Child Labor in the Textile Industry

Child Labour in India

• Child workers as young as 10 years old have been found working in textile factories in Delhi, India, producing clothes for major high street retailers.
• The children worked in conditions similar to slavery, with long hours of physical labour and faced threats and beatings.
• The factory was found to be producing clothes for a major retailer, which claimed to be unaware of the situation and had withdrawn the garments involved pending investigation.
• This incident highlights concerns about large retail chains outsourcing production to India, a country recognized by the United Nations as one of the world's hotspots for child labour.
• According to a report, over 20% of India's economy relies on child labour, with approximately 55 million children under 14 working.
• The incident raises questions about the ethics of cheap production and consumption in the West, and the responsibility of consumers to consider the human cost of their purchases.