Less than 2% of fashion workers globally earn a living wage, even as the industry generates trillions in annual revenue. The people making our clothes receive as little as 0.5% to 3% of a garment’s retail price. With EU transparency rules arriving in 2027, this is no longer just a moral issue - it is becoming a legal one.
Who Carries the Weight
An estimated 80% of garment workers are women, most between 18 and 35, concentrated across the Global South. Fashion’s wage crisis is also a gender crisis: women occupy the lowest-paid production roles while men disproportionately hold supervisory and management positions.
The burden extends far beyond individual workers. Many support extended families on sub-living wages, cycling poverty through generations. Workers in export-processing zones often face restricted union rights, limiting their ability to collectively bargain for better conditions.
The numbers make the scale of vulnerability concrete. Cambodia recently approved a $2.50 monthly transport allowance for garment workers, described as an essential shield for the sector’s 800,000 employees. That a $2.50 stipend qualifies as a shield tells you everything about how little room these workers have.
A living wage is not the same as a minimum wage. Minimum wage covers bare survival. A living wage accounts for housing, nutrition, healthcare, and modest savings - the baseline for a life with dignity. Millions of workers exist in the gap between those two figures, stretched thin by wage theft, unpaid overtime, and withheld bonuses.
