The fashion industry is huge and glamourous, but it is built on the backs of millions of women who live in poverty despite working countless hours making the clothes we wear. Canadian clothing brands take part in the systemic exploitation of workers by allowing poverty wages to be paid in many of their supplier factories. Canadian brands have a responsibility to pay enough for workers to live on — a living wage. The women who make our clothes are paid such paltry wages — as little as 73 cents per hour in countries like Bangladesh — that they cannot afford a decent standard of living they and their families need.
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GN I A P M A C bRIEF
They are paid less than half what they need to live a decent life. Despite their hard work, the women are trapped in a cycle of poverty. Access to dignified work is a human right and a fundamental pathway out of poverty. Big clothing brands have the power to lift millions of women out of poverty. Decent work and a living wage is essential for the dignity of the missions of people making our clothes. Canadian brands must commit to paying a living wage to the women who make our clothes.
THE UNEQUAL ECONOMICS OF THE GARMENT SECTOR
A LIVING WAGE IS THE SOLUTION
The world’s 2,153 billionaires have more wealth than 4.6 billion people combined. This wealth inequality is starkly illustrated in the garment sector where a privileged few amass vast wealth while millions are trapped in poverty. Clothing brands’ Chief Executive Officers continue to take home massive compensation packages and shareholders see their profits grow, while women toiling in faraway factories are forced into debt to survive. Executive pay at the top end of the scale is skyrocketing. Executive salary is $42,306 per day, women in Asia earn as little as $6 per day. Given this huge disparity, it takes just under two days for a CEO, on average, to earn what an ordinary Bangladeshi woman worker earns in her whole lifetime.
A living wage is a simple concept — that the lowest wage paid to a full-time worker must cover a basic and dignified standard of living. It is the minimum all working people should be paid if they are to escape poverty. A living wage should be earned in a standard working week (no more than 48 hours) and be sufficient to afford a decent standard of living for a worker and their family. A decent standard of living includes nutritious food, water, energy, housing, education, healthcare, childcare, clothing and transportation. It also includes savings for unexpected events. Rita, a Bangladeshi garment worker explains, “There is no money to do the grocery shopping, no money to buy medicines… [if I were paid more] I [would] be able to eat well, buy good things. I [would] be able to wear good clothes. So if improvement comes in my family, then the environment [living conditions] [would] also improve.”
For me, a living wage means a wage that helps me to live better. Will I be able to educate my children? I feel anxious about that.
Sabana (26), garment worker