H&M window, Moscow, 2016. Flickr/dly.disco. Some rights reserved.Fashion giants like H&M and Zara stand to save millions on tariff-free exports from Sri Lanka. The EU has again granted the country a ‘preferential’ trade concession earlier withdrawn in response to human rights abuses of Tamils in the final stages of the civil war.
In response to an outcry from civil society and unions, a delegation from the EU is now in Sri Lanka to decide on how to adequately monitor labour standards. It sounds abstract enough. But in reality what it amounts to for workers on the ground is the difference between getting paid enough to live – or not.
While increased profits will flow to the industry, Sri Lanka’s 300,000 garment workers will receive no benefit, continuing to earn so little that their wages don’t cover basic living costs. It is the fashion brands that control the style of clothes to the last stitch, while pleading ignorance on rights violations in their factories.
