Microfinance Opportunities - Garment Worker Diaries

Microfinance Opportunities (MFO) is a global non-profit focused on understanding the financial realities of low-income households. The Garment Worker Diaries project was started in 2016 by MFO in collaboration with local research firms in Bangladesh, India, and Cambodia. Fashion Revolution is their partner in spreading the word about the Diaries and engaging stakeholders to advocate for changes in the global supply chain to improve the lives of garment workers.

The Garment Worker Diaries collects data on the work hours, income, expenses, and financial tool use of workers in the global apparel and textile supply chain in producing countries. They collect data on events that happen in the lives of workers, data on injuries, pain, daily schedules, brands worked on, and factories worked in along with surveys on financial capability, working conditions, and health. MFO works with field teams in-country to collect primary data on garment workers’ economic lives. They do this data collection every week for one year. It is supplemented with a series of cross-sectional, topical modules. Data is spot-checked, queried, and verified by field team supervisors.