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The environmental impact of the leather industry is well known, with tanning being one of the most polluting industries in the world. Waste water from tanneries often contains high amounts of acids, salts and heavy metals. These toxic chemicals alsnegatively impact the health of workers, as has been documented by Human Rights Watch and many others. The short film ‘The Toxic Price of Leather’ by Sean Gallagher, for instance, strikingly illustrates the harmful effects on people and environment of extreme pollution caused by tanneries of the city of Kanpur, the biggest producer and exporter of leather goods in India. Less known are the many other sustainability and human rights issues related tthe leather and footwear production in India. This report explores labour conditions in the leather industry that are related tdeep-rooted social inequalities in Indian society. It highlights underlying structural issues that impact the labour conditions in the leather industry in India: caste and gender discrimination. ICN feels that tackling these structural social conditions is a crucial prerequisite for the success of any CSR initiative in the Indian leather industry.

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The state of Tamil Nadu is the largest producer of cotton yarn in India and a global sourcing hub for readymade garments in recent years. The spinning mill industry is of major importance tthe state and tthe national economy. A publication by the Tamil Nadu government claims that India is the world largest cotton yarn producer after China, responsible for a little over one-fifth of yarn production worldwide. 35 t40% of this yarn is produced in Tamil Nadu, which is home tapproximately 1,600 mills employing between 200,000 and 400,000 workers. Approximately 30% of this yarn is used in the export factories in Tamil Nadu, whproduce for brands like C&A, H&M, Marks and Spencer, Primark, Walmart, Zara and a lot of other brands.An unknown share of this yarn is used in other garment hubs in India that produce garments for the export. Yarn produced in Tamil Nadu is alsused for the domestic market and for the production of exported home textiles. Furthermore, a 2012 estimation suggests that over 20% of the production is exported directly tgarment producing countries like Bangladesh and China.Previous SOMand ICN research identified five factories under the Bangladesh Accord for Building and Fire Safety whsource from twspinning mills in Tamil Nadu. Seven if your shirt is not ‘Made in India’, the yarn might be. The India Committee of the Netherlands has worked with SOM(Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations) and with Mondiaal FNV for several years now tdraw attention tthe deplorable working conditions in the Tamil Nadu mills.

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In Pakistan, leather is produced under deplorable conditions. Labourers work for long hours for low wages. Many suffer damage ttheir health, working with chemicals and unsafe heavy machinery. The European Union (EU) is the single most important export destination for Pakistani leather, and a sizeable portion of these imports goes tthe Netherlands. Pakistan falls under the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP+), a trade scheme that aims tstimulate the protection of human rights by exempting specific developing countries from trade tariffs, on the condition that they ratify and implement core international conventions relating thuman and labour rights, the environment and good governance. While Pakistan’s leather industry has profited from this, interviews with workers reveal that they are still facing a wide range of labour rights violations.

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The Stop Child Labour Coalition commissioned the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) tcarry out this research intwage levels and working conditions in the export-oriented garment industry in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The research specifically looks intthe relationship between wages and working conditions of adult workers and the extent twhich their children attend school or are engaged in paid/unpaid work. The objective of the research was tassess how the wages and working conditions of adult workers in export-oriented garment factories affect workers’ abilities tmeet basic needs, including housing, food and education. The aim is tanswer the following questions: Are the wages of adult garment workers sufficient tcover their family’s basic needs, including schooling costs for their children? Are the children of garment workers engaged in paid work in order tadd tthe family income sthat the family’s basic needs are covered? Are children of garment workers engaged in any unpaid work (e.g. household work)? If the children of garment workers dnot attend school, what are the reasons for this?

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The garment industry is one of the most labour-intensive manufacturing industries in the world. Clothing companies are constantly on the look-out for production locations that can make clothes quickly and at low costs. Over the past few years, Myanmar has rapidly become a popular sourcing destination for the garment industry – due ta huge pool of cheap labour and favourable import and export tariffs. However, working conditions in this industry are far from acceptable. Labour rights violations are rife. Workers whare bold enough may file complaints or resort topen protests, news of which sometimes finds its way intinternational media. More often, workers toil on in silence. As well as describing the most pressing problems, the authors of this report offer suggestions for constructive ways forward thead off a crisis before it escalates.

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