A recent report based on visits to 10 Indian garment factories in various states has concluded that rising temperatures and humidity are affecting workers’ health and disrupting productivity as much as 10%.
The report released by the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights is based on visits to 10 garment factories across Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Odisha, Maharashtra, and Karnataka.
These apparel production factories primarily supply garments to global brands like Primark, D-Mart, Target, Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Tommy Hilfiger, and NEXT.
This report comes after the International Labour Organization (ILO) stated that 70% of the global working population or 2.41 billion workers are likely to be exposed to extreme heat every year leading to 23 million non-fatal injuries and 19,000 deaths annually.
The report projects that heat-related expenses are costing workers ₹500-1,000 a month, a major portion of the average monthly wage of ₹11,500-18,000.
The garment factories said they are willing to invest more in heat-mitigation measures if brands required such steps, provided technical support, or shared the costs.
Only 35.3% of these factories require them to measure temperature or humidity inside production areas, and none collect such data continuously.
“Managers across the nine factories reported productivity reductions of approximately 3-10% and absenteeism increases of around 2-5% during peak summer months,” the report informs.
The report called on global apparel brands and buyers to move beyond voluntary guidance and treat extreme heat as a measurable workplace safety and supply chain risk.
“Factories are losing output, quality is suffering, and delivery timelines are at risk, not as a future scenario, but right now,” said Lucy Siers, Senior Research Scientist, Global Labour, at the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights.
“Brands that require heat monitoring, adjust purchasing practices, and share the cost of adaptation will build more resilient supply chains,” Siers added.
The report found that indoor temperatures in some dyeing and processing units reached 43-45 degrees Celsius during peak summer months, up to 5 degrees Celsius higher than the already dangerous outdoor temperatures.
Workers reported dizziness, headaches, dehydration, fainting, heat rashes, kidney and urinary problems, as well as higher medical expenses and wage losses due to heat-related absences.
Medical-room data from three factories showed predictable seasonal spikes in health complaints during local peak heat periods.
“Brands that source from heat-exposed regions have both a business interest and a responsibility to act,” said Michael Posner, Director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights.
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