By clothing-bag, 05/11/2022

Behind every garment woven in El Salvador there is a story of exploitation

More information
What's behind 'Made in Bangladesh'
When work costs an arm and a leg
Women who break taboos in El Salvador
Bangladeshi garment worker listens to Radio Union
En español: “There’s exploitation behind every piece of clothing made in El Salvador”

El Salvador has more than 200 companies dedicated to the textile industry in 17 free zones that employ more than 70,000 people, of whom 80% are women. Montserrat Arévalo (San Salvador, 1968), head of the Mujeres Transformando association, has spent almost two decades denouncing the inhumane treatment these workers receive while training union leaders, creating ties with international organizations and documenting campaigns to put pressure on brands " who sell a lifestyle of respect for the environment but in reality exploit their workers”. These days he walks through Spain hand in hand with Paz con Dignidad to promote new awareness campaigns around responsible consumption in Europe. “Behind a piece of clothing woven in El Salvador there is a story of exploitation,” he says over and over again.“Behind every garment woven in El Salvador is a story of exploitation” “Behind every garment woven in El Salvador is a story of exploitation”

What is the X-ray of the women who work in the textile industry in El Salvador?

In the maquila, in the textile industry, women from 18 to 35 years of age are working. The strenuous days of more than 16 hours and the high production goals mean that after the age of 35 they are no longer profitable for the industry. So the majority are young women, with little schooling and heads of their households. Their low school levels and their precarious situation force them to work in this sector as there are no more formal employment alternatives in the country. In short, women with a strong and hard life story that we need to make it known. Behind a garment they buy there is a history of exploitation in my country. We need to tell it in Europe to promote an increasingly conscious and responsible consumption that helps to change the inhumane conditions of production.

Does the vulnerability of these women work against them?

“Behind each garment woven in El Salvador there is a history of exploitation”

It is no coincidence that the maquila is in El Salvador, nor is it that the majority of women work in this sector. There is a perverse breeding ground for the maquilas to settle in the country: we have a very weak State, with little capacity for protection and very permissive with the violation of the rights of its population. It is the State itself that promotes the installation of these companies with strong tax exemption policies and for this reason, it has no problem looking the other way when the systematic violation of rights occurs. This complicity between companies and the State is very difficult for these women to break.

Without his presence, would the loneliness of these women be total?

A reflection must be carried out to put an end to the competitiveness programs of the States that are based on the precariousness of the jobs of their population. We now have a favorable period with the left in the Government but we come from a culture of total disrespect, in which companies settle and can work however they want. We need to implement strong changes in the legislation as soon as possible. Today, in all areas of the country, there is a culture of total disrespect for rights. With the maquila, the companies invoice millions, while the women work 12 hours to get ahead 1,500 pieces a day without this implying that they abandon poverty.

What are your main goals in this process?

Our main goal has always been to organize women workers. After 14 years of work we have 16 employee committees organized in the country. We want them to become stronger each time, that they know their rights well and are capable of demanding them. Through training and empowerment processes, we work with them; and through research and documentation, we carry out advocacy campaigns. We have brought reforms to Congress and now we are participating with new proposals in the reform of the national employment policy.

In parallel, they promote large international dissemination campaigns.

A very important action with a lot of political value is the documentation of the work of transnational brands in the country. Through the organized workers, we were able to find out what happens inside the free zones where women work between gates, walls, spikes, guards and shotguns. We have managed to ensure that it is the women themselves who monitor which brands are the ones that are producing where their rights are violated. The same brands that take care of their image with large investments are the ones that inhumanely exploit their workers. And documenting this reality means attacking their weakest point, their brand image. International pressure is more effective than national justice. Today in El Salvador being a woman and being a poor woman means that justice will not be prompt or fulfilled.

Which brands have managed to document a production without respecting the rights of their workers?

These are brands such as Puma, Adidas, Old Navy, GAP, Reebook, Columbia, The North Face, Patagonia, Tommy Hilfiger and Lacoste, as well as a large part of the kits of the American football league, NFL. In 2011 we denounced the inhumane production conditions of the NFL jerseys on the same day as the Super Bowl and in a few hours more than 1,500 people wrote to one of the teams to demand changes.

What were those inhumane conditions?

We documented that the water for the workers was contaminated with up to four different bacteria including fecal coliforms, also that they worked with average temperatures of 36 degrees without ventilation or emergency exits. We also show how by contract they are forced to overtime, undue discounts and, above all, abusive production goals: each woman had to produce 1,500 T-shirts a day. They were paid eight cents per item of clothing and then sold for $25. We were able to demonstrate all this with the Dallas Cowboys jerseys and also with those produced by Puma, Adidas... The workers extracted the cartoons with the brands and their patterns to demonstrate it. That's how we managed to get them to sit down with us and change everything: water, ventilation, contracts were improved... Middle managers were also trained to treat people humanely without using physical force. It has been the only conflict that has been resolved without losing jobs thanks to international pressure and interest and the work done by the workers.

What does it mean to be a human rights activist in a country with 14 homicides a day and 85% impunity?

For the compañeras it means persecution and dismissals. For us human rights defenders, periodic death threats and continuous care for our safety and mental health. The context of violence in the country means that the powers we are attacking hide behind the gangs. All the threats are signed as if they were gang members but we already know that they come from them. You can't stop, you have to keep fighting. If we stop, the change will never come

A fight in which they need Europe to also be present with demanding and responsible consumption.

Responsible consumption holds the key to change and international pressure is life insurance for us: the more international attention we get, the fewer threats we will receive. Everyone must find out about the conditions in which their clothes have been produced and must demand that they detail it. Thus, brands will not only take care of the environment in their image, but will truly respect the lives of the people who weave their garments.

Tags: