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Hidden Threads: Children Working in Bangladesh’s Fashion Factories
Bangladesh is one of the world’s most important centres of garment production. The country supplies clothing to some of the biggest global fashion brands and is the second-largest exporter of ready-made garments after China. But behind the low prices and fast turnaround times lurks a human rights challenge that has resisted full eradication: the use of child labour in fashion factories and their subcontracted supply chains.
A Persistent and Hidden Problem
Official data and recent research suggest that child labour remains present deep within Bangladesh’s garment sector, even if direct employment by major export factories has declined. A 2025 study by the University of Nottingham’s Rights Lab and GoodWeave International found that child labour exists particularly in subcontracted or lower-tier factories supplying the global ready-made garment (RMG) industry. In interviews with minors working in these settings, 100% were found to be illegally employed as child labourers.
In some industrial hubs around Dhaka, surveys indicate that young workers — many between the ages of 5 and 17 — are employed across thousands of small factories. In one large apparel area, nearly half of all workers were reported to be children, with tens of thousands aged under 14.
The Reality of Child Work in Factories
Children in these settings often face long hours, low or no pay, and dangerous conditions:
• Many work 10–14 hours per day on repetitive sewing and finishing tasks to meet production deadlines.
• Wages for child workers are typically very low — in some reports, equivalent to under $12 per month — and older children sometimes receive little more than room and board.
• Poor health and safety conditions prevail. These can include unhygienic environments, blocked fire exits, heavy machinery, and exposure to dust and hazardous substances, all of which raise the risk of injury and long-term health issues.
Such conditions often deny children both education and a safe childhood, underlining the international definition of child labour as work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally harmful and interferes with schooling.
Drivers of Child Labour
Several factors contribute to this ongoing issue:
Poverty and Economic Pressure:
Many families in Bangladesh live on the margins. When adults cannot earn enough to support their households, children — especially in informal or unregulated factory settings — are sometimes pressed into work to help make ends meet.
Subcontracting and Supply Chains:
Global fashion brands often work with layers of subcontractors. While many major suppliers claim to follow strict labour standards, children can be present in the hidden tiers of the supply chain where oversight is weak.
Weak Enforcement and Informality:
Even though Bangladeshi law sets a minimum working age, enforcement is patchy in small workshops or informal units. Official records may undercount child labour where employers fail to report it or falsify age documents.
Consequences Beyond the Factory Floor
The impacts extend far beyond factory walls. Children working long hours are often unable to attend school, limiting their future employment opportunities and trapping families in cycles of poverty. Being exposed to hazardous conditions at a young age can lead to chronic health problems and psychological stress.
Moreover, reliance on child labour can undermine broader social and human development goals, including educational attainment and national economic progress.
Global and Local Responses
In recent decades, concerted efforts by governments, international organisations, NGOs, and fashion brands have helped reduce overt child labour in direct supply chains:
• Major brands have adopted “zero tolerance” policies on child labour, especially in factories they audit directly.
• Initiatives such as the Child Rights Action Hub aim to extend prevention and remediation efforts deeper into lower-tier suppliers and subcontractors.
• International pressure, including legislation like the EU’s forced labour regulations, encourages more transparency and accountability across global supply chains.
Yet challenges remain. Industry leaders sometimes dispute claims about the scale of child labour in export supply, saying compliance efforts are robust, even as independent research highlights ongoing risks.
Looking Ahead
Ending child labour in Bangladesh’s fashion industry will require a multifaceted approach — one that strengthens enforcement of labour laws, supports families economically so they do not have to send children to work, improves education access, and deepens transparency in global fashion supply chains. Only through sustained collaboration between governments, brands, civil society, and consumers can the true cost of cheap clothing be acknowledged and addressed.
Attached is a news article regarding children working in fashion factories in Bangladeshi
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/06/bangladesh-garment-factories-child-labour-uk
Article written and configured by Christopher Stanley
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