Since the start of fighting in Syria in 2011, it is estimated that 1.6 million refugees have escaped to Turkey. There is currently only space for 220,000 people in formal refugee camps in Turkey, and while the Turkish government has been widely acknowledged for their support of refugees, international aid has not kept up with the growing needs.

As the number of refugees increases, and the length of their stay in Turkey grows into months and years, refugees are understandably looking for ways to earn an income.

Risk assessment – human rights due diligence FWF’s own investigations, consultations with stakeholders, and news reports all indicate that there is currently a high risk in the Turkish garment sector of the following issues:

• Employment of Syrian refugee children
• Discrimination against undocumented Syrian refugees, for example, widespread failure to pay legal minimum wages (payment of as little as 50% of legal minimum has been reported), social security, and other legally-mandated benefits.
• First-tier suppliers subcontracting work to ‘hidden’ factories employing large numbers of refugees, often working in unhealthy and dangerous conditions.

What should affiliates do now?