Casualties of Fashion: How Garment Workers are Wearing the Cost of Covid-19

The COVID-19 pandemic plunged the fashion industry into turmoil, as supply chain disruptions and store closures threatened the profits of the world’s biggest brands. The response of the fashion industry was abrupt. International brands took immediate action to cut costs - cancelling and delaying billions of dollars of clothing orders from factories in countries like Bangladesh and Cambodia. At the other end of the supply chain, mass layoffs pushed garment workers into crisis as poverty and hunger grew. Nearly two years on, while many fashion brands have returned to profitability, the situation for garment workers remains dire and the road to recovery long. Through interviews with over 200 garment workers in Bangladesh and Cambodia, this report provides evidence of the daily realities for the mostly women workers in the sector, who have been left wearing the cost of the COVID-19 pandemic.