An investigation has uncovered a disturbing pattern of fainting at Nike factories in Cambodia, even after decades of efforts to improve labor monitoring and working conditions.
What's happening?
ProPublica broke down the dangerous working conditions faced by garment workers in Cambodia, including in factories like Y&W Garment that make or once made apparel for Nike.
A medical worker at one factory told the nonprofit journalism organization that up to 10 people are too weak to work each month because of stifling conditions — with more than a dozen people affected monthly from May to June, when temperatures begin to ramp up.
Around 57,000 people produce Nike goods in the Southeast Asian country. ProPublica cited news reports detailing mass fainting events — defined as either losing consciousness or becoming too weak or dizzy to perform duties — occurring in 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018, and 2019 at factories manufacturing products for the world's largest athletic apparel brand.
Cambodian officials have attributed the fainting episodes to a combination of factors, including heat (the top weather-related killer), pesticide spraying, chemicals used in manufacturing, inadequate ventilation, and poor nutrition.
Nike, Wing Luen Knitting Factory Ltd., and Haddad Brands — which workers at Y&W said manufactured Nike clothes — didn't respond to ProPublica's request for comment.
Why is this important?
Nike went to Cambodia to look into the situation in 2012 and asked international labor officials to intervene, as ProPublica noted. At the time, the company told the Guardian it considered the situation a "serious" matter and said it could indicate "issues within a factory that may require corrective action."
However, workers at Y&W Garment, whose parent company is Wing Luen Knitting Factory Ltd., said fainting episodes continued during the two years their factory made Nike products, according to ProPublica. Jill Tucker, who headed the oversight group Better Factories Cambodia from 2011 to 2014, said the reports were not shocking.
Tucker said it was "a consequence of low wages and poor working conditions that continue, even after decades of work on this issue," noting: "People work very hard for very little pay."
Unfortunately, the problem is widespread, particularly in the fast-fashion industry, which rapidly produces apparel on the cheap and relies on consumers buying in mass quantities to keep up with ever-changing trends.
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Set strict regulations 🚫 The industry doesn't only have a questionable human rights record — which is concerning enough on its own. It has also fueled an eye-popping volume of textile waste that mars otherwise stunning scenic areas and destroys ecosystems.
What's being done about this?
Action to protect Cambodian garment workers began in 1999, as ProPublica noted, after President Bill Clinton signed a trade deal to boost the Southeast Asian nation's economy as it built back following the Cambodian genocide carried out in the 1970s by the communist political group Khmer Rouge.
The idea was that the United States would increase its import quotas and American companies would feel comfortable operating in Cambodia if workers had better working conditions.
However, those efforts seem to have fallen short, even though Nike, for its part, has withdrawn from Cambodia at times after reported violations, including when the BBC discovered children working for one of its suppliers. Nike has also relied on Better Factories Cambodia for oversight.
Yet ProPublica also described Better Factories Cambodia's record as "mixed," reporting the group has raised the alarm about Cambodian factories' failures to adhere to labor laws, yet also given perfect marks for compliance when workers reported issues such as union busting.
One of the best ways to hold brands accountable is to use your purchasing power to show that you support sustainable and ethical working conditions. Ditching fast fashion and building your wardrobe through thrifting and shopping ethical brands are options to consider.
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