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Gender-Responsive Health Protection - Press Releases

06 March 2025 The hidden costs of fashion: Structural change needed for women's safety and health in clothing and footwear factories

This guest article was written by our partner organisations CIVIDEP and TURC on the occasion of International Women's Day 2025.

International Women's Day 2025 is celebrated internationally. Motto #AccelerateAction It is therefore crucial to address the systemic and structural gender biases embedded in global supply chains. Women in clothing and footwear factories continue to face an increased risk of gender-based violence and health threats. Nevertheless, their specific needs are consistently overlooked in legal frameworks, corporate guidelines and workplace structures.

The Multi-Actor Partnership (MAP) on Gender and Health in the Clothing and Shoe Industry, consisting of Cividep India, TURC Indonesia, FEMNET and SOUTHWIND, seeks to address these injustices through political advocacy and worker-oriented solutions. The findings highlight the urgent need for gender-responsive occupational health and safety (G*OSH) guidelines to address both physical and mental health issues.

Gender-based violence and health risks in clothing and footwear factories

Blood collection at a Health Camp © CIVIDEPWorkers are exposed to several risks in their workplaces, on their way to work and even in the shelters provided by the factory. These risks range from verbal abuse and physical intimidation to sexual harassment. Health hazards arising from working conditions are equally widespread.

Reproductive health problems: The fear of retaliation prevents workers from taking important toilet and drinking breaks, leading to chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs) and menstrual disorders. Severe cases have led to miscarriages, forced abortions, and even early hysterectomies due to excessive stress.

Lack of hygiene and medical support: Poor sanitation and inadequate health facilities contribute to a long-term deterioration of reproductive and general health. Many factory-provided hostels also fail to meet basic hygiene standards, exacerbating health risks.

Effects of workplace harassment on mental health

A worker from Indonesia says: "What makes the work stressful is the hard treatment and constant insult from our superiors."

Workplace stress is a silent epidemic among women* in the industry. Survey data of workers (Cividep and TURC) suggest that:

• 87% suffer from chronic stress that impairs their concentration and work efficiency.
• 66% report loss of appetite due to psychological stress.
• 54% suffer from insomnia, which leads to long-term health complications.
• 68% suffer from recurrent headaches associated with stress and anxiety

Despite these alarming statistics, factory management rarely offers mental health support. The burden of unpaid care work at home further exacerbates women's stress and forces them to endure exploitative work environments with little recourse. "Sometimes the pressure to achieve production goals keeps us awake at night, and that affects our appetite. My husband thinks I'm more worried about work than about our family. Says a textile worker.

Systemic power imbalances and exploitation in the workplace

The role of brands

Fast Fashion's relentless demand for low production costs and fast delivery times is fuelling an exploitative environment in which

• Managers use intimidation tactics to enforce unrealistic goals.
• Wage pressure and contract uncertainty prevent workers from raising their voices.
• The threat of dismissal or keeping red lists forces women* to endure unsafe conditions in silence.

Lack of bargaining power of the workers

Brands and suppliers have disproportionate power over workers, so they have few opportunities to get redress. The lack of strong, independent unions exacerbates this power gap. Public health and safety exists on paper, but is rarely enforced in practice.

Work at home: a more extreme case of exploitation

Women* who work from home, often with informal contracts, are even more at risk.

• They do not have legal protection or access to social security benefits.
• Isolation prevents them from reporting abuse.
• Lack of access to health care exacerbates physical and mental health conditions.

TURC's initiative to create jobs for Occupational Health Practitioners provides an intervention model that provides health screening and support services tailored to homeworkers.

Guidelines for Gender-Equal Occupational Safety and Health (G*OSH)

The MAP initiative advances concrete recommendations to improve women's working conditions*:

• Strengthen corporate committees with women-led leadership teams to address harassment and health concerns.
• Awareness-raising programmes for men* to promote a zero-tolerance culture towards gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH).
• Extended health services in the areas of reproductive health, mental well-being and ergonomic risks.

Responsibility for ensuring a safe workplace rests with several stakeholders, including brands, factory management, governments and international regulators. Despite the existing labor laws in India and Indonesia that deal with occupational safety, these laws focus on physical safety without considering a gender-sensitive perspective. Factory management also neglects to raise awareness of gender-based violence so that workers are not informed about their rights.

Brands in particular must take responsibility by ensuring fair prices and longer lead times for suppliers, thus reducing the pressure that fuels exploitative practices. Stricter European regulations and international guidelines are needed to hold brands accountable for unethical working conditions.

The MAP team has identified this structural gap and consulted with various stakeholders in the supply chain and workers. Develop a guide to gender-responsive occupational safety and health (G*OSH). The aim of these consultations was to ensure that the guidelines are practicable and inclusive.

The guidelines call for the formation and strengthening of well-established committees in the factories in order to ensure equal representation of workers and management with a gender balance. Women's*-led committees can bring lasting change by giving workers the confidence to raise their voices. In addition, transparent reporting mechanisms, on-the-job training and industry-wide cooperation are crucial to combat gender-based violence and improve overall well-being.

TURC's Occupational Health Unit Post provides a model for practical interventions and offers free health screenings for home workers every three months. This initiative has enabled more targeted interventions and improved access to healthcare for some of the most vulnerable workers in the supply chain.

conclusion

Women* in the apparel and footwear industries are the foundation of the global economy, but their fundamental rights to health, safety and dignity remain in jeopardy. System change is long overdue. The time to act is now.

On this World Women's Day, let's move towards a world #AccelerateAction where the women* behind fashion are no longer invisible. Brands, policy makers and consumers must commit to fair and gender-responsive jobs. Behind every sting and every step is a woman who deserves health, respect and a future free of exploitation.