Workers in factories of South India that produce clothing for Dutch brands are exploited and poorly paid. Women get paid lower than men for doing the same work. Many garment workers are indebted, with most of them having taken loans. Savings from monthly wages are a distant dream.

The production target is easy to reach only when the product is easy and small. For finishing tasks, like attaching sleeves, cuffs or necks, the target is 60 to 90 per hour. The stress of production targets is constant. Supervisors shout and use abusive words. If a worker uses the factory bus, money is deducted from wages. Women workers are forced to resign if pregnant or if management thinks they are too slow and have to pause too often. Many Dutch brands are not transparent about where their garments are made.

The Indian textile and garment industry is the second largest foreign exchange earner after agriculture, with Bangalore as a major hub, accounting for about 15 per cent of the production of exported garments. There are about 1,200 garment factories in Karnataka, 700 of which are officially registered, employing an estimated 5,00,000 people, many of them migrants from Orissa, Assam and Jharkhand.