Tangier Tragedy and Sweatshops in Morroco
On February 8th 2021 nineteen women and nine men died in a sweatshop in Tangiers, Morocco, after a short circuit caused by the heavy rains in the region flooded the sweatshop. Some report that a 14-year-old girl was killed in the accident. I’ve summarized all you need to know in bullet points.
- To meet global demand, numerous factories in Morocco, notably in Casablanca and Tangier, rely on sweatshops to enhance production and meet deadlines. Factories subcontract illegally in order to keep with demand and maintain cheap prices.
- Even though the owner of this particular sweatshop has been arrested it's widely believed that business as usual will continue. According to the Moroccan employers' association (AMITH), of the 1,000 million garments that are manufactured in the country each year, 600 million are produced in factories sub-contracted by foreign firms.
- "This tragedy must be a wake-up call for brands and retailers sourcing from Morocco to take responsibility for the working conditions of the workers making their clothes, by improving working conditions in the Moroccan supplier factories, committing to an internationally binding agreement on health and safety, and ensuring justice for the workers and their families in the event that a brand is identified as sourcing from this particular factory." - Clean Clothes