Cheap fashion with a high human cost
boohoo is part of the fast fashion industry which pumps out hundreds of new collections at rock bottom prices. A constant supply of cheap new fashion means that on average, items of clothing are discarded after only five weeks.
Whilst shoppers pay low prices for boohoo clothing, workers who make the clothes feel the real cost. boohoo produces numerous small batches of clothes and sells them quickly online, before ramping up production of popular lines. This quick turnaround means that around half of boohoo’s production takes place in UK garment factories, many in Leicester, minimising transportation times. The National Living Wage in the UK is £8.21 per hour, whilst the Living Wage Foundation sets it as £9 per hour. How can boohoo pay workers a fair wage for making a dress which is sold for only £4?
Exposes by Channel 4 Dispatches and The Daily Mirror have found that workers in UK garment factories are regularly paid less than half the minimum wage. Research by the Ethical Trading Initiative and the University of Leicester have found that it’s common for workers in Leicester to be paid illegal wages.
As well as the UK, boohoo’s top sourcing countries include China, India and Turkey. Without knowing which factories boohoo source from, pay and conditions for boohoo’s workers are cloaked in secrecy. We do however know that the norm for workers throughout the global garment industry is poverty pay, unsafe working conditions, and excessive overtime.
Empty words?
boohoo claims on its website, that it ‘acknowledges its responsibility to ensure that all products are manufactured under safe and comfortable conditions and in an ethical manner.’ Without transparency, these are just words without substance. Until they release their supplier list, we have no way of checking their claims.