U.S.: California law protects apparel workers

Gavin Newsom, California’s Democrat Governor has just signed the Garment Worker Protection Act ( Senate Bill 62, SB 62), which is designed to protect the status of workers in the garment industry. Los Angeles, which is the most important textile hub in the United States, has more than 2,000 factories, with nearly 45,000 employees. While legislation passed in 1999 was supposed to ensure decent incomes and working conditions in the industry, shops and brands have been circumventing the legislation by outsourcing their manufacturing needs to several factories. With this new law, brands are now accountable for shortfalls in decent wages and working conditions.