April '25 | Impact of Trump's Tariffs on Garment Workers, the Dismantling of the German Supply Chain Law, and more...

In our ongoing commitment to providing insight into the evolving landscape of labor and environmental rights within the textile and garment industry, we offer updates on the latest developments and progress, with a particular focus on developments in Bangladesh. Among other intriguing topics, this issue presents the new groundbreaking binding agreement to prevent and eliminate GBVH in Indonesia, which builds upon best practices from the Dindigul Agreement in India. Additionally, several incidents have been added to our Textile Incidents website, among them the shocking news of recent and well-documented union busting in Bangladesh, where a NGWF trade union leader was unlawfully arrested. With our website and this News Update, we aim to deepen understanding and drive progress in labor rights and sustainability.

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STUDIES & REPORTS

Unseen and Unprotected: The Struggles of Home-Based Garment Workers

The Bangladesh Labour Foundation (BLF) has released a new study exposing the vulnerabilities and invisibility of home-based workers in the country’s booming RMG sector. Despite their significant contributions, these workers, mostly women, remain largely invisible in official statistics and policy frameworks. The study reveals that they face precarious working conditions, including extremely low wages, lack of job security, and absence of legal protections. BLF calls for urgent recognition of home-based garment workers under national labor laws to ensure their rights and livelihoods are safeguarded.

Climate Change Threatens Livelihoods and Fuels Exploitation Risks in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, climate impacts are steadily dismantling livelihoods, particularly in vulnerable regions like Sylhet and Pirojpur. As flash floods, salinity intrusion, and riverbank erosion devastate farming and fisheries, marginalized groups, such as women-led households and smallholders, are increasingly forced into migration. Yet moving to urban centers or Gulf countries often exposes them to exploitative labor conditions rather than offering security. A recent analysis by IIED maps these connections between climate stress, migration decisions, and heightened vulnerability to modern slavery, calling for stronger social protection measures and more binding worker protections to disrupt this escalating cycle.

Strengthening Worker Voices: Lessons from the Dindigul Agreement Model

A newly published paper that directly incorporates a multi-stakeholder approach—by involving rights holders as co-authors—presents the Dindigul Agreement as a groundbreaking model for how freedom of association and worker-led grievance mechanisms can drive meaningful change in global supply chains. Authored by Mareike Standow, Nandita Shivakumar, and union leader Thivya Rakini, the paper underscores the role of locally embedded unions, such as the Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Labour Union (TTCU), in ensuring the effectiveness and legitimacy of grievance systems. It calls for due diligence frameworks like the EU CSDDD to embed collective bargaining, context-sensitive implementation, and brand responsibility, including fair pricing and long-term supplier commitments. The Dindigul Agreement is presented as a living example of rights-holder–driven reform, showing how corporate accountability and social dialogue can deliver lasting improvements for workers.

In a recent blog post for the London School of Economics, Nandita Shivakumar and Pauline Jerrentrup reflect further on the dynamics of rights-based research, particularly around gender-based violence (GBV) in supply chains. They argue that traditional GBV research often benefits brands and auditing firms more than the workers it aims to protect, reinforcing power imbalances rather than challenging them. Together, the study and the blog post call for a rethinking of research practices: one that genuinely shifts power to rights-holders and ensures that evidence gathering leads to structural change, not corporate box-ticking.

Additional article on Why the Dindigul Agreement still matters (even if little has changed).

NEWS

German Coalition Pushes to Dismantle Supply Chain Due Diligence Law

Germany’s ongoing coalition talks are proposing to repeal the country’s Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG), citing concerns over bureaucratic burden and competitiveness. This shift has raised serious concerns among labor and human rights advocates. Critics warn that dismantling the LkSG would not only erode protections for workers in global supply chains but also weaken Germany’s leadership on corporate accountability, just as the EU finalizes its own due diligence directive. The move signals a broader pushback against enforceable human rights standards at a pivotal policy moment.

Dismissals and Factory Closures, Bangladesh (New Textile Incident)

Following the dismissal of 40 workers at Excelsior Shoes Limited on 5 April 2025, around 2,000 employees staged a protest in the Chattogram Export Processing Zone (CEPZ), blocking the airport road on 7 April. Police dispersed the demonstration using batons. Workers denounced the dismissals, carried out without consultation, and the indefinite factory closure. Management has refused to reinstate the dismissed employees, and no agreement had been reached by 7 April. Excelsior Shoes Ltd., which supplies brands like Lidl, Aldi Süd, Aldi Nord, Kappa, Carrefour, and Fila, is registered in the Open Supply Hub and appears on supplier lists of the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles.

Tariffs Won’t Kill Fashion – But They Might Kill Sustainable Fashion

Trump’s sweeping new – and already partly delayed – tariffs on clothing imports are sending shockwaves through global supply chains, yet it's garment workers, not brands, who are bracing for the hardest hit. Labor groups warn that the added costs are already being passed down to workers in the Global South through job cuts, frozen wages, and harsher conditions. In Lesotho, workers fear mass layoffs as factories lose U.S. orders; in Vietnam, small suppliers report sudden cancellations, with one calling the tariffs "worse than feared". Experts there also caution that these moves could impede growth as companies might move production to other countries. Similarly, in Pakistan, the Labour Education Foundation (LEF) highlights that the tariffs could lead to “a race to the bottom”, as manufacturers are expected to slash labor costs to stay. Industry insiders in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka say buyers are already demanding price cuts, which will likely come from workers’ paychecks. More ethical supply chains, often operating with thinner margins and stronger labor standards, are particularly vulnerable since these developments create an uphill battle for sustainable supply chains. The Workers Rights Consortium has published a statement on its website, asking brands to pay in full and on time for their orders, to refrain from demanding discounts, and to settle outstanding wages and severance for workers in the event of factory closure.

PRODUCTION COUNTRIES

Myanmar

Earthquake Deepens Crisis for Garment Workers in Myanmar

Myanmar’s already precarious garment sector has been dealt a devastating blow by the recent 7.7-magnitude earthquake, which struck near Mandalay on March 28. Industrial zones—home to thousands of garment workers—have reported severe casualties and infrastructure collapse, claiming over 4,400 lives and injuring more than 11,000 people. Factories have halted production, and displaced workers face extreme uncertainty with limited access to clean water, food, and shelter.

Solidarity with Those on the Frontlines

The catastrophe has been compounded by the military junta’s violent response: aid has been obstructed, airstrikes have continued, and activists providing humanitarian support face detention. Despite the danger, local workers, unionists, and volunteers persist in delivering emergency aid in devastated areas. Their bravery underscores the urgent need for international solidarity. Donations are especially vital now: Not only to provide basic relief like water, shelter, and medicine, but to support those risking their lives to keep communities alive under both rubble and repression.

Bangladesh

As Bangladesh’s Factories Turn to Surveillance and Automation, Garment Workers Feel the Pressure

Bangladesh’s garment factories are rapidly integrating automation and AI-powered surveillance technologies, raising new concerns over labor rights and worker agency. Surveillance tools—including facial recognition cameras and productivity-tracking software—are being promoted as efficiency boosters, but workers report increased pressure, constant monitoring, and a chilling effect on organizing efforts. At the same time, the push toward automation threatens job security, especially for women workers in repetitive-task roles. Experts warn that without safeguards, these technologies could entrench power imbalances and deepen precarity in an already vulnerable workforce.

NETWORK & EVENTS

8th May 2025, 9am - 1pm CET, Online Workshop:

Charity Academy X Lavinia Muth: Zukunft des Altkleidermarktes - Zusammenarbeit für eine GloKale Circular Economy (in German)
The FairWertung Charity Academy is hosting a free online workshop designed for environmental and sustainability managers as well as circular economy experts in the textile sector. Led by Lavinia Muth, the session will cover key topics such as circular economy principles, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), legal frameworks, and textile recycling challenges. Register here.

26th May 2025, 7pm - 8:30pm CET, Expert Talk:

Just Transition (in German)
This event will delve into the growing importance of the Just Transition concept, which focuses on ensuring that social, environmental, and economic fairness is embedded in the shift towards sustainability. Marie-Sophie Keller, a doctoral researcher in Business and Human Rights, will guide the discussion by addressing the challenges that the textile and apparel industry faces in transitioning to more equitable and environmentally responsible practices. >Registration required.