume wengi wanafanya kazi ya chini ya ujuzi, baadhi ya waajiri wanapendelea kuajiri watoto kwa ajili ya kuvuna pamba kwa sababu vidole vyao vidogo ni chini ya uwezekano wa kuharibu mazao, watoto ni kuchukuliwa kuwa zaidi ya kutii, na wao ni mara nyingi lured katika ahadi bandia, angalau 29.8 milioni ya watu ni kushikiliwa katika hali ya kisasa utumwa: wakati mwingine, wakati watu wazima katika familia hawawezi kuishi juu ya mshahara wao peke yao, wanahisi kama hawana chaguo ila kuleta watoto wao katika kazi ya utumwa katika mtindo." Hata hivyo, hapa ni baadhi ya pointi za kuanzia kupambana na kazi ya watoto katika mtindo: - Jifunze mwenyewe na kushiriki maarifa yako. Labda, kabla ya kusoma makala hii, hujui kwamba nguo nyingi za mtindo wa haraka zilificha kazi ya watoto. Kujua jambo hilo ni hatua ya kwanza yenye kutokeza! - Kama unaweza, fikiria kutoa mchango kwa mashirika yanayofanya kazi kwa bidii kupambana na kazi ya watoto, kama vile Anti-Slavery International - Omba uwazi na kuepuka bidhaa za mitindo ambazo hazikuambia ni nani aliyetengeneza nguo zao. "Kumbuka: ikiwa nguo ni ya bei nafuu sana kwamba inaonekana nzuri sana kuwa kweli, kwa kawaida huficha bei mbaya. - Kuunga mkono bidhaa za mitindo ya maadili na uwazi - Chagua pamba ya kikaboni juu ya pamba - Tafuta vyeti vya chama cha tatu kama Fair Trade International, Better Cotton Initiative, au Fair Wear Association. """ Kwenye Mradi wa Cece, unaweza kuzitumia kama vichungi kuchunguza aina ya nguo ya mamia ya bidhaa za mitindo ya biashara ya haki! Kwa ujumla, tunaamini kuwa kuwa na sauti na kupiga kura na pesa zetu ni baadhi ya mambo bora tunaweza kufanya kupambana na kazi ya watoto katika tasnia ya mitindo (na zaidi). Kwa sababu tu hatuwezi kuiona, haimaanishi kwamba haipo tena! Kugawana hadithi yetu Inaenda zaidi ya kupata nguo eco-kirafiki! Hapa ni jinsi ya kununua nguo endelevu kupitia maswali sita, kutoka kwa mawazo hadi wardrobe yako na jinsi unavyotumia. Viwanda hivi si mbali kama tunavyoamini, wala katika wakati wala katika nafasi! Hapa ni ukweli wa sweatshops katika Ulaya au nyuma ya maarufu high street bidhaa. "Mapinduzi ya mitindo ya nguo yameanza baada ya msiba wa 2013: ""Je, sekta hii imebadilika kweli linapokuja haki za wafanyakazi na matatizo ya mazingira?"""