Campaigners from the charity ActionAid have asked Asda shoppers in Leeds and Clapham, London, to give 2p back to the supermarket to show the store's bosses they can afford to pay higher wages to workers in the developing world.

The protest is part of ActionAid’s campaign against ASDA which is targeting stores across the country. The supermarket has a lamentable record for paying low wages to factory workers in Asia, and is falling behind its rivals as it attempts to become the UK’s largest cheap fashion retailer.

However ActionAid's research shows that it doesn’t have to be this way – if ASDA paid workers an extra 2p out of the cost of a £4 t-shirt then it would double the workers’ wages. The company is part of the US Wal-Mart group which makes £45m profit each day.

A group of campaigners took shoppers' small change and presented it to managers. ActionAid campaigner Eva Watkinson said: "ASDA claim to be a family friendly business but there’s a dark side to this company, and that’s the way they treat the factory workers who make the clothes they sell. These women in India, Bangladesh and other Asian countries struggle to feed their families despite working long hours in terrible conditions.

"The 2 pences we collected from shoppers is money which by rights should be going to pay those workers a living wage. By giving the money back the customers have shown that if they can afford to return such a small sum then so can ASDA. It’s the UK arm of the US chain Wal-Mart, and they make £45m profit every day.

"The people of Leeds and  Clapham showed they want to make fashion fair. Now it’s high time ASDA did too."

ActionAid insists that paying workers more does not mean the British consumer will be out of pocket. Other companies are already starting to make improvements but ASDA is lagging behind. Eva Watkinson said:

"Its competitors are making a real effort to improve pay and conditions but Asda is resorting to PR gimmicks like web cams in factories rather than making real progress. Asda is falling behind."

ActionAid is part of a new coalition – the Asia Floor Wage – which is demanding a living wage for garment workers across the whole Asian continent. By uniting across borders around a common wage level, garment workers in Asia are challenging the power of multinational fashion retailers.

(Photos: Kristian Buus/ActionAid)