As children in the UK go back to school, our latest report reveals how thousands of garment workers in Bangladesh endure low pay, long hours and appalling conditions whilst making school uniforms for UK supermarkets.

What’s the problem?
UK supermarkets have started a fierce price war to try and dominate the £450 million school uniform market. You can now get a whole school uniform – including shoes – for just £9.96.

In order to sell uniforms at such low prices supermarkets are putting pressure on their suppliers to cut costs and turn orders around quickly.

This pressure is contributing to low wages and poor conditions for the workers, with women typically working 12 hours a day or longer to finish orders on time. Many women do not earn enough to feed or house themselves and their families properly.

It doesn’t have to be like this.
Supermarkets can provide a good deal for school uniform workers without passing the costs on to parents in the UK.

If an extra 10p for each £6 school dress sold by Marks & Spencer went back to the Sri Lankan women who produced them, their wages would double - providing them with a living wage.

What can be done?
We believe parents should be able to shop at affordable prices but should also be safe in the knowledge that people have not suffered to produce the uniforms their children are wearing. We are not asking people to boycott supermarkets – people’s livelihoods depend on these jobs.

We are calling for binding regulation and an independent watchdog to be put in place to ensure that supermarkets play fair in the developing countries where they do business.