H&M called on to handle abuse of Syrian refugees in Turkish garment factories

London - High street fashion retailer H&M, along with other Nordic fashion brands Lindex, KappAhl, Gina Tricot and Varner, have been called out for not taking sufficient action to prevent the discrimination of Syrian migrants working in their supply chains in Turkey in a new study entitled 'Invisible Workers - Syrian Refugees in Turkish Garment Factories' from non-profit organisations Fair Action and Future in Our Hands.

As the world's third-largest supplier of clothing, following China and Bangladesh, Turkey is also the third biggest non-European exporter of clothing to Sweden and Norway and a key sourcing location for many fashion brands. However, although Syrian are able to be legally employed in Turkey, data indicates only 7,000 of the estimated 250,000 to 400,000 Syrian migrants who work in the country have been able to obtain working permits.

The majority of Syrians continue to live undocumented, this means that thousands of Syrian workers are forced to work long hours in the country's garment factories, usually in unsafe working conditions for salaries far below the minimum wage because they lack access to employment contacts and social security. In addition, Syrian migrants are less likely to complain about their low wages and excessive working hours in fear of losing their only source of income.

All five of the brands mentioned in the study, including Swedish giant H&M and except for KappAhl, have found a few Syrian refugees working in their Turkish suppliers factories. "Syrian workers are generally earning under minimum wage, and do not get social security. They have to accept any working conditions offered to them and can get dismissed at any time," commented Engin Celik, Organising Officer at the Turkish trade union Deriteks, which organises workers in the garment sector.

Most fashion brands tend to work with third-party to conduct audits at their suppliers factories, which can led to a conflict of interest. At the moment the brands' current monitoring processes do not seem to offer an accurate estimate of the exact number of Syrian refugees working in their supply chain in Turkey, as many of them work further down the supply chian at subcontractors. "The brands need to assess their entire supply chain to identify which parts should be prioritised for preventing abuse of Syrian refugees," added Maria Sjödin, author of the report at Fair Action.

Although H&M and Varner have taken some steps in the right direction and Lindex has begun to address the issue, Gina Tricot and KappAhl have yet to indicate they are monitoring their supply chain more closely and attempting to tackle and prevent the risks. "Gina Tricot and KappAhl should immediately engage with their Turkish suppliers, other brands and trade unions in order to adopt an action plan on how Syrian refugees can be protected," concluded Carin Leffler at Future in our hands.

All of the fashion brands named are also encouraged to carry out risk assessments in accordance with the UNGPs, improve their monitoring and auditing processes, develop an action plan together with civil society and trade unions and work together with non-profit organisations such as the Fair Wear Foundation.

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