• Fast fashion, small paychecks: UNIQLO’s sweatshop labor practices – People’s World
    http://www.peoplesworld.org/article/fast-fashion-small-paychecks-uniqlos-sweatshop-labor-practices

    SACOM conducted undercover investigations at Chinese contractors of Fast Retailing with support from the Japanese NGO, Human Rights Now (HRN), and the Chinese labor rights organization, Labor Action China.

    The organization carried out undercover operations three times. In the first operation in 2014, HRN looked into textile and garment factories in Guangdong Province operated by Pacific Textiles Ltd (PT) and Dongguan Luen Thai Garment Co., Ltd (DLTG) respectively.

    In January 2015, SACOM and HRN published their investigation report, immediately causing an international outcry. HRN Secretary General Ito Kazuko said, “After we uploaded the report summary onto our website, it attracted a large number of viewers in a single night. I was surprised at so many reporters coming to our press conference announcing the report.”

    The report described shocking working conditions in the two factories. In both factories, workers’ base wages were at a level of one-third of the average wage in each city. The monthly pay was 1,550 yuan ($227 U.S.) for workers at the PT factory in Canton City and 1,310 yuan ($192 U.S.) for those at the DLTG factory in Dongguan City.

    Alexandra Chan, a project officer of Hong Kong-based labor monitoring group Students and Scholars against Corporate Misbehavior, or SACOM, speaks while displaying a photo of a bare-chested factory worker in China making products for Japanese fashion giant Fast Retailing Co. during a press conference in Tokyo. | Koji Sasahara / AP
    As these factory workers’ base wages were too low to make ends meet, workers had no choice but to work overtime for 112-134 hours a month.