Pakistan’s Garment Workers Suffer As Global Brands’ Safety Pledges Fall Short

Global clothing brands have committed to protecting workers in their supply chains, but employees at garment factories in Pakistan continue to report heat-related illnesses, inadequate workplace protections and lost wages when they fall sick, an Associated Press investigation has found. Despite existing labour safeguards and industry safety initiatives, workers interviewed by AP said their factories lacked basic measures to reduce heat exposure, while a dedicated heat-stress protocol announced by the International Accord remains under review, according to AP.

AP interviewed more than a dozen workers in Karachi who described fainting spells, breathing difficulties and other health problems during the hottest months. Ten said they made goods for global brands sold in the United States and Europe. All but one reported losing wages when heat-related illness forced them to miss work. The workers spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared retaliation from their employers.

The findings raise questions about the enforcement of existing labour protections and whether international brands’ safety commitments are translating into effective measures at their suppliers’ factories.

Safety commitments have yet to translate into adequate protection

Several companies sourcing goods from Pakistani factories, including Inditex, the parent company of Zara, and Mango, have signed legally binding worker-safety agreements or introduced their own safety commitments, according to AP.

The International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry announced in 2025 that it would develop a dedicated protocol to address heat stress. AP reported that the protocol remained under review and had not yet taken effect. Separately, the Pakistan Accord’s existing complaints mechanism has received reports involving heat stress, including concerns about drinking-water quality and temperature, according to the Accord’s published updates.

The Pakistan Accord, a country-specific safety programme operating as an extension of the broader International Accord, did not respond to AP’s requests for an interview or comment.

Cara Schulte, a researcher at Climate Rights International who published a report on worker conditions in Pakistan in 2025, said international brands had a responsibility to ensure that their suppliers were held accountable for worker safety, including protection from extreme heat.

In an email to AP, an Inditex spokesperson said the company was strengthening its efforts to address heat stress across its supply chain through updated factory audits, guidance and training for suppliers, and collaboration with industry initiatives.

A Mango spokesperson described worker health and safety as a “non-negotiable priority”, citing its supplier code of conduct, which was “strengthened this year to explicitly address extreme temperatures and heat stress.”

The Sindh provincial government, which oversees Karachi, acknowledged that enforcement remained a challenge.

“The government is making efforts to enforce these regulations, but given the province’s vast size and the presence of numerous industrial zones, complaints are inevitable,” said Sadia Javed, a Sindh government spokesperson and member of the Provincial Assembly.

Pakistan has national and provincial laws, as well as constitutional protections, intended to safeguard workers from unsafe conditions, said Farhan Haider, a programme manager at the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research in Karachi. The accounts gathered by AP, however, describe workplaces where basic heat protections remain inadequate.

Workers report fainting and other heat-related illnesses

Siddiqui, a 28-year-old garment worker identified only by her surname by AP because she fears retaliation from her employer, collapsed while working at a factory on the outskirts of Karachi.

Her vision had blurred and her heart was pounding as machinery churned around her in a crowded room filled with sweating workers. The summer monsoon humidity added to the heat. When concerned colleagues called her supervisor, he told her to continue working.

“The supervisor said, ‘Just complete this work,’” Siddiqui, 28, told The Associated Press. “Suddenly darkness came before my eyes.”

Siddiqui stitches clothes for Spanish brands Zara and Mango. She lives with her six children in a small room without air conditioning on Karachi’s outskirts, where temperatures routinely exceed 37.8 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) during heatwaves.

She earns 15,000 Pakistani rupees, about $54, a month. After she fainted and was taken to hospital, her employer refused to cover the medical expenses, leaving her unable to afford food for her children.

“Sometimes they eat one meal, sometimes they don’t eat a meal,” she said, adding that her younger children sometimes cry from hunger. “The older ones have gotten used to it.”

Her experience reflects the accounts of other workers interviewed by AP. They reported temporary muscle paralysis, swollen limbs, fluctuations in blood pressure, breathing difficulties, blurred vision and exhaustion during the hottest months. All said they had witnessed colleagues faint because of the heat, while several said they had collapsed themselves, in some cases more than once.

Workers said those who fainted were often offered only a short break or a sugary drink before being told to resume work. Complaints to supervisors reportedly brought no changes to working conditions.

Only one worker interviewed by AP said they had paid sick leave. The others reported losing wages when they missed work because of heat-related illnesses, including after fainting on the job.

One worker showed AP scaly rashes on her arms, which she attributed to routine chemical exposure at the factory. She said the pain intensified during summer.

Poor ventilation and limited cooling worsen factory conditions

The factories supply global companies with products ranging from blue jeans to homeware. Workers told AP that industrial machinery radiated heat into their workplaces, while fans were often broken or too small to cool the premises adequately.

Windows were frequently narrow, positioned high up or kept closed to prevent theft, restricting airflow. Several workers said metal roofs made factory floors particularly difficult to work in during summer, yet they received no additional water or breaks.

None of the workers interviewed by AP said their factories had heat sensors. Only one reported having a ventilation system at their workplace, and workers said it was switched on only when auditors visited for inspections.

Although employers provided drinking water, workers said it was rarely cold and they could not be certain it was clean.

“Sometimes it smells like dead rats,” a 34-year-old male factory worker told AP.

The conditions described by workers contrast with the measures experts say factories can take to reduce heat exposure. These include monitoring temperature and humidity, providing cold drinking water, allowing regular breaks, installing barriers to reduce heat radiated by machinery, and improving ventilation and cooling systems. Painting rooftops white can also help reflect sunlight.

“We’re talking about some very simple strategies,” said Andreas Flouris, founder of FAME Lab, which researches the effects of heat on health.

Flouris said such measures were straightforward to implement and economically feasible. Workers interviewed by AP, however, said most of these protections were absent from their workplaces.

Climate change increases the risks for workers

AP describes extreme heat in this context as temperatures at or above 32.2 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit) combined with high humidity. Prolonged exposure can cause serious internal damage even when outward symptoms are limited, and can worsen conditions including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and asthma. Studies have linked heat exposure to dehydration, heatstroke, organ failure and death.

“The longer you work in the heat, the less that you’re protected from it and the health risks rise,” Flouris said.

The World Health Organization identifies heat stress as a leading cause of weather-related deaths. The number of people exposed to extreme heat is growing as global temperatures rise.

Studies by World Weather Attribution have found that climate change has drastically increased the frequency, intensity and risks of extreme heatwaves in Pakistan. Workers in Karachi’s factories face these risks in workplaces where, according to the accounts collected by AP, measures to monitor and reduce heat exposure are often missing.

Despite the commitments made by brands and the protections experts say factories can implement, workers interviewed by AP said their complaints about extreme heat continued to go unanswered.

Siddiqui said supervisors routinely dismissed complaints about workers feeling unwell.

“If you feel too unwell, (supervisors) say, ‘This is an everyday problem. Women cry and complain a lot, but the work still must be done,’'' she told AP.