The fashion industry has always struggled to talk about the living wage in an open and consistent way. Two years ago, brands and retailers said it wasn’t a problem, or that if it was, it was somebody else’s. Last year they agreed that they ought to do something, but hadn’t quite got round to it yet. This year they have begun to dabble, but most say that it will be years before they have anything workable.
Behind all these excuses lie two simple, appalling facts. The people who make our clothes – whoever and wherever they are – live in poverty, usually earning just half of what they need to meet their basic needs and those of their families. And, ten years since the bulk of the industry signed up to the principle that all workers should earn living wages, nothing has been done to make that principle a reality.
* Read the report "Let’s Clean Up Fashion 2008" (pdf)