Fashion, as a first moving industry, have demanded cheap labor as their source of manpower with poor and unsafe working conditions. Talking about fashion trends and red-carpet events, the underlying shady secret of the manufacturing of these clothes to the point it reaches the market may not be a concern to the celebrities. In textile and garment production countries, there is cheaply available labor where children are victims. For instance, in cotton picking, these industries will prefer child workers as they do not damage the cotton due to their feeble fingers, and more specifically, labor can be acquired inexpensively (Moulds & UNICEF, 2017). Hennes & Mauritz (H & M), a Swedish company, found its self in the limelight for conducting illicit employment of young children. Many of the Hollywood personalities have displayed themselves flaunting with different types of garments and apparel from H & M, an international clothing retailer. They may or may not know what is happening behind the scenes before the products are readily available for them to fit in in the market. This paper will focus on child exploitation and poor work environments in H & M, how the issue was rectified and future solutions.
On a global scale, 11 percent of children's Population engage in child labor. In the fashion supply chain, in both the pre- and post-production processes such as transferring pollen, picking/ harvesting crops, spinning mills as well as cutting and trimming stages require low-skilled labor making suitable for children compared to adults (The Guardian, 2016). The main issue is H & M, a multinational retailer working with a Chinese factory in Myanmar employed minors of 14 years of age working over 12 hours daily. According to one minor interviewed, H & M hired anyone who requested for a job even if they were minors (Sandvik & Stubbs, 2019). Both factories Myanmar Century Liaoyuan Knitted Wear and Myanmar Garment Wedge, making clothes for H & M breached the International Labour Laws for child exploitation and employment of minors. The other problem was that the working condition was adverse for child workers who were forced to work for a long hour with little pay.
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In response to rectify the situation, H & M asserted that they took stern actions against its two suppliers regarding the Identification Cards as well as overextended working hours (Moulds & UNICEF, 2017). The H & M further stated that it was unacceptable for child exploitation, which goes against the ILO and the country's laws. The Swedish based company likewise maintained the importance of manufacturing their products under a better working environment taking into account the safety, health of all involved parties. The long-term solution to the child workers in the fashion supply chain is to involve the local government of Myanmar, t he Ministry of Labour, Immigration, and Population to ensure strict measures for companies that engage in child employment ( Perry & Wood, 2018) . Considering the textile industries have a prospect of child employment, the ILO, in conjunction with the governments, should monitor any illegal activities done by these businesses and put a legal framework to prosecute such actions. More so, the H & M should enhance employment procedures, which require proper scrutiny of ID-cards, to check on child recruitment where they will be necessitated to adopt government standard regulation in their routines. Also, the most fundamental thing is that H & M should address their purchasing practice to decrease to much demand which reduces the strain on the supply chain
In conclusion, child labor is a harmful practice that should cease to exist with immediate effect. The fashion supply chain should integrate transparency in both pre- and post-production processes so that they assess all of their manufacturers and create their supply register. Fashion brands must ensure that they follow the labor practice codes by regularly auditing all the production stages all through the supply chain.
References
Moulds, J., & UNICEF. (2017). Child labour in the fashion supply chain: Where, why, and what can be done. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://labs.theguardian.com/unicef-child-labour .
Perry, P., & Wood, S. (2018). The international fashion supply chain and corporate social responsibility.
Sandvik, I. M., & Stubbs, W. (2019). Circular fashion supply chain through textile-to-textile recycling. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal .
The Guardian (2016). H&M factories in Myanmar employed 14-year-old workers. The Guardian.com Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/aug/21/hm-factories-myanmar-employed-14-year-old-workers
