Some of Europe's biggest stores from Asda to Aldi are failing to stem the abuse of Syrian refugees who work in the Turkish factories that supply their clothes, a business pressure group, the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) said.
Low wages, discrimination and poor conditions are common for Syrian refugees working in Turkey's multi-billion dollar garment industry, where child labour is also a problem, said the BHRRC.
Companies including supermarket chains Aldi and Asda and fashion retailer Arcadia - which owns the Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge brands - are not doing enough to stop the exploitation, the BHRRC survey found.
Peter McAllister, head of the Ethical Trading Initiative, an alliance of trade unions, firms and charities promoting workers' rights explained, "Refugees are particularly vulnerable to exploitation,"
More than 3 million Syrian refugees - about half aged under 18 - have fled to Turkey to escape a war that erupted in 2011. About 650,000 are estimated to be working in Turkey, many in the garment industry, yet most lack work permits, leaving them at greater risk of abuse. Reuters last year found evidence of Syrian refugee children in Turkey working in clothes factories in illegal conditions. Turkey bans children under 15 from working.
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