Zara’s parent company Inditex, H&M, and Next paid clothing suppliers in Bangladesh during the pandemic less than the cost of production. So say the University of Aberdeen and Transform Trade.

Of the 1,000 factories in Bangladesh producing garments for the retailers, 19 percent of Lidl’s suppliers, eleven percent of Inditex’s, nine percent of H&M’s, and eight percent of Next’s said they were producing at less than the cost of production.The majority of suppliers to those four brands, as well as Tesco and Aldi, say they were still being paid at the same rate from March 2020 to December 2021.

Despite rising raw material prices and the need to implement Covid mitigation measures, factories were unable to pass on additional production costs to buyers during the pandemic. Larger retailers buying from 15 or more factories were more likely than smaller retailers to engage in unethical practices such as delaying payments or canceling orders.Such practices impact suppliers’ employment conditions, with nearly one in five factories struggling to pay the country’s legal minimum wage.Only when suppliers are able to plan ahead, with confidence that they will earn as expected, can they deliver good working conditions for their workers.