Fashion Industry Fails to Support Workers in India

Indian women

On the 2nd of May Covid cases in India peaked reaching more than 400,000 new cases. Since then it’s been slowing down. This week India reached about 300, 000 new cases. It's an improvement, but the country is in crisis. India is a hub for fast fashion production yet there are only a few reports on how the industry has been reacting to the crisis and if they have been helping. As always, everything you need to know is summarized in bullet points.

  • Garment factories in Karnataka, the western region of India remain open during the lockdown with half of their employees at work.
  • No protection kits or health regulations are implemented for garment workers that are still on the job.
  • Garment workers with mild symptoms are still expected to show at work since anything else could cause loss of job.
  • Shahi factory in Bengaluru, producing for H&M, Benetton and Columbia sportswear was closed down temporarily in May, however, there is no report that workers will receive any support during the period of absence. - cleanclothes