Common work for children at informal factories are embroidery, cutting/trimming, cutting thread, printing, making labels/tags/stickers, packaging, machine cleaning, weaving, hand stitching, dyeing, decorative work (such as adding sequins, decorative stones), button stitching, knitting, washing, and button coloring.
Landscape behind the informal garment factories at Keraniganj in Dhaka. This district hosts hundreds of informal factories.
A shy garment worker.
A supervisor poses in front of garment workers. The busy period for the informal sector is between October and January every year.
Young garment workers take a shower inside their factory. Due to workload, they eat, shower and sleep inside their place of work.
A young garment worker enjoys his lunch break while listening to music.
A young worker removes extra stitches from blue jeans.
A young woman stands amidst children clothes. Due to a lack of child care facilities, most young children spend their time with their mothers at their workplace.
Due to their workload, young workers are not able to pursue basic education.
A young garment worker brings black jeans from his factory to a wholesale shop in Old Dhaka.
A pile of jeans stored in a room inside an informal factory in Bangladesh.
An electrical panel board. Most factories are at risk of fire accidents due to poor wiring and electrical safety standards and basic awareness.
Among informal factories, the safety standards are very low. Most of the factories do not have emergency exits, fire safety plans or extinguishers.
Fashion mannequins outside a shop in Old Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Female workers at a New Years celebration in Dhaka. Across formal garment factories in Bangladesh an estimated 60% of workers are women. The working conditions are usually better than the informal factories.