Labour on a Shoestring: The Realities of Working in Europe’s Shoe Manufacturing Peripheries in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia

Often consumers in Western Europe believe that “Made in Europe” is a synonym for working conditions that are better than in production countries in Asia. This report shows that this is not always the case, and that problematic working conditions and very low wages in particular, are occurring endemically across global supply chains worldwide. In Europe’s low-wage countries, the clothing and shoe industry is notorious for poor pay and bad conditions.

They conducted research in six European low-wage production countries. They found that global shoe supply chains include low-wage countries in Europe as well as in other world regions, and that there are strong interlinkages between, for example, European and Asian shoe production and the industries’ distinctive roles in global supply chains.

Labour on a Shoestring: The Realities of Working in Europe’s Shoe Manufacturing Peripheries in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia DOWNLOAD

Contemporary Forms of Slavery Affecting Persons Belonging to Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minority Communities – Report of the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, Including Its Causes and Consequences, Tomoya Obokata

Publications

The present report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, Tomoya Obokata, is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 42/10. The report is focused on contemporary forms of ...Read More

TAGS: Global

National Hotline 2019 Delaware State Report

Graphics & InfographicsPublications

The data in this report represents signals and cases from January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019 and is accurate as of July 30, 2020. Cases of trafficking may be ongoing or new information may revealed to the National Hotline over time. Consequen...Read More

TAGS: North America

Working in Marks and Spencer’s food and footwear supply chains

Publications

Marks & Spencer (M&S) sets itself high standards. Its Plan A was widely recognized as breaking new ground in sustainability reporting when it was launched in 2016. In addition, M&S has achieved high rankings on human rights indices and, ...Read More

TAGS: Asia Europe

Deadly Secrets: How Apparel Brands Cover up Safety Hazards

Publications

For many years the dirty secret of the steadily growing Bangladeshi garment industry has been its underpaid workers, treated as disposable objects. The lowest paid garment workers anywhere in the world, hundreds of them have died in preventable fact...Read More

TAGS: Garments & Textiles