homeworkers
Homeworkers work in their own homes (or from small, informal workshops) as opposed to factories or other more formal workplaces. Homeworkers across the world work on a vast range of products, from traditional handicrafts to industrial products, including garments for multi-national brands. Homeworkers producing for global supply chains are likely to work to order on a piece-rate basis.
Although for some homeworking can be a positive choice, homeworkers' invisibility, their precarious employment status, lack of legal protection and isolation from other workers mean that they are often the most exploited workers in the industry.
Their lack of visibility means that organising to defend their rights or to speak with a collective voice is even more difficult than for factory workers, and few if any codes or audits have led to positive changes in their working conditions.
Many of the items in your wardrobe could have been worked on by homeworkers. Examples include shoes stitched by women in Eastern Europe, tops embroidered at home in India, or tights packed by homeworkers in the UK.
Further information:
- For more detail, see factsheet 5b.
- To learn more go to Homeworkers Worldwide website.
- Read the Clean Clothes Campaign report The Global Garment Industry and the Informal Sector.
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