Pressure to meet fast fashion deadlines is leading to women working in Asian factories supplying Gap and H&M being sexually and physically abused, according to unions and rights groups.
More than 540 workers at factories that supply the two retailers have described incidents of threats and abuse, according to two separate reports published last week by Global Labour Justice on gender-based violence in Gap and H&M’s garment supply chains.
The reports claim that these allegations, recorded between January and May this year in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka, are a direct result of pressure for quick turnarounds and low overheads.
Publication of the reports comes as negotiations are being held this week at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to tackle workplace harassment.
Tola Moeun, director of Central Cambodia, an NGO involved in the research, said abuse was a daily reality for female garment workers driven to meet unrealistic targets in H&M and Gap’s supply chains. “Most of these cases are not reported due to fear of retaliation in the workplace.”
Gap and H&M both told the Guardian they would investigate the allegations and that they welcomed initiatives to tackle violence, including an ILO convention.
Jennifer Rosenbaum, US director of Global Labour Justice, said: “We must understand gender-based violence as an outcome of the global supply chain structure. H&M and Gap’s fast fashion supply chain model creates unreasonable production targets and underbid contracts, resulting in women working unpaid overtime and working very fast under extreme pressure.
“Unions and many governments agree an ILO convention on gender-based violence is essential, although there is still opposition from some employers.”
H&M lists 235 Indian garment factories among its suppliers, the report says. In one dispute last month in a Bangalore factory over wages and working conditions, a female tailor said to researchers that she was grabbed by the hair and punched, then told: “You whore, your caste people should be kept where the slippers are kept.”
One worker in another H&M supplier factory told researchers she was beaten as punishment for not meeting production quotas.
“[My] batch supervisor came up behind me as I was working on the sewing machine, yelling, ‘You are not meeting your target production.’ He pulled me out of the chair and I fell on the floor. He hit me, including on my breasts. He pulled me up and then pushed me to the floor again [and] kicked me.”
At an H&M supplier factory in Sri Lanka, one woman complained: “When girls scold machine operators for touching them or grabbing them, they take revenge. Sometimes they give them machines that don’t function properly. Then they don’t come and repair it for a long time. After that, supervisors scold us for not meeting the target.”
In a factory supplying Gap in Indonesia, a woman talked about daily being called stupid, mocked for not working faster and threatened with contract termination.
“They also throw materials. They kick our chairs. They don’t touch us, so they don’t leave a mark that could be used as evidence with the police,” she said.
Debbie Coulter, of the Ethical Trading Initiative, of which both Gap and H&M are members, said: “These allegations are deeply concerning. Gender-based violence is unacceptable under any circumstances, and brands need to make sure that women working in their supply chain are protected.
“We expect H&M and Gap to investigate these allegations, and to work with supplier factories so that any women affected have swift access to remedy.
“ETI will be in regular contact with these members and will offer support where appropriate to ensure a swift resolution for all workers affected.”
In an email, H&M told the Guardian: “All forms of abuse or harassment are against everything that H&M group stands for. Violence against women is one of the most prevalent human rights violations. Gender-based violence makes women all around the world suffer daily and undermines their health, dignity and security. This is why we welcome any initiative strengthening the human rights of women at work, such as the international convention against gender-based violence in the workplace being discussed within the ILO.
“We will go through every section of the report and follow-up on factory level with our local teams based in each production country.”
Gap said it was “deeply concerned” about the allegations and was now conducting due diligence to investigate and address these issues.
“We are committed to making sure that the people who make our clothes work in safe conditions and are treated with respect. We’ve consolidated our supplier base to focus on partners that share our values and goals, and an increasing number of factories we source from are audited by ILO’s Better Work programme.
“Our Code of Vendor Conduct, which closely aligns with our environmental and human rights policies, prohibits any form of discrimination. We conduct assessments of our branded apparel suppliers on a regular basis to ensure compliance, and when we encounter any discriminatory or retaliatory practices in our supply chain, we require that our suppliers promptly remediate the situation.
“Gap Inc agrees that gender-based workplace violence is a significant issue and an appropriate subject for ILO action.”