A new report by the Workers' Rights Consortium has interviewed nearly 400 garment workers in garment exporting countries Myanmar, India, Indonesia, Haiti, Ethiopia, Lesotho, El Salvador, Bangladesh, and Cambodia. The findings reveal that garment workers in global supply chains have borne the brunt of order cancellations by major global apparel brands and retailers.

The report found that workers had experienced an average 21% drop in wages since the beginning of the mirror. 77% of workers interviewed are going hungry, with a quarter facing daily food shortages. Many workers reported limiting the number of meals they and their families were eating and going without meat and fish. 75% said they had borrowed money to buy food.

Penelope Kyritsis, director of strategic research at WRC said: “The fashion industry has made its overseas workers exquisitely vulnerable to this crisis by paying them chronically low wages, leaving workers unprotected and unable to absorb the pandemic’s economic shocks. And the industry’s response to the crisis has often made matters worse. Unless something is done to help them we are likely to see tremendous suffering across global supply chains.”

Nike, adidas, and Gap have commented on their findings. Their comments, along with related press coverage, are below.