Clothing

What is the true cost of cheap fashion?

The International Labour Organisation estimates that 152 million children—more than twice the population of the UK—are engaged in child labour. In the worst cases, these children are living in slavery in desperate conditions. Many child labourers are making textiles and garments to satisfy the demand for cheap fashion in the West. Corners are often cut, making serious injuries and fires commonplace.

Ajay was enslaved in a clothing factory along with 10 other teenage boys and young men. When IJM brought them to safety, he said: "I thought of running away, but others who had run away were brought back and beaten with iron rods, tortured with long needles and locked in a room for several days."

Read Ajay's story here.