Oxfam Australia is calling on clothing brands in the country to pay their workers' salaries during the pandemic. Oxfam labour rights spokeswoman Sarah Rogan told these brands that the wage component of production cost is very small and as these workers were employed by factories, brands had to be accountable for their wages. She further said more than 2,000 people used an online platform set up by the organization, to ask brands how they intended to deal with the Covid-19 crisis but none of the brands had responded to consumer requests.

Clothing brands in Australia have been delaying payments, cancelling orders or asking for big discounts on millions of dollars' worth of orders from Bangladesh, with potentially catastrophic consequences for the women who make the clothes.

Major Australian retail company, Mosaic Brands, is delaying payment, holding or cancelling orders worth $15 million, says the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). Another brand, Cotton On has also backed down on its decision to cancel orders worth millions of dollars. Cotton On had earlier told suppliers it would cancel products worth $18 million, but that decision was reversed later.