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Hunger in the apparel supply chain - Survey findings on workers’ access to nutrition during Covid-19

This research report presents the findings of a survey of 396 garment workers across 158 factories in nine countries, located between August and September 2020. It presents new data about how garment workers’ food security—and linked dynamics of employment status and income—has deteriorated amidst the pandemic. Workers from our sample reported making clothes for over 100 apparel brands and retailers; the brands and retailers that were identified by survey examined with the most frequency were: adidas, Gap, H&M, Nike, The Children’s Place, PVH, Gildan, Walmart, JCPenney, and Express.

Our data reveals an alarming pattern: garment workers’ declining incomes are leading to widespread hunger among workers and their families, as they are themselves unable to obtain adequate food and nutrition. These dynamics are a direct result of apparel brands’ responses to the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the long-term trend of low wages for garment workers in brands’ supply chains, which has left workers unprotected.

Scope: 20 pages
Reference: free of charge to Download as PDF file