The US Department of Labor took a closer look to determine the cause of widespread egregious wage violations in the garment industry.  

What the Dept. found is that “(t)he heart of the problem lies squarely with the pricing structure dictated by the retailers in this industry.  The prices they pay for garments fail to support manufacturers’ ability to provide sewing contractors even the most basic worker protections – minimum wage and overtime.” In some cases retailers were paying $4 for a garment, when they would need to be paying manufacturers more than $10 to support paying workers legally. Manufacturers in turn are paying as low as $1.80 per garment. 

Graphic that shows a supply chain explaining why an article of clothing can be so cheap. The reason is that the person who sews it makes less than minimum wage.

Courtesy of dol.gov/whd

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