Despite making over US $ 1 billion in revenue last year, several well-known Australian firms are allegedly underpaying their garment workers, according to an investigation by Oxfam Australia.
The nonprofit organisation Kmart Group claims that Myder and Bonds’ parent firm Hanes “still don’t pay living wages to the women working in their supply chains,” as do Big W, Cotton On, Rip Curl, and Kathmandu owner KMD.
For instance, Oxfam said that although Kmart Group made US $ 10.6 billion in sales, the retail chain was only paying US $ 6 per day to workers in Bangladeshi factories that made Kmart clothing.
Oxfam stated that it was “intensifying its demand for these profitable brands” in order to pay a decent wage. Lyn Morgain, the CEO of the organization’s Australian arm, even went so far as to denounce the “inequalities” in light of this.
“Established exploitation is the foundation of the fashion industry,” Morgain said in a statement. Brands have a crucial chance to begin paying employees a livable wage for their efforts as Black Friday and the holiday season draw near. In order to address the structural injustices that sustain poverty, this is an essential first step.
