Class IX student’s campaign against fast fashion hopes to bring justice to exploited labourers

A 14-year-old student, who aims to bring about a change in society, has launched an online campaign against fast fashion, where big fashion outlets exploit their workforce.

She wants the income tax department to bring about a new section called Per Capita Income of a Garment Worker (PIGW) in the income tax filing, which mandates all companies to disclose how much each garment worker earns, and is verified by the Ministry of Textiles to ensure transparency.

MP Sudiksha Chandra, a Class IX student of Delhi Public School (DPS) East, has been running the online campaign that aims to bring smiles on the face of garment workers.

Its focus is to fight for the rights and fair wages for all garment workers across the country. It wants to eliminate forced labour in the fast fashion industry.

“Through PIGW, it would become easier for the government to trap companies that fail to pay living wages of the workers who are not able to even meet their basic needs,” Sudiksha said.

In December 2021, it was reported that over 4,00,000 garment workers in the state were receiving wages below the legal minimum in over 1,000 factories since April 2020.

“Labour groups estimate the total unpaid wages to be more than $50 million and this was claimed to be the worst wage theft in the global garment industry,” she said.

Workers stated that they were unable to afford even basic requirements like food, house rent and school fees of their children, she added.

Sudiksha asserted that she reached out to all major fashion outlets across the city on the issue, but did not receive any answers.

She urged people to adopt alternatives like slow fashion, sustainable fashion, thrifting, and using clothes made from natural fibres.