Factsheet: India's Clothing Industry

The textile industry is one of the oldest branches of the Indian economy. Due to the variety of plant-based raw materials such as cotton, wool, silk and jute, as well as the availability of cheap labor, the textile industry became an important pillar of the Indian economy. Mostly women are employed in cotton fields, spinning mills and sewing factories at low wages.

India in figures

Population: 1.3 billion (2019)[i]
Employees in the clothing industry: 45 million, 70% are women (2018) and 5 % members of trade unions (2019)
Statutory minimum wage: approx. 131 €/month (plus regional adjustments) (2019)
Living wage according to Asia Floor Wage: approx. 300 €/month (2017)
Second largest exporter of textiles & clothing (2019)
World's largest producer of cotton (2019)

As the production of clothing shifted more and more to Asia, the industrialized countries adopted the "Multi Fibre Arrangement" (MFA). It restricted the export of clothing to Western countries and thus protected European clothing production against cheap competition from Asia. The MFA ended in 2004 and as a result exports from Bangalore/ India to Europe and the USA increased immensely. This led to a boom in the Indian garment industry and many women from the countryside came to the textile factories in the urban centres in search for work.

Nowadays, India is the second largest textile exporter in the world and one of the largest producers of clothing for Western countries. Especially cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Tirupur, Chennai and Bangalore are locations of major importance in the garment industry.[i] India is the world's largest producer of cotton, though about 95% of its cotton is genetically modified. [ii] The clothing industry accounts for approximately 15 % of export earnings.[iii]

Workers in the garment industry

The competitiveness and price pressure among companies have a strong impact on employees. The workload is very high, deadlines are tight and production targets are too ambitious. Overtime and sick days are rarely paid and harassment at the workplace is frequent. Many workers not even receive the governmental minimum wage.

Seamstresses in a factory in Bangalore, 2019 © FEMNET

By employing approximately 45 million people, the textile and clothing industry are the third largest employer in the country after agriculture and construction.[iv] The majority of the workforce is female: the proportion of women is on average at 70% but varies regionally with 60% in the North, 80% in the South and 90% in Bangalore. [v]

Especially in the North of India, women are culturally excluded from social life. They are considered less productive than men and are typically employed in unskilled positions, which are paid the lowest. In poor economic conditions, they are the first to lose their jobs. Managerial positions are reserved for men. In Bangalore in 2016, around 60% of women textile workers reported having experienced physical or psychological violence at work, such as verbal abuse, threats, sexual harassment or assault.[vi]

Worker in an Indian spinning mill, 2019 © FEMNET

In the South, mainly women from rural or ethnic areas work in the industry. As the industry lacks cheap labour, it preferably employs migrants. The proportion of domestic migrants and temporary workers employed in the garment industry has increased significantly in recent years.[vii]

In the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, a modern form of slavery persists. There are about 2,200 spinning mills with about 250,000 young women as employees. 80% of them are exploited in so-called "Camp Labour", formerly known as the "Sumangali" system. Only about 20% of the factories work without such forced labour. A few of them belong to the government, which also pays the women a better salary. The total number of forced laborers in India is estimated at about 8 million.[viii]

Minimum wages below the subsistence level

The statutory minimum wage for the garment sector is set centrally in India. In addition, the federal states make local adjustments. In 2019, it amounted to approx. 10,300 Indian rupees per month (approx. 131 euros). But according to Asia Floor Wage, a living wage needs to amount to 23,600 Indian rupees per month (approx. 300 euros) for the year 2017.[ix] The gender pay gap in the Indian apparel industry is about 39%.[x]

Climate hostile to trade unions

Silent protest of the women's union GLU on International Women's Day 2017. © GLU/Munnade

Most employers still prohibit trade unions and any form of organisation in the factories, leaving workers with little opportunities to defend themselves against labour rights violations. Only 5% of Indian textile workers belong to a trade union.[xi] Many feel intimidated by their management and are afraid of being dismissed if they organize themselves in a union. Even workers' committees, which are legally binding, exist usually only on paper. There have only been isolated protests and strikes by workers, but all of them ended in violence and arrests of workers by the police.[xii] [xiii] Especially the concerns of women - discrimination, harassment, maternity protection and adequate childcare by the employer - are often systematically ignored.

Women's Rights

Factory workers in Bangalore 2015 © FEMNET

While women's rights and gender equality are officially recognised in India, in reality women often face discriminations because patriarchal social norms still prevail, particularly in northern India. Discrimination occurs not only based on gender, but also based on caste, class, sexual orientation or tradition.[xiv] The enormous preference for boys in Indian society has led to deeply rooted practices of discrimination and violence against girls and women, with repercussions for their status, health and development. In poorer families, women have less access to food and sanitation. 27% of girls are married before their 15^th birthday. [xv] Rape within marriage is not understood as a crime. The pressure to give birth to a boy is high: the high abortion rate of female fetuses is reflected in the gender imbalance of 942 women per 1000 men.[xvi]

Hundreds of people stream out of the factories at the same time at the end of their working shift, most of them arewomen. © FEMNET

In 2013, a law was passed in India that banned sexual harassment of women in the workplace. Women are at risk of being harassed or assaulted also on their way home, especially if they have to work at night.[xvii] But measures for prevention and protection, such as training and complaints committees in factories, are only sparsely implemented today.[xviii] The legal right of women to maternity leave is also circumvented in many factories: pregnant women report harassment and pressure forcing them to resign or to accept illegal terminations of contracts.[xix]

Child labour

The total number of child workers aged 5 to 14 years is estimated at 8.2 million in India.[xx] Many of them are exposed to the most severe forms of child labour. Mostly children from rural areas with low education, from low Hindu castes, ethnic communities and religious minorities are victims of child trafficking, forced labour and sexual exploitation. With the prospect of work, they are lured into clothing factories, spinning mills and cotton plantations, where they are eventually forced to work in dangerous conditions for little or no money.[xxi]

Lack of enforcement of rights

The legal situation in India is not even bad: the Indian legal system contains a multitude of protective measures. The country has ratified six of the eight ILO core labour standards; the two outstanding are freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining.[xxii]

However, the closer one monitors the supply chain, little transparency and high levels of exploitation are prevalent. The problem lies mainly in the lack of enforcement of laws by authorities and a lack of effective legal protection for those concerned. Lack of controls, weak rule of law structures, corruption and nepotism are widespread.[xxiii]

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INDIA

1.3 billion inhabitants

45 million employees in the textile industry