May & June '26 | Extreme Heat, Toxic Pollution, Weakened Laws, the Fight for Just Fashion and more…
In our ongoing commitment to providing insight into the evolving landscape of labour and environmental rights within the textile and garment industry, we share with you the latest developments. In this edition of Textile Insight, we focus on the converging crises hitting garment workers and supply chains alike, from extreme heat, chemical pollution, and fuel shortages to weakened EU regulations. We dive into a newly released report exposing the gap between brand promises and purchasing realities, while the EU decides to shelve critical chemical safety revisions. But we also bring you urgent reporting: workers collapsing in Gazipur, toxic fibers choking Panipat’s recyclers, and the Clean Clothes Campaign taking Levi’s to court over alleged consumer deception. Read on for the full picture of an industry at a breaking point, and the movements that demand change.
We hope you find these insights useful!
STUDIES & REPORTS
Heat Unprepared: SLCP Report Reveals 69% of Factories Lack Climate Plans (pdf)
SLCP’s 2025 Impact Report, covering 7.5 million workers across 10,700 facilities, finds that 69% of factories have no formal climate adaptative plan, a critical gap as 16% of facilities already maintain indoor temperatures exceeding 31°C, dangerously close to safe heat thresholds for workers. While large facilities and countries like Vietnam (where law mandates monitoring) show better readiness, the report underscores that stagnant labor conditions and climate inaction are now intersecting threats demanding urgent collaboration.
ACT Report: Purchasing Practices Must Go Beyond Compliance (pdf)
While ACT brand members report progress on responsible sourcing, their latest accountability report reveals a 'perception gap' where suppliers and internal staff don’t always see those commitments reflected in daily purchasing decisions. To build truly resilient supply chains, the report argues that social dialogue and collective bargaining are inevitable, with purchasing practices serving as vital supporting tools rather than ends in themselves.
The $2 T-Shirt Trap: How Fashion's Fixed Pricing Defies Inflation and Starves Workers (pdf)
A new report by Public Eye and Clean Clothes Campaign reveals that brands still source cotton T-shirts from Bangladesh for just USD 2.06 on average, which represents half the real value of 25 years ago when adjusted for inflation. As suppliers cannot negotiate material or energy costs, the squeeze falls entirely on workers, forcing factories into poverty wages and unsafe conditions while brands fail to raise prices despite sustainability promises.
NEWS
EU Shelves REACH Revision, Leaving Chemical Regulation in Limbo
After six years of delays and opposition, the European Commission has indefinitely shelved plans to revise the EU’s flagship chemical safety regulation REACH, with the Environment Commissioner stating that 'now is not the time'. The decision, which relieves an industry struggling with high energy costs and global competition, abandons sweeping changes such as bringing 80,000 polymers under registration rules. It represents a setback for environmental and consumer advocates.
Weakened CSDDD Now Covers Just 974 Corporate Groups: A 71% Reduction
Following the EU’s Omnibus I revision, SOMO’s updated CSDDD Datahub reveals that only 974 corporate groups in the EU now fall under the weakened supply chain law: A dramatic 71% cut from 2024. While the directive still covers major players in manufacturing, wholesale, and even fossil fuels, compliance only begins in July 2029, with Germany hosting the most (280) covered corporations. Following this decision, more than 30 business and human rights practitioners, lawyers, and academics have signed an open letter calling on the European Commission to prioritize long-delayed guidance, warning that further hesitation leaves companies “in limbo” ahead of its 2029 application and undermines EU’s global leadership on sustainable conduct.
When Energy Crisis Meets Extreme Heat in Garment Supply Chains
As Middle East conflict drives up fuel prices and disrupts orders, garment factories across South and Southeast Asia are operating at half capacity while facing incoming heatwaves that could push temperatures above 45°C. With cooling systems and production lines both competing for unreliable and increasingly expensive energy, brands must treat extreme heat as a core sourcing and resilience challenge, not a reason to cut orders and deepen worker vulnerability.
Clean Clothes Campaign Sues Levi’s Over Miseading Consumer Claims
On the eve of its annual shareholder meeting, Levi’s faces a Dutch lawsuit from the Clean Clothes Campaign and four consumers alleging the brand mislead shoppers about ethical production. The suit centers on worker repression at Turkish supplier Özak Tekstil, including union-busting and mass firings, which CCC says directly contradicts Levi’s public promises on responsible sourcing.
Clean Clothes Campaign Launches a Global Manifesto for ‘Just Fashion’: People Before Profit
Backed by over 230 organizations across Europe and Asia, the Clean Clothes Campaign has launched a manifesto in May outlining a vision for a “just fashion system” that prioritizes people and worker rights over profit. The document calls for wealth redistribution, corporate accountability, living wages, and environmental justice, arguing that meaningful change must be driven by collective power rather than industry leaders.
Rana Plaza Anniversary Marked by New Podcast on Bangladesh Labour Rights
Marking the 13th anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse, a podcast recorded on the anniversary has now been released. The episode features Camelia Hasan from Bangladesh’s largest textile union NGWF, offering firsthand insights into working conditions, workplace harassment, and how union organizing specifically benefits women garment workers. The live recording is a collaboration between FEMNET, Fairtrade Germany, Kleiderei, and Fashion Revolution Germany, and it also explores what consumers and brands in the Global North can do to promote better working conditions in the fashion industry.
PRODUCTION COUNTRIES
Bangladesh
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Hazardous liquid waste discharged onto agricultural land (New Textile Incident)
Experience Textile Ltd., a certified Oeko-Tex and GOTS factory listed as a New Look supplier, was caught using a bypass pipeline to discharge untreated wastewaters onto agricultural land in Bangladesh.
Health risks at Panasia Clothing (New Textile Incident)
When over 50 workers at a factory supplying Primark and NEXT suddenly collapsed with dizziness and vomiting, officials blamed mass hysteria; however, unions say the real culprits are heat, poor ventilation, and stress, raising urgent questions about safety behind your clothes.
Weak Global Demand Claims Nearly 7,800 Garment Jobs in Five Months
A total of 79 factories terminated 7,784 workers between January and May 2026, with Ashulia alone accounting for 5,000 job losses across 45 facilities, as falling export earnings and sluggish global demand squeeze the industry. Labor leaders allege the actual number is higher, while the BKMEA president blames the work order shortage for the ongoing crisis.
Bangladesh’s Toxic Crossroads: Chemical Pollution Becomes a Publich Health Emergency
As Banglades’s garment and textile industries fuel remarkable economic growth, untreated effluents containing lead, cadmium, chromium, and PFAS “forever chemicals” are positing rivers, soil, food chains, and even human hair samples, turning the country’s waterways pitch black and creating a national health crisis. With climate disasters like floods dispersing toxic waste from factories into nearby communities, Shariar Hossain from our project partner ESDO warns that weak enforcement, non-operational effluent treatment plants, and a lack of chemical transparency are turning industrial pollution into a national health crisis.
India
Ludhiana Worker Protest Labour Codes, Demand Minimum Wage
Hundreds of garment union workers protested in Ludhiana demanding a ₹30,000 monthly minimum wage, an eight-hour workday with double overtime pay, and the repeal of four central labour codes they deem "anti-worker". Protesters warned of larger nationwide struggles, arguing that Punjab's 15% wage hike is inadequate against soaring inflation and that employers routinely ignore existing wage laws due to weak enforcement.
Drowing in Fast Fashion: The Toxic Air Panipat’s Workers Can’t Escape
In Panipat’s dusty workshops, workers like Rajesh shred and dye mountains of imported fast fashion clothing without masks or gloves, inhaling toxic fibers and chemicals that leave them gasping for air, while brands look away.
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