Two garment factory workers recount stories about the dark side of the textile industry. "I told the supervisor I couldn't breathe near this machine. It is already 30°C in the factory, and if we work at near the machine it would be much hotter," says worker from a textile factory in Serbia. In response, the supervisor turned the machine's exhaust pipe to direct the fumes in the faces of the seamstress and her co-workers, and said, "That's your problem, and if you can't deal with it, there are enough people waiting to take your place! The door's over there!" Another worker reveals: "Management asked us to raise money to buy a blood pressure monitor because they themselves will 'treat' us and will not call a doctor if we faint.

The two women have asked to remain unnamed - like everyone else who had the courage to describe working conditions in the Serbian textile industry for a study conducted by Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC), an international organization dedicated to improving working conditions in the garment industry. Many Serbian workers are scared of losing their jobs as they are considered to be the lucky ones for getting a job in the private sector in a country where the overall unemployment rate is 16 percent and 30 percent for young people. In Serbia, the well-paid jobs are in state institutions and hiring is based on connections and political affiliation.

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Watch video 02:06 Share The human cost of bargain clothing Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/2cAu7 The human cost of bargain clothing

Workers treated as slaves

Textile industry workers in particular are forced to accept inhuman working conditions and the tyranny of arrogant superiors in an industry predominantly owned by foreign stakeholders who manufacture clothing for the Western European market. An atmosphere of fear prevails: There are constant threats of dismissal and workers are denied part of their statutory minimum vacation, if they are even allowed to take it at all.

"Female workers report that they are treated like machines or like slaves, not like human beings. They are yelled at; sexual harassment is part of everyday life," says Bettina Musiolek, the CCC coordinator for Eastern and Southeastern Europe.

This all happens in jobs that pay less than a country's minimum living wage and expect many hours of unpaid overtime. The legal minimum wage in Serbia is 278 euros per month, but a family of four needs at least 652 euros a month to make ends meet.

The women who work in the textile industry earn an average of 202 euros a month and 227 euros a month in the leather and shoe industries. The sector employs around 100,000 people in Serbia, which is the equivalent of about eight percent of the country's workforce.

The cost of cheap clothes From rags to riches The idea of farming seems today more abstract than ever before. Jost Franko's latest photo essay brings this distant world back to our reality, in which the ridiculous price of garments is paid by workers living in dire conditions. Pictured here is a relative of Issa Gira (67) from Burkina Faso, who's been growing cotton for 30 years, but still earns less than a dollar a day.

The cost of cheap clothes Weight control After the crop is harvested, farmers just like these two in Burkina Faso have to bring the cotton to the collection centers in nearby villages. Just before the market day, farmers help each other press the cotton into a huge, hard mass so they're able to weigh their loads. "No one really cares about farming, the first part of the supply chain," says Franko.

The cost of cheap clothes The golden lining Cotton farming gives work to more than four million people in Burkina Faso, and it is its second-most-valuable resource after gold. Sofitex is one of the three companies in the country that buys cotton from farmers and provides loans to cultivators, and it exports around 540,000 tons of cotton annually. Local farmers are seen here loading cotton into one of the many Sofitex containers.

The cost of cheap clothes Work-life imbalance "Due to western cotton subsidies, which are creating a dumping effect, poor countries are in a huge loss," says Franko. In his opinion, the production of cotton and garments in third-world countries is just another form of colonialism. "Small workshops sometimes take subcontracted work for larger companies. The rent is expensive for most workers, so they sleep in the factories," he adds.

The cost of cheap clothes A princess' dress or a cushion? In this photo, garment workers cut the textile in a factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the heart of the global cheap clothing industry. They earn 2.20 euros ($2.36) a day on average. Companies like H&M, Walt Disney or Lidl have their garments and home textile lines produced in the Dhaka region, which made the headlines in 2013 when the Rana Plaza sweatshop building collapsed, killing 1,129 workers.

The cost of cheap clothes The other side of the EU "It's hard to talk about fair conditions even when it comes to expensive, high-fashion labels," Franko claims, describing this photo of Romanian garment workers. "The state of the garment factories in Romania is much better compared to most Asian and African countries, but wages are still extremely low, not exceeding 200 euros a month, which is worse than in China. And this is the EU!"

The cost of cheap clothes Last season's styles Although the fashion industry has been stagnating trend-wise recently, which has made more styles trans-seasonal, more than 80 billion pieces of clothing are purchased every year worldwide. But the low quality and purchase cost make the clothes disposable. In the US alone, more than 15 million tons of used textile waste is generated annually.

The cost of cheap clothes Get the London look "The history of cotton is indeed a dark one, and in my eyes, the issues surrounding the cotton trade have never ended," states Franko. Although much has been written and spoken about the invisible and destructive line of the clothing industry, customers seem to be immune: "I guess it's easier to turn a blind eye to it. Those issues are structural, and don't have to do only with garments." Author: Jan Tomes



A low-wage paradise in the heart of Europe

Garment industry conditions in the new emerging economy, Serbia, are no different than in other low-cost manufacturing countries. "For global fashion brands, countries in Eastern and Southeastern Europe are low-wage havens," conclude the authors of the study. Well-known retailers, like H&M, Benetton and Esprit, or even luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Prada and Versace manufacture their expensive products in low-cost factories.

The European sweatshops are known for their cheap but experienced and qualified workers. As a rule, the companies pay the workers – the majority of whom are women – the statutory minimum wage, which ranges from 89 euros a month in Ukraine to 374 euros a month in Slovakia. In order to secure a family's livelihood and enable it to meet its basic needs, wages would have to be four to five times higher.

Even upscale brands like Dolce&Gabbana are interested in building production lines in Eastern Europe

Consumers are being misled

Many brands have "Made in Europe" or "Made in EU" written on their labels, thereby suggesting that the garments have been produced under fair conditions, while "in reality, many of the region's 1.7 million garment workers live in poverty," reveals the CCC study. "Sometimes we just don't have anything to eat," said a woman in a textile factory in Ukraine, while a worker in Hungary said, "Our wages are just enough to pay for heating and utilities."

These conditions are only possible in a pro-employer environment. "It is essentially a union-free zone. No one represents the workers' interests effectively," says Musiolek. Governments also provide foreign companies with direct and indirect subsidies. In Serbia, for example, businesses are given high subsidies, plots of land below market price or even for free, tax breaks and free infrastructure in many cases. In addition, governments "set very low minimum wages," Musiolek points out.

Serbian President Aleksandr Vucic and Yumtobel CEO Ulrich Schumacher break ground on the company's new factory in the southern Serbian town of Nis

Conditions reminiscent of early capitalism

Stefan Aleksic, one of the authors of the study, told DW that an economic race is underway in Southeastern Europe. "Many poor countries surround Serbia and everyone is fighting for the same investments. A climate of competition has emerged: Who will offer foreign investors better conditions for cheap manufacturing?" explains Aleksic. The result is devastating. "The state funds the retention of a backward economy."

Despite everything, the Clean Clothes Campaign does not call for a boycott of the companies involved. "The workers keep telling us, 'We need these jobs.' They have to be paid properly and working conditions must be adjusted to meet EU standards," says Bettina Musiolek. But there is still a long way to go. "First of all, the unions need more support. These conditions, reminiscent of early capitalism, and the weakness of labor market actors are shocking."