BATH - Leading fashion brands are undermining efforts to end worker exploitation in their own global supply chains by continuing to demand fast fashion at cheap prices, according to a new study.
Major global brands and retail chains, such as Adidas, H&M, Nike, Primark and Walmart, are accused of hampering progress through their own sourcing practices in southern India.
Researchers from the Universities of Bath, Sheffield, and Royal Holloway, University of London, said brands were demanding an end to bad labour practices but simultaneously driving costs down while issuing short production windows and constant fluctuations in orders.
"When we interviewed manufacturers who supply knitwear to major global brands they explained that brands are growing louder in their demands for an end to bad labour practices but they are unwilling to alter their commercial practices to support improvements," said Andrew Crane, Professor of Business and Society at the University of Bath's School of Management.
