The T-SHIRT - A Transparency Report: Meet the people who make our clothes - No Sweat
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The
T-SHIRT
Project
A Transparency Report:
Meet the people who make our clothes.
NO SWEAT OPORAJEO 2020
NO SWEAT
This T-Shirt Fights Sweatshops!
No Sweat is taking on the garment industry from the inside—building
solidarity with garment workers and showing what ‘ethical’ really
means.
Our T-shirts and other garments don’t just offer an alternative to the
sweatshops that produce apparel sold in Western shops, they actively
challenge them.
We believe passionately that we must end the exploitation of workers
throughout the world by unscrupulous producers paying poverty
wages to people who work in appalling conditions and enjoy few, if any,
employment rights. And the only way to do that is through solidarity.
We are making it our business to take on this industry directly in order
to ensure that ‘ethical’ really means ‘ethical’—by championing the
best practices, regulations, and wages that workers deserve.
We have partnered with a worker-owned garment factory in Bangladesh
which has demonstrated that change is possible and is setting new
standards to provide an exciting model for future garment production.
Through our partner we source T-shirts, hoodies and tote bags made
by people who earn a living wage and have democratic control over
their work. We use the profits to fund the fight against exploitation in
the garment industry globally.
This report tells the full story of what we affectionately refer to as ‘The
T-shirt Project’. You will learn how our production partner, Oporajeo,
was formed as a beacon of hope by survivors of the Rana Plaza
disaster in Bangladesh and has overcome every hurdle to ensure they
have a better life.
We detail the progressive new conditions that our T-shirts and
garments are produced in, the attempts that we and our partner make
to minimize their environmental footprint—and how every T-shirt we
sell helps fight the exploitation of sweatshop labour across the world.
2
CONTENTS
The T-shirt Project 5
No Sweat and Oporajeo 6
How Our Project Works 7
SECTION 1 Garment Worker Solidarity Fund 8
THE T-SHIRT PROJECT Positive Environmental Impact 9
Oporajeo’s Working Conditions 10
COVID-19 Safety Measures 11
Oporajeo’s Wages and Benefits Package12
No Sweat T-shirt Cost Breakdown 13
Oporajeo’s Workplace Democracy13
Rising from the Rubble of Rana Plaza 14
SECTION 2 The Fire15
Rising from the Ashes15
THE STORY OF OPORAJEO
COVID-19 Pandemic—Remobilising the
Rana Plaza Rescue Team 16
Oporajeo Agro 17
SECTION 3
Paying a Living Wage18
CHALLENGES IN PROMOTING
When is a Co-op not a Co-op?19
THE VOICE OF WORKERS Government Obstruction and Industry Reaction 20
SECTION 4
Bangladesh’s Ready-Made Garment (RMG) Industry 21
THE GARMENT INDUSTRY:
Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Auditing 23
WHAT WE CAMPAIGN FOR A Visit to a Bangladeshi Sweatshop 26
THE FUTURE Solidarity with Garment Workers 27
3
4
SECTION 1
THE T-SHIRT PROJECT
No Sweat has spent 20 years fighting sweatshop labour in
solidarity with garment workers. Now we’ve taken the fight to
the heart of the garment industry by creating our own brand of
clothing that helps combat the exploitation of workers.
In 2015, we reviewed the No Sweat campaign by looking at
changes in fashion over the past decade. We concluded that
there had been a seismic shift in the global fashion industry
towards more ethical production. The notion of sweatshop
labour had entered public consciousness and a growing
number of brands were thinking about their impact on the
environment.
But scratching deeper, we realized things were not as good
as they seemed.
Ethical and environmental commitments by major brands are
largely ‘greenwashing’ that increases sales by tapping into
greater public consciousness while doing little to improve the
lives of workers and to protect the environment.
The rise of more genuinely ‘ethical’ brands has been a
welcome change in the fashion landscape, offering an
alternative to the major brands, but we found that most of the
ethical labels were paying scant attention to workers’ rights
and hardly ever mentioned trade unions.
For this reason, we decided to develop a new way to put
workers’ rights at the front and centre of ethical fashion—by
launching our own No Sweat clothing label.
Our mandate was twofold:
• Source from workers’ co-operatives set up by former
sweatshop workers as factories offering a new life to the
people who had escaped the sweatshop nightmare.
• Use the profits to fund garment workers’ unions and our
campaign against sweatshop labour.
In 2016, we formed the company No Sweat Ethical Trading
Ltd, a separate entity from our campaign group, to oversee
what we have fondly come to refer to as ‘the T-shirt project’.
5
NO SWEAT AND OPORAJEO
In 2017, No Sweat came across a factory matching our mandate that could offer us T-shirts at a price that allowed us to compete in
the ethical garment sector and showcase a new brand that puts workers’ rights and environmental concerns at the forefront. That
factory was Oporajeo.
Oporajeo is a worker-owned garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, many of whose original workers were survivors of the tragic
2013 Rana Plaza disaster that caused global outrage. That incident—in which an unsafe eight-storey garment factory that had
been extended upwards without permits collapsed, killing 1,138 people—exposed the appalling conditions and exploitation that
many sweatshop workers endure.
No Sweat has been working hard to build the T-shirt project into a viable enterprise that can compete in the wholesale market. In
2020, after a successful crowdfunder campaign, we took the next step … a partnership with Oporajeo that would see us produce
not just genuinely ethical T-shirts, but ones that have workers solidarity sewn into every stitch.
6
Founders of Oporajeo, 2013
No Sweat campaigns for workers
rights, holding brands to account over
exploitation.
Profits from the T-shirts No Sweat supports and
fund our campaign funds garment workers
and garment worker’s trade unions around the
struggles. world.
Workers in this factory No Sweat T-shirts are made
democratically control their in a worker-owned factory in
work,ensure decent hours and Bangladesh set up by former
conditions and earn a living wage. sweatshop workers.
HOW OUR PROJECT WORKS
No Sweat’s ethical T-shirts are about solidarity, and because • Solidarity Fund: 5% of the gross profit from every garment
of that we operate differently to other T-shirt companies. We sold is being invested into a Solidarity Fund to support the
have created a circular economy that sees former sweatshop struggles of garment workers around the globe. This fund
workers make environmentally sound clothing that actively will be overseen by a committee comprising the No Sweat
funds the fight against sweatshop labour. There are 5 key campaign group, No Sweat Ethical Trading, and Oporajeo, as
ingredients that go into our T-shirt project: well as other partners from the labour movement.
• Worker Protection: Oporajeo sets the cost of production, • No Sweat’s Campaigning: The remainder of No Sweat
including the cost of materials and all the workers’ wages, Ethical Trading’s share of profits are donated to the No Sweat
which No Sweat pays in full—so if our project is not campaign to support their work and top up the Solidarity
successful the workers do not suffer any loss of earnings. Fund. There are no owners, shareholders or executives
taking large chunks of the profits.
• Profit Share: No Sweat and Oporajeo have a profit-sharing
agreement, giving each organisation 50% of the net profits • Oporajeo’s Social Projects: The remainder of Oporajeo’s
from the wholesale sales in the UK and Europe. This means share of the profits has a percentage paid out to the workers
that Oporajeo has access to a larger share of the profits under its own workers’ profit-sharing agreement, and the rest
from sales of our T-shirts than under a standard purchase is used to support various social projects that this workers’
agreement. initiative has launched (see below for more details).
7
GARMENT WORKER SOLIDARITY FUND
Solidarity Not Charity
The most important part of our T-shirt project is the Solidarity HOW DOES IT WORK?
Fund it contributes to.
From every blank T-shirt, hoodie or tote bag that we sell, 5%
We can’t simply shop our way to social change, we have to gross profit is put into the Garment Worker Solidarity Fund.
support the workers who face exploitation on the ground and The net profit is split equally between No Sweat Ethical
stand in solidarity with their struggles. Trading Ltd and Oporajeo.
We had no intention of simply creating a clothing company No Sweat Ethical Trading’s profits are donated to the No
that shows off its ‘ethical’ credentials—this project is about Sweat campaign to fund its work fighting sweatshop labour
building solidarity with garment workers movements’ and also tops up the Solidarty Fund in times of need.
worldwide.
Applications for support from the fund are assessed by the
We created the Garment Worker Solidarity Fund so that we No Sweat campaign following dialogue with No Sweat Ethical
can use the profits to help garment workers around the world Trading Ltd, Oporajeo, and other partners from the labour
fight against exploitation. movement.
All workers need a union, so that they can stand united The Garment Worker Solidarity Fund is used to support
and collectively bargain for a fair share of the wealth they workers fighting for their rights, particularly when on strike.
help create. This is nowhere more true than in the garment
industry where workers are forced to work for low wages in Strike funds are vital to workers’ collective success as it allows
poor conditions while large corporations earn multi-million them to take industrial action and continue to provide for their
dollar profits and the trickling down of this wealth stops at families.
the factory owners.
Factory owners and multi-national corporations rely on the fact
Garment workers organize themselves to fight for better that workers in the garment industry cannot afford to lose the
conditions and No Sweat’s T-shirt project is designed to small income their job provides by going on strike. The money
support them in that struggle. raised from No Sweat T-shirts helps them fight back.
8
Bangladesh Trade Union Centre
NO SWEAT AND OPORAJEO
Positive Environmental Impact
Azo-Free Dyeing Process: Azo compounds are widely used
It is impossible to produce clothing without having an impact in the dyeing of cotton, but are known to be potentially
on the environment, but there are a number of things that dangerous to human health and to have a negative impact on
producers can do to minimize this. No Sweat and Oporajeo the environment. Azo dyes entering the water system have
are working together to ensure that our garments are as been linked to health deterioration, the death of fish, and the
environmentally friendly as possible. contamination of rivers with carcinogenic aromatic amines.
For this reason, Oporajeo sources cotton coloured with an
Traceable Organic Cotton: our T-shirts and garments are azo-free dyeing process.
made with fully traceable organic cotton. This means we can
investigate the supply chain from farm to factory and ensure Eco-Friendly Water Filtration: waste water from the production
there is no exploitation involved in the production. The cotton process is filtrated and treated using an Effluent Treatment
Oporajeo sources to make our clothes is certified Global Plant (ETP) that stops any pollutants being released into the
Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), which means it contains a local eco-system.
minimum of 95% certified organic fibres and is not made with
any genetically modified products. Carbon Offsetting: Oporajeo is a carbon-neutral factory as
it has initiated its own grassroots tree-planting project in
Free from Harmful Substances: our T-shirts and garments are the Bangladeshi countryside. As part of its environmental
made with fabric that is OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified, projects outside of the factory (see below for more
which means it’s been tested to be free from harmful levels of information), Oporajeo volunteers have planted more than
more than 100 substances known to damage human health. 50,000 trees.
OEKO-TEX (the International Association for Research and
Testing in the Field of Textile and Leather Ecology) confirm We recognize the damaging environmental impact that
the human-ecological safety of textile products from all stages the garment industry has on the world. We will continue to
of production along the textile value chain, and attest to incorporate new ideas to minimize the environmental impact
socially and environmentally sound conditions in production of our T-shirt Project and campaign to stop the ecological
facilities. destruction that fast-fashion is doing to our planet.
9
9
Oporajeo Tree Planting Project
OPORAJEO’S WORKING CONDITIONS
No Sweat and Oporajeo take decent working conditions seriously.
All workers have the right to work in safety, without being exposed to
conditions that could put them in danger or damage their health.
While much of this may seem basic or self-evidently necessary,
sadly in the global garment industry such conditions are not the norm
(see below for more about sweatshop conditions in Bangladesh).
Progressive Employment Practices
Oporajeo currently has 95 workers—57 women and 38 men—and
80% of staff have dependent families for whom they are the main
providers in the household. There are 33 skilled machinists and 62
workers are auxiliary workers engaged in marking, cutting, packing
etc. Oporajeo has a strong policy on disability discrimination and No Child Labour sign on factory wall
currently employs 3 physically disabled people in various auxiliary
roles. The working day is 8 hours, from 9am to 6pm, with an hour’s Workers Committees
lunch break. Overtime is voluntary, not compulsory; is limited to 3 Oporajeo has a specific, worker-led Health and
hours per day; and workers receive double pay for every extra hour Safety Committee that has established a series of
worked. There is a strict policy of no child labour, stated emphatically policies, including fire safety and evacuation, which
in a notice at the entrance. are written clearly on the walls of the factory. It has
also created a number of other worker-led committees
dedicated to supporting those in the workplace, such
as a Grievance Handling Committee and an Anti-
Harassment Committee.
Factory Floor
The factory floor is clean, bright, and spacious, and
there are clear safety markings on the ground. Each
workstation has ample space in which to operate.
Wall fans and ceiling fans ensure that ventilation is
very good. Workers are not employed on piecework,
so are not driven by ever-expanding production
Anti-Harrassment Committee Health & Safety Committee Hours of Work notice targets. Work contracts are only taken on that can be
notice notice
completed in-house so that jobs are not contracted out
to sweatshops in the area.
Emergency evacuation plan on factory wall
Oporajeo factory floor
10COVID-19 safety measures
COVID-19 SAFETY MEASURES
The global pandemic that swept the globe in early 2020 Oporajeo implemented a number of important safety
led to full lockdowns being imposed in countries around measures in the factory to ensure as safe a workplace
the world (see Section 2 for more about Oporajeo and No as possible. The sewing machines were rearranged
Sweat during the global pandemic). to be 2.5 meters apart and at the end of the day the
factory undergoes a deep clean. Wearing masks in the
In May 2020, when factories were allowed to reopen building is compulsory, and visitors from outside the
across Bangladesh, Oporajeo did not follow the actions workforce were not allowed into the building until after the
of many garment factories and push to reach 100% pandemic.
capacity as soon as possible. Instead, they put people’s
health before profits and brought back only 70% of their A new, three-stage process for workers entering the
workforce, the others remained on furlough with a full factory was implemented:
wage. This allowed for adequate social distancing on the
factory floor. 1. First workers pass through a disinfectant spray booth
near the main gate of the factory .
2. Next they stop at a hand sanitiser station to ensure
their hands are completely clean.
3. And finally they have their temperature checked
to ensure no one has a fever. (Anyone with a
temperature over 99° F is sent home on full pay until
they have recovered and If anyone needs medical
support then Oporajeo covers the cost.)
With these safety measures in place, Oporajeo took all
possible precautions to protect workers from COVID-19.
Health and Safety in the workplace is a human right.
Masks are mandatory
11OPORAJEO'S
OPORAJEO’SWAGES
WAGESAND
ANDBENEFITS
BENEFITSPACKAGE
PACKAGE
Oporajeo has one of the most progressive wage structures in the Bangladesh garment industry, as well as a
benefits package that is exemplary and which No Sweat campaigns to make the standard in the garment sector.
PAY STRUCTURE (per month) 50,000 taka
20,000 taka
12,000–14,000 taka
(depending on role, skill etc.)
9,500 taka
Executive
Worker
Production (£480 approx)
Manager
Standard wage
rates (£190 approx)
Trainee
& probation (£115–135 approx)
(£95 approx)
The legal minimum wage for the garment sector in Bangladesh is currently 8,000 taka per month, meaning
Oporajeo’s standard wage rate is between 50% and 75% higher and is raised further by a benefits package.
BENEFITS PACKAGE
Workers’ profit share Support with child’s education Provident fund Support with medical bills
Life insurance Interest-free loans Free sanitary pads 38 days paid holiday per year
(double the legal minimum)
The estimated living wage in Bangladesh that trade unions call for is Tk16,000, based on a Tk10,643 basic wage,
Tk4,257 rent costs, and Tk1,100 for transportation and medical cost. Oporajeo’s benefits package brings their
12
standard wage rate (Tk12,000-14,000) up to a fair equivalent of the unions’ estimated living wage.NO SWEAT T-SHIRT COST BREAKDOWN
Unlike most garment companies, No Sweat and Oporajeo are actually a partnership that shares the profits from garment sales equally.
Below is the complete breakdown of where your money goes.
OPORAJEO’S WORKPLACE DEMOCRACY
Although Oporajeo is self-defined as a Manager overseeing the workforce,
worker-owned factory and was founded Oporajeo workers formed a Collective
by labour activists with the idea of Bargaining Committee to protect the
creating a new kind of garment factory, it rights of workers. The committee has
is important that we are not complacent three elected representatives who act
when it comes to workplace democracy. as shop stewards, liaising with the
Production Manager and Executive
Trade unions in Bangladesh operate Worker on any issues that might arise.
differently to those the UK, in that Elected workers also sit as members
members do not join an existing union on the Oporajeo board that meets once
as such, but have to form one in their a year. This committee formed the
own workplace. Once registered with basis for the Oporajeo union.
the government, these unions can then
choose to federate with a larger union Refreshingly, Oporajeo as a factory
organization, like the Garment Workers operates an ‘Open Book’ policy so that
Trade Union Centre or National every worker knows the production
Garment Workers Federation (see cost and selling price of contracts. This
Section 2 on the problems faced by includes the No Sweat partnership
workers forming unions). agreement, which was discussed with
the workers and is available for them
As Oporajeo operates a hierarchical to read.
structure, with an Executive Worker
(Managing Director) and a Production
13
13SECTION 2
THE STORY OF OPORAJEO
RISING FROM THE RUBBLE OF THE RANA PLAZA DISASTER
In Bengali, Oporajeo means ‘Invincible’. It was born out of the Looking to the future, the group realized that more could be
deadliest garment factory disaster in history. The story of how done than simple charity. Their background in labour rights
it has turned around people’s lives and battled its way through meant they understood the need to work in solidarity to help
corruption and intimidation in Bangladesh’s garment industry people rebuild their lives and this meant finding work for those
shows that it has earned its name. who had lost their livelihoods.
The disaster that led to Oporajeo’s formation occurred at Two months after the collapse, on 24 June 2013, a new kind
the Rana Plaza building in a district of the capital, Dhaka. of factory was created. With the help of labour activists,
This eight-storey commercial building housed a number of Oporajeo was established by seven former Rana Plaza
garment factories making clothes for major Western brands. workers. Within 18 months, the factory had grown to 33
On the morning of 24 April 2013 it collapsed, killing 1,138 workers, the majority of them survivors from Rana Plaza.
people.
The workers of Oporajeo were labeled owners, and the
For 11 days, volunteers worked tirelessly to rescue those profits that the factory made were distributed equally among
buried and recover the dead. In the weeks that followed, them. Medical support for treatment of physical and mental
some of the brave volunteers set up a group called Mukto rehabilitation that resulted from the disaster was established,
Tarunnno1 to raise funds for the rehabilitation of survivors. and a local school was set up for the workers’ children.
Rana Plaza Collapse, 2013 Credit: Abir Abdullah
14THE FIRE RISING FROM THE ASHES
Two years later, on the evening of 14 March 2015, a Like a phoenix emerging from the ashes, Oporajeo rose
devastating fire ripped through the Oporajeo factory. It again. It is now stronger than ever. Many of the original
destroyed all the sewing machines and 19,000 bags that had workers have received compensation for the Rana Plaza
just been made for a Swiss company. The main power switch disaster and have managed to leave factory work behind
was found to be off, so fire investigators determined that the and move on to better things. Those that remained helped to
origin of the blaze could not have been the electrical system, relocate the factory to another neighbourhood on the far side
as is common in factory fires. They also found that the back of Dhaka, 25 miles away from the shady figures suspected of
door had been broken in, and fuel from the generator outside the arson attack.
had been taken.
Five years on from the fire, Oporajeo now comprises 95
It was clearly an act of arson. workers and is well established as a specialist manufacturer
of jute products.
While nothing has ever been proved, suspicions fell on local
gangs and factory competitors. Prior to the fire, Oporajeo had In 2020, Oporajeo entered into a production partnership with
been approached by local gangsters demanding protection No Sweat to produce wholesale garments for the UK market.
money. When the fire brigade suddenly changed their initial Both sides agreed to donate a share of the profits from sales
assessment a few days after the blaze, it was suspected that to a workers’ fund supporting garment workers still struggling
influential people were putting pressure on local officials. under sweatshop conditions.
For Oporajeo, the fire was a tragedy. Shipments were Oporajeo continues its profit-sharing system among its
cancelled and the factory closed. workers and still helps to fund the community school it
founded. Currently, the workers have agreed to take 25% of
It was only through the sheer determination to continue profits as their profit share, which is divided equally among all
with their project, that has become a characteristic of this of them and paid as a bonus twice a year. The remaining 75%
remarkable initiative, that the Oporajeo workers eventually set of the profits are reinvested in the factory and used to fund
up in two vacant classrooms of the primary school that had Oporajeo Agro, another important social project that supports
been created from their profits.2 disadvantaged people in a rural hill region.
15
15
The only surviving sewing machine from the fire in 2015Oporajeo’s COVID response team
COVID-19 PANDEMIC—Oporajeo remobilize
Rana Plaza rescue team
In March 2020, as the global pandemic hit Bangladesh, some
of the world’s richest clothing brands cancelled contracts
throwing millions of workers into a desperate situation as their
incomes evaporated overnight.
COVID-19: FAILURE OF BIG BRANDS
By contrast, No Sweat worked with Oporajeo, paying for the
latest order in full but agreeing to suspend production until The reaction of Western brands that saw their revenue
after the crisis. This meant Oporajeo were able to furlough the stop abruptly as the world went into lockdown during
the COVID-19 pandemic will be a source of shame for the
majority of their workers on full pay, with only a small team
industry for many years to come.
of young volunteers, those without dependent families, to
remain in the factory producing PPE that could be donated to Brands have boasted profits in the tens of millions over
the local healthcare system. the years, but the moment their income stopped as retail
stores were closed by government order, they cancelled
Oporajeo then set to work re-mobilsing the rescue team orders with garment factories and refused to pay for what
that once dug victims from the rubble of Rana Plaza to feed had been produced.
desperate garment workers thrown into destitution by the
impact of coronavirus. No Sweat re-directed the Garment The impact of this action was to leave garment workers
in some of the poorest countries without wages that
Worker Solidarity Fund to support Oporajeo’s work as
they were owed as the factory owners had not received
they set about producing food ration parcels for the local payment for what had been made.
community and providing hot meals for garment workers
made homeless from their lost employment. In Bangladesh millions of garment workers were left facing
homelessness and starvation as their income completely
Over the course of the next three months, No Sweat evaporated with no government support reaching them.
fundraised over £5,000 to support Oporajeo’s COVID-19 Some brands finally gave in to pressure and paid what
Emergency Response, which in turn gave out over 20,000 was owed, but many more didn’t.
cooked meals, and supported hundreds of families in the local
area with food ration parcels.
16OPORAJEO AGRO
Built on the success of the worker-owned factory, Oporajeo
has created a number of solidarity projects outside the
capital that are helping to improve the lives of disadvantaged
indigenous people in the remote hills of Bandarban district of
South Eastern Bangladesh.
These communities lack proper education facilities for their
children, and do not have access to pure drinking water,
sanitation or electricity.
Oporajeo Agro was formed to help tackle these problems.
Money generated from the factory has:
• Built a Pico Hydro Power Plant, with a capacity of 10KW
that is the first of its kind, providing electricity to at least 30
families in Aung Thuwai Pru Para, a remote village of the
Chittagong Hill Tracts.
• Set up six sanitary latrines in the village of Ami Para in
Thanchi, and is working to supply safe drinking water
to the houses as the natural sources of water become
contaminated in the monsoon season.
• Formed a primary school for the children of the village.
Some 19 children attend classes every day. Without it, the
nearest government primary school is 5km away.
• Created two organic farming pilot projects to produce
papaya, bananas, pickles and spices. The aim is to establish
Installing the hydro-power
an easy supply chain for the local farming communities to
market their agricultural and handmade products.
17
Ami Para, Thanchi, BandarbanSECTION 3
CHALLENGES IN PROMOTING
THE VOICE OF WORKERS
PAYING A LIVING WAGE
Oporajeo has one of the most progressive wage structures WHAT IS A LIVING WAGE?
in the Bangladesh garment industry, as well as a worker
benefits package that provides additional support for living The living wage is a well-known term in the UK and the US
costs. No Sweat considers this to be a living wage. but is not always easy to translate into other languages.
It means that an individual earns enough from their basic
However, while the Oporajeo wage rate is between 50% and income to live a healthy, happy life without having to
75% higher than the garment sector minimum and is lifted struggle to meet their needs.
further by the worker benefits package, [see Section 1 for Calculating a living wage in each country is no easy task,
full details] the basic wage rate is slightly lower than other as local factors impact the calculation. However, a very
calculations of a living wage for Bangladesh. basic calculation would set a level above a country’s
national minimum wage, as this is rarely enough to live
In 2018, trade unions in Bangladesh called for an increase on. The higher a wage is above the minimum wage, the
in the minimum wage to 16,000 taka per month (£150) for closer it will be to reaching a level of providing a decent
the garment sector. Oporajeo’s Executive Worker, Kazi life.
Monir Hossain, was involved in the pay commission that Campaigns like No Sweat call for the implementation of
established the 16,000 taka figure and states that the living wages around the globe that are implemented by
calculation was based upon the needs of a family of four legislation, which can put an end to the chasing of ever
people with two working, eating 3,000 calories per day. lower wage rates by corporations, moving from one
Essentially, it was a call for a living wage for the garment country to the next in a race to the bottom that lowers the
industry. standard of living for workers.5
The government ignored this call and instead increased the
minimum wage, for the first time in five years, from 5,300 To counter the continuance of low wages in the garment
taka (£50) to 8,000 taka (£75) at the end of the year.3 sector, Oporajeo implements its own form of living wage—
that they call “a fair wage”—which is higher than the sector
Such a low increase had a limited impact on the workers’ minimum but lower than the unions living wage, and then
lives, and a number of factories were said to have raised further by a benefits package that makes significant,
downgraded and even sacked workers to keep the overall immediate improvements to workers lives.
wage bill the same. Spontaneous protests of tens of
thousands of garment workers erupted in the capital that Kazi explained that currently no factory in Bangladesh
were brutally suppressed by police.4 pays the 16,000 taka rate, so it has been used more as a
benchmark for negotiating upwards the minimum wage,
When we asked Oporajeo about paying the 16,000 taka which remains grossly inadequate for a worker’s needs.
rate they said they can only do this when the government Oporajeo supports the call for the garment sector minimum
makes it the minimum wage. Paying the rate would certainly wage to be increased to 16,000 and they understand that
cause huge friction with other factory owners and the fear of without this call, the increase in 2018 would have been much
attacks against Oporajeo are still very real. [See Section 2 lower. Even now, in many small garment factories across
on previous attacks they have suffered]. Bangladesh, the new minimum wage rate is not adhered to.
18WHEN IS A CO-OP NOT A CO-OP?
Oporajeo has often been described in the press as a workers’ The formation of Oporajeo as a workers’ co-operative
co-operative6 and this was certainly the spirit with which the designed to operate in Bangladesh’s export-oriented
factory was created. However, after visiting the factory and garment sector was radical—but its co-operative ambitions
holding detailed discussions with them, it became clear to No immediately came up against problems.
Sweat that things are not straightforward for projects of this
kind in Bangladesh. Kazi Monir Hossain, Oporajeo’s Executive Worker and one
of the labour rights activists who initially set up the project,
There are three main types of co-operative society: explains: “In Bangladesh it is not possible for a workers’
- producer co-ops co-operative to be granted an export licence.” Without this
- worker co-ops licence, it is impossible to take advantage of the huge export
- consumer co-ops trade in garments.
In Bangladesh, producer co-operatives are most prominent, So, although Oporajeo was formed in the spirit of a worker
mainly focused in the agricultural sector, but there are also co-op, with workers’ democracy and mutual aid at its heart,
a number in the financial sector through credit unions, and it was unable to register as a co-operative. For this reason,
various producer co-ops in rural villages. it identified itself as a ‘worker-owned’ factory and attempted
to be structured in a way that benefits the workers while still
From a broad, international perspective, co-ops have been being able to operate in the garment sector.
given some positive reinforcement through the Fair Trade
movement, but this has largely been confined to producer co- No Sweat is actively working with Oporajeo to develop new
ops in the agricultural sector growing commodities like cotton, ways that its workers can operate on the basis of mutual aid.
coffee and bananas for export to the West. This Fair Trade The use of the factory profits to benefit them in various ways
revolution has not extended to garment factories in the same is outlined above. We are also working with them to develop
way. a consumer co-op alongside the factory to provide low-cost
goods to the local community.8
While there are relatively few garment factories set up as
worker co-ops around the world, the multi-billion dollar global However, obstacles created by a public administrative
garment industry is dominated by factories with wealthy bureaucracy simply not designed to support such an
owners that exploit workers. Even those factories producing organisation—and an industry that has been openly hostile to
clothes using Fair Trade cotton are rarely ever co-operatives.7 it—meant the problems facing Oporajeo were far from over.
CO-OPERATIVES IN BANGLADESH
Co-operatives have a long history in Bangladesh, dating back to the
time of British imperialism. During the rule of Pakistan (1947–72), co-
operatives flourished, playing a key role in reducing poverty, but their
influence went into decline following independence as they gained a
reputation for corruption and held strong ties to the government.
177,930 925,699
Although they have a strong constitutional and legal status, and are Co-ops Jobs
governed by an ample regulatory structure, a 2014 study suggested
that the growth of the co-operative movement in Bangladesh has
been hindered by nepotism and corruption. It indicated that there is
an ongoing lack of public trust in co-operatives and that the state
administrative structure that is needed to support the growth of the
co-operative movement is in desperate need of reform.
11 million
However, despite these flaws the authors of the report stressed the Members
value of “the role and necessity of cooperative societies in Bangladesh
in terms of poverty alleviation, to push low-earning people to a better
life and to rescue them from want.”9 Data Source: Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development &
Cooperatives, Department of Cooperatives, Annual Report 2018 / 19
19GOVERNMENT OBSTRUCTION AND INDUSTRY REACTION
Forming a worker-owned factory in the garment industry is a voice in operations, and that they are entitled to an equal
not straightforward in Bangladesh. When the labour activists share of profits.
who created Oporajeo tried to register all of the workers
as the owners of the company, they faced determined Bureaucratic obstructions are compounded by the very real
bureaucratic obstruction. The government official “threw the obstacle of negative industry reactions.
paperwork back in my face,” Kazi said. He was told that in
order to own a company, an individual needs to have three The formation of a worker-owned factory that has a focus
specific things: on workers’ rights, environmental responsibility, and decent
remuneration and benefits that improve their quality of life has
1. Tax certificate not gone unnoticed among other garment factory owners. It
2. Bank account is no surprise that such practices are not welcomed because
3. Bank solvency certificate they highlight the disparity between the poor conditions
endured by most garment workers and the potential way in
In Bangladesh, garment workers—like almost all working- which an industry that really valued them could operate.
class people—are usually paid in cash and earn below the
income tax threshold. This means they are not issued a tax As mentioned, the first incarnation of Oporajeo burned to
certificate and do not have a bank account or a bank solvency the ground in suspicious circumstances. There remains a
certificate. As a result, the workers of Oporajeo were not very real concern among Oporajeo’s founders that further
allowed to be registered as owners of the company. incidents of this kind could take place, putting lives at risk.
So far, local gangs have not approached them for protection
A new way forward had to be found. money at their new premises in a different district, and their
new building has better security.
Facing the impossible obstacle of government obstruction,
Oporajeo has been forced to devise its own format of So while Oporajeo leads the way in terms of how a garment
workers’ ownership. In its government paperwork it states factory could operate in Bangladesh, it falls to campaigners
that the labour rights activists who originally formed it are the at No Sweat and other groups around the world to build
registered owners. However, each worker has a contract that international solidarity and promote their example as the way
states Oporajeo is a worker-owned factory, that they have things could be—and should be—in the garment industry.
20SECTION 4
THE GARMENT INDUSTRY:
WHAT WE CAMPAIGN FOR
BANGLADESH’S READY-MADE GARMENT (RMG) INDUSTRY
When it comes to making clothes, Bangladesh is outsized. 2008 and 2018.13 The value of Bangladesh’s apparel exports
to the world was a record US$33bn in 201914 and a few
After China and the European Union, it is the third largest years ago leading participants in this industry were predicting
exporter of clothing in the world with a 6.4% share of potential US$50bn exports by 2021.15
the global apparel export market in 2018.10 And until the
COVID-19 pandemic threw the world economy off track, the T-shirts have emerged as the country’s main clothing export—
growth of its clothing export sector was accelerating. Exports worth US$7bn in 2018–19 and overtaking by value all other
grew by 11% in 2018 compared to an average annual 10% products such as shirts, trousers, jackets and sweaters.16
between 2010–18.11 As a result, the ready-made garments (RMG) sector has
emerged as Bangladesh’s biggest earner of foreign currency.
The garment industry has become a lifeline for this rapidly Whereas in 1984 it accounted for just 4% of the value of
developing country. exports, in 2018–19 this had soared to 84%.17 The European
Union (including the UK) is by far the main destination for
Until 2019, Bangladesh had one of the fastest growing those exports, accounting for 62% of RMG exports by value
economies in the world, clocking up an average 6% annual in Financial Year (FY) 2018–19.18 Nonetheless, the US
GDP growth. Yet it remains one of the world’s poorest, most imports more than any other single country in the world,
overpopulated and most inefficiently governed countries— accounting for nearly 18% of Bangladesh’s RMG exports by
and economic growth has bypassed most citizens as the value in FY2018–19.19
wealthy benefit. One in four Bangladeshis (24.3%) lives in
poverty, 12.9% live in extreme poverty, and 15.2% suffer from All this translates into a lot of jobs: in 2018–19, a total of
undernourishment.12 4,621 garment factories were registered with the main
industry body, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and
The economy in Bangladesh has grown very rapidly, and Exporters Association (BGMEA)20 which says its members
exports of apparel and clothing more than trebled between employ around 20 million people in the country.21
21But rapid growth also translates into a lot of exploitation.
Main clothing products exported from
There is a simple reason for Bangladesh’s position in the Bangladesh 2018–19 (million $USD)
global apparel market: the unskilled labour that has fed its
rapid growth is cheap and abundant. In a country of 161 Sweaters Shirts
million people where over 65% of the population is of working 4,256 (17%) 2,325 (9%)
age (15–64), in 2019 at least 18 million people were either
unemployed or underemployed.22 Labour costs are known
to be a top priority for big brand purchasing officers when
sourcing globally —and Bangladesh has been among the
most attractive destinations.23 Trousers
6,940 (28%)
T-shirts
However, not only is labour cheap, Bangladesh was
traditionally able to maintain its competitive edge in the 7,011 (28%)
garment sector and other industries by denying workers basic
protections in conditions that lacked investment in health
and safety. Reports of workers who have tried to organize
and fight for improved pay and conditions being sacked,
threatened and even beaten are common.24
Jackets
Jackets
Substantial numbers of workers are employed in informal, 4,385 (18%)
4,385 (18%)
unpaid, or agricultural work and in 2017 just 1 in 5 earned
a regular wage, less than 40% of whom had a written
contract.25 More than 85% of the employed population aged
15 and above are in the informal sector, which is insecure, Data Source: Export Promotion Bureau, Compiled by BGMEA
poorly paid and not covered by social security.26 In the RMG
child labour, it has not been eradicated—despite official
industry a large proportion of production still takes place in
commitments to do so. The country has a young population
the informal economy in unregulated sweatshops that work
(34% aged 15 and younger and just 5% aged 65 and older)
as sub-contractors. One observer has implied that for every
meaning that every year more and more young people enter
formal garment factory, there are more than two informal
the labour market.28 In 2018 the US Department of Labour
factories acting as sub-contractors.27
found that children in Bangladesh engaged in the worst forms
of child labour, and continued to perform dangerous tasks in
Things have changed since the Rana Plaza disaster in 2013,
the production of garments and leather goods.29 No Sweat’s
although not in many of these sweatshops.
visit to a sweatshop on the outskirts of Dhaka in February
2020 confirmed that child labour persists.
While efforts have been underway since the 1990s to end
Exports of ready made garments (RMG) versus Moreover, approximately 80% of the 20 million people
total exports of Bangladesh (million $USD) employed in the garment sector are women.30 Female
garment workers constitute a highly vulnerable group: young,
2018–19
40,535
poor, unskilled, often illiterate, and mainly single in a society
34,133 (84%) dominated by men.31
30,186
2013–14 In short, many of the people drawn into the garment sector by
24,491 (81%)
poverty are easy to exploit, and exploitation is rife across the
country.
7,602
2003–04
5,686 (74%)
Tackling this sweatshop industry is a huge task that requires
2,533 Total exports of Bangladesh the collaboration of campaign groups like No Sweat and
1993–94
1,555 (61%) Exports of RMG (and %
worker initiatives like Oporajeo, but also the global trade
of total exports) union movement and the International Labour Organisation.
811
1983–84
31 (3%) Together, we need to put pressure on governments and
rich, Western brands to initiate changes that workers are
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 40,000 45,000 demanding at the highest level.
Data Source: Export Promotion Bureau, Compiled by BGMEA
22Oporajeo’s old factory, circa 2014
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
WHAT IS A MULTI-STAKEHOLDER INITIATIVE?
AND SOCIAL AUDITING
A Multi-Stakeholder Initiative (MSI) brings together brands,
Big brands worry about their reputations. When disasters factory owners, and civil society groups (mainly NGOs, but
such as the Rana Plaza collapse expose the poor working in some instances trade unions) in an effort to set criteria
conditions in which their products are produced, they hurry to for the conditions in which clothes are made. This will
limit the damage. Reputation management is the underlying include stipulations on working hours, health and safety
motive of what are called Corporate Social Responsibility conditions, and environmental impacts.
(CSR) policies, by which companies ostensibly self-regulate
in order to show that they are either contributing to broader MSIs are involved in preparing ‘social audits’ to assess the
societal goals or supporting ethically-oriented practices and conditions in a factory according to these criteria. While
standards. some audits are effective and offer a genuine attempt to
raise the bar in terms of industry conditions, others are
Many large companies have a CSR department and may toothless and dominated by corporations that attempt to
even be part of a Multi-Stakeholder Initiative (MSI, see box). whitewash the poor conditions in which their clothes are
A growing number of brands point to the latest ‘social audit’ made.
of a factory making their clothes or display an accreditation
mark of a organization to suggest they go above and beyond Some of the biggest MSIs include the Fair Labour
what is reasonably required when it comes to ensuring their Association (FLA), the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), and
workers are well treated and production does not harm the Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP).
environment.
Broadly speaking, the emergence of MSIs in the 1990s
was seen as a positive development because it meant that In an extensive report published in 2020, the organisation MSI
some action at least was being taken to curb the sweatshop Integrity found that “the grand experiment of Multi-Stakeholder
conditions that have emerged in developing countries through Initiatives in corporate accountability” a failure and labelled them
globalization, and civil society advocacy groups that had been ‘Not Fit for Purpose’.32
leading the calls for change were being given a seat at the
table. Reflecting on a decade of research and analysis, the report
concludes that the majority of MSIs are dominated by
However, over time these MSIs and corporate responsibility corporations and that “while MSIs can play important roles
‘initiatives’ have become so numerous and confusing—with in building trust and generating dialogue, they are not fit-for-
each implementing its own criteria—that their impact on purpose to reliably detect abuses, hold corporations to account
improving workers’ lives has been limited. for harm, or provide access to remedy.”
23No Sweat has long been critical of MSIs and Corporate OPORAJEO’S SOCIAL AUDITS
Social Responsibility projects set up in the garment industry.
All too often they do not go anywhere near far enough to In order to grow in the industry, compliance with social
providing decent protection for workers and the environment. auditing is increasingly necessary. Oporajeo is working
In fact, in the worse-case scenarios social auditing by MSIs towards an accreditation with the World Fair Trade
can disempower workers and allow corporations to present Organisation and has recently undertaken an audit by
themselves as ethical and sustainable to consumers when Amfori BSCI, a Multi-Stakeholder Initiative with a large
the reality is very different. membership base among European retailers.
When No Sweat began working with Oporajeo, we did not ask Under the terms of this audit, Oporajeo achieved an overall
them about their social auditing or accreditations—we asked C grade defined as ‘Acceptable’. While Amfori BSCI’s
them about their workplace democracy. What say do workers code of conduct is stated to be based on core International
have about the conditions they work in, their wages, and what Labour Organization (ILO) and United Nations Global
their factory does to mitigate its impact on the environment? Compact standards, we have concerns about their auditing
For us, these are key, foundational issues that determine process. In particular, Amfori BSCI stated that a workers’
whether a factory is a sweatshop and the real quality of committee is not a requirement under Bangladeshi law if
worker control. a factory has fewer than 50 workers on site. As Oporajeo
had less than 50 workers at the time of the audit it did
In February 2020, while visiting Oporajeo, No Sweat not enquire about the workers’ committees in place
met with the Garment Workers Trade Union Centre and actually downgraded Oporajeo in terms of workers’
(GWTUC—a Bangladeshi garment workers union and participation.
part of the larger Trade Union Centre), and asked for
their informal assessment of Oporajeo. The response Even more troubling, in its recent report, Fig Leaf for
was positive, with the union representative considering
Oporajeo as a model for other workers to strive for.
Nevertheless, powerful pressures exist upon small initiatives
like Oporajeo to comply with the system as it stands.
No Sweat protests against Nike (left) and Disney (above)
24Fashion , the Clean Clothes Campaign highlighted
the responsibility of Amfori BSCI in failing to identify
safety defects (or child labour) in a Rana Plaza factory THE PROBLEM WITH ‘ETHICAL FASHION’
of all places, pointing out that the audit even stated
Since emerging out of the anti-globalization movement in
that the building was of “good construction quality”.33
the late 1990s, No Sweat has called for systemic change
in the garment industry, for improved conditions and for
Clean Clothes Campaign has also been critical of
workers’ rights—most importantly the right to organise.
Amfori BSCI because of its history of lobbying against
We have always avoided calling for boycotts unless at the
binding Corporate Social Responsibility commitments.
express request of workers, as they threaten to hurt the
The Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs
very people they are supposed to help.
has criticized Amfori BSCI for having a “top-down
elite structure” with very little non-corporate influence.
Over the past decade or so we have seen the rise in
Several German groups have also voiced criticism of
‘ethical fashion’ that puts the choice in the hands of the
Amfori BSCI for being a voluntary effort that does not
consumer to shop with integrity, and has forced large
compel members to tackle degrading work conditions
brands to market themselves as ‘sustainable’. But for all
and for letting companies superficially claim social
the new ethical labels and corporate greenwashing, the
responsibility while ignoring human rights violations.34
exploitation of garment workers continues.
Nonetheless, while No Sweat believes that MSIs
Our T-shirt project is not just another ‘ethical fashion’ label,
and social auditing are not the best way to protect
it’s an attempt to shift the focus on to workers rights and
workers, we acknowledge that they are the help build the struggles that garment workers and their
established form of consumer confidence model and unions are involved in. It is good to think about what you
we support Oporajeo in gaining the highest grade in buy and try to shop ethically, but the problem with ‘ethical
any social audit carried out. fashion’ is that individual shopping habits aren’t going to
end the exploitation—only standing in solidarity with the
It is for this reason that our T-shirts and garments are workers to put pressure on brands and governments to
made from cotton that is certified to OEKO-TEX make the changes they demand will end the exploitation
Standard 100 and, with our recent switch to entirely of the sweatshop industry.
organic products, we ensure the cotton meets the
Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) [see Positive
Environmental Impact above].
25A VISIT TO A BANGLADESHI SWEATSHOP
On a recent visit to the Oporajeo factory, No Sweat taka per unit (about 12 pence). We were told the factory
activists were invited to visit a nearby garment factory makes 2,000 pieces per day. There were 30 workers in
so that we could make a visual comparison of the the room and we calculated that each makes up to 66
conditions. T-shirts each day.
This provided a rare glimpse inside a Bangladeshi Upon scanning those working in the factory we saw
sweatshop that we were told was typical of the the face of a child aged 7 or 8 years old. When asked
thousands of garment factories in the country where whether he worked there, the same young man that had
workers toil in unsafe conditions for a poverty wage. handed us the samples replied assuredly: “Yes, only
part time … he’s a trainee.”
The sweatshop was located a few miles up the road
from Oporajeo in a shantytown with corrugated iron As we left, our guide explained that the majority of
houses cut through by a dirt road. As we arrived, our workers in that room were under 18. When we asked
translator, Ashiq who was as new to the area as we how much they would be paid we were told around 5,000
were, said: “This must be an area of sub-contracted taka per month—less than £50 and a full 3,000 taka less
factories, because no buyers would come here to see that the legal minimum wage.
the products.”
This situation is common in the Bangladesh garment
Walking along the dirt road, we turned and climbed a industry. Sub-contracted factories operate without
metal staircase on the outside of a building to step into regard to the law, failing to comply with basic
a room little bigger than a garage. It was lit by a few bare requirements prohibiting child labour and ensuring a
bulbs hanging from a high ceiling and had no ventilation basic minimum wage.
except for two large, square holes in the walls where
windows were supposed to be. When we pressed our guide how the factory could
get away with operating like this we were told: “No
The room was crowded. Production stopped competely government inspectors come down here (to the far
the moment we entered, a clear sign that our interpreter southern outskirts of the capital) and, if they did,
was right—Western buyers were not a common sight in government officials can be bribed.”
this area.
The situation of Bangladesh’s millions of garment
We stepped over piles of T-shirts to pass tightly packed workers, the majority working in conditions like the
sewing machines. Our guide from Oporajeo introduced small sweatshop we witnessed, stands in stark contrast
us as a buyer visiting factories to see what was to the conditions at Oporajeo.
available. He was a friend of some of the people working
in the factory and encouraged one young man to show We are working together to build an alternative based
us a sample of the T-shirts being made there. on the example that Oporajeo is setting. It provides a
decent workplace, has democratic decision-making at
We dutifully played the part of buyers inspecting the its core—and puts people before profits.
product and checked all the stitching in the seams,
nodding with approval at their work. We asked how Oporajeo shows how the garment industry should be—
much this would cost to buy and was told it sells at 13 and its success proves that this is possible.
26
26THE FUTURE
SOLIDARITY WITH
GARMENT WORKERS
Transparency is fundamental to positive change in the No Sweat and Oporajeo are leading the way in the garment
garment industry and this report embodies No Sweat and industry, setting a standard that others must follow. With the
Oporajeo’s “open book policy”. small resources of a grassroots campaign group and a worker-
owned factory, we have been able to create a product that can
We have used it to lay out the conditions in which our T-shirts genuinely help those who struggle to survive in sweatshops.
are made; the efforts to lessen the environmental impact
of their production; the wages and benefits received by the If we can do this, then the rich brands with their vast resources
workers who make them; and how it all connects to our can do it—and a lot more.
ongoing work to support garment workers and their unions in
the fight against sweatshop exploitation. We will continue to campaign in solidarity with workers for
change in the garment industry until no one anywhere in the
‘This T-shirt Fights Sweatshops’ has been the powerful slogan world ever again needs to wear clothing that says:
of No Sweat’s T-shirt project in recent years, a period in which ‘This T-shirt Fights Sweatshops’.
we have grown consistently as more people find out what we
are doing—and why we are doing it.
We have also gained support in the UK music industry—a
key market for T-shirts—and we work with a collective called
Punk Ethics whose Punks Against Sweatshops campaign
has helped us reach out to Europe and the United States.
Our connections in the UK trade union movement have
enabled us to encourage a growing number of unions to think
about their own supply chains when ordering union-branded
clothing—and we are proud to say that more and more are
switching to No Sweat.
We will continue to expand our project as we campaign for
an end to sweatshop conditions in the garment industry and
other sectors around the globe where the exploitation of
workers is the norm.
We are proud of our partnership with Oporajeo because it
symbolises our ambition to put trade unions and workers’
rights at the forefront of ‘ethical fashion’. Oporajeo is not a
workers’ utopia, but it is developing far-reaching initiatives
that are leading the way in terms of best practice. It is
showing us what is possible when we call for change in the
garment industry. We will continue to campaign to make these
initiatives the norm in this sector across the globe.
As our project grows, so will Oporajeo, and the benefits
of their work will continue to reach more people across
Bangladesh and inspire others to follow in their footsteps.
27You can also read
