Oxfam calls for boycott of Zara, Jeanswest

Oxfam Australia is urging Christmas shoppers to boycott Zara and Jeanswest after the popular fashion brands failed to commit to improving wages and conditions for garment workers.

The retailers also failed to share their factory locations.

Oxfam Australia boss Lyn Morgain says human rights abuses in the fast fashion industry are still invisible to consumers, despite an increasing awareness of environmental impacts.

Workers making clothes work 12 or more hours a day but make as little as 58 cents an hour.

Short production times, last-minute order changes, and pressure on factories to reduce their prices leave workers at the end of the supply chain to bear the brunt.

Most of the workers are women who struggle to afford housing, food and healthcare.

In comparison, the clothing retail industry racked in a $1 billion profit in the past year alone, experiencing an 18 per cent revenue rise over two years.

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“Increased profits for shareholders must not come at the expense of those playing a key role in generating those profits,” Morgain said.

“Brands are responsible for ensuring everybody in their supply chain are paid above the living wage, so they can help themselves and their families out of poverty.”

Peter Alexander, Uniqlo and H&M are some of the many brands also labelled naughty for failing to conduct a wage gap analysis as part an Oxfam campaign.

Activewear brand Lorna Jane made Oxfam’s nice list for being the only company to have completed and published the results of their wage gap analysis.

Morgain hopes shoppers this Christmas recognise the power they have in encouraging brands to do the right thing.

“We want them to join us in calling on brands to recognise the human impacts of their business decisions and to do better by the women who make their clothes.”

Zara and Jeans West were contacted for comment.

With AAP.