Amnesty International’s 2025 briefing ‘Abandoned by Fashion: The urgent need for fashion brands to champion workers’ rights; brand responses to Amnesty International survey’ investigates whether major fashion brands and retailers actively promote freedom of association and collective bargaining in their supply chains. The research is based on 88 interviews with garment workers, union leaders, activists and experts in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka conducted between September 2023 and August 2024, and a survey of 21 major brands【747743603425429†L283-L331】. The briefing aims to show how companies can champion worker rights and mitigate endemic abuses such as low wages, overwork, harassment, and gender discrimination【747743603425429†L283-L313】. It emphasizes that the current model of complex supply chains and privatized auditing diffuses responsibility and undervalues the predominantly female workforce, entrenching an exploitative business model【747743603425429†L283-L313】.

The report highlights that the garment industry is a trillion‑dollar global business employing almost 100 million people worldwide, with garment workers accounting for an estimated 40 percent of manufacturing employment in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka【747743603425429†L383-L391】. Despite decades of scrutiny, the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining are systematically denied and poverty wages, excessive working hours and gender discrimination remain widespread【747743603425429†L392-L407】. All surveyed brands have codes of conduct affirming freedom of association, but Amnesty International found little commitment to implementing these policies at factory level; social auditing is largely opaque and business‑led and has not led to significant progress【747743603425429†L476-L499】. The organization notes that supply chain transparency is critical for due diligence, yet there is no mandatory requirement for brands to publicly report supplier lists and very few companies disclose information about unions or worker committees at their production units【747743603425429†L501-L529】.

Amnesty concludes that fashion brands and retailers must go beyond voluntary codes and proactively promote freedom of association across their supply chains. It urges companies to disclose supplier lists and union information, to support independent trade unions, and to work with governments to enforce human rights due diligence, including mandatory reporting. Without these steps, freedom of association and decent work will remain elusive for the millions of women and men employed in the garment industry.