We didn't only focus on wages; we also asked them about their policies on trade union rights , an important right which enables workers to defend themselves. Worker empowerment should be the most sustainable and desirable way to achieve a living wage and prevent exploitation, much more effective than the policies and codes drawn up by suits in London.  Yet few garment workers are in a position to exercise this fundamental right and negotiate their own wages.

 

We also asked about the monitoring and verification of working conditions. In recent years, a huge global industry has grown up around the practice of 'social audits', inspections of working conditions in factories. Yet workers testimonies show that most social audits are more about alleviating guilty consciences and ticking boxes than they are about uncovering the inconvenient truths about working conditions.

Who did we write to?

The companies written to were: Arcadia Group, Asda, Bhs, Debenhams, Diesel, French Connection, Gap, H&M, House of Fraser, Jigsaw, John Lewis, Kookai, Laura Ashley, Levi Strauss & Co, Madison Hosiery, Marks & Spencer, Marshalls, Matalan, Monsoon/Accessorize, Mosaic Group, Moss Bros Clothing, Mothercare, New Look, Next, Peacocks/Bon Marche, Pentland Group, Primark , Principles, Quantum Clothing, River Island, Sainsbury's, Ted Baker, Tesco, TK Maxx, William Lamb Footwear, and Zara.

 

Each company was contacted once with a copy of the profile we had compiled. Those that replyed were sent a follow up letter, giving them the opportunity to address our concerns and provide more detail about the work they were doing. Those that didn't were phoned, to check they had received the letter and to ask them to respond as soon as possible. 

What we found out 

The mark of a company that's doing well for its workers would be real commitment to improving their pay and conditions, which will be a gradual process. It would mean taking on the challenge of a living wage, and working with others to raise pay and conditions throughout its supply chain. It would mean acknowledging the positive role of trade unions and local labour rights groups, and allowing them access to suppliers to educate workers and management in their rights. It would mean putting place a system for checking and improving working conditions that gets to the root of the problems, rather than just relieving guilty consciences.

The disappointing conclusion of this report is that, with a few isolated exceptions, no company is making a serious effort to challenge these structural problems.