For centuries, the intimate apparel industry has been built on a paradox: garments designed to empower the wearer often begin their journey in conditions that strip power from the maker. A new survey from U.K.-based nonprofit Transform Trade reveals that this imbalance remains woven into the very contracts that govern production. In 2025, 44 percent of nearly 200 Indian garment suppliers reported that brands demanded post-agreement discounts; 53 percent faced mid-production cancellations; and 81 percent saw no price adjustments to reflect minimum wage increases. These practices echo the early days of mass-produced corsetry in the 19th century, when factory owners—often subcontracting for emerging department stores—bore all risk while buyers reaped the rewards.
Professor Sarah Dadush of Rutgers Law School, director of the Responsible Contracting Project, describes these agreements as “one-sided fictions.” They place the full burden of human rights and environmental standards on suppliers, while buyers remain contractually detached. This dynamic mirrors the history of lingerie manufacturing: from the sweatshops of 1900s New York to the offshore factories of the 1970s, the supplier has always been the vulnerable link. When abuses surface, buyers can “cut and run,” leaving suppliers—and workers—to absorb the cost.
Karen Stauss of Transparentem, which recently uncovered labor abuses in Mauritius and Taiwan, frames the issue as one of human suffering, not productivity. Migrant workers, she notes, are paying thousands in recruitment fees simply to access jobs—a modern echo of the indentured labor that once fed textile mills. Stauss argues that contracts should include “right-to-cure” provisions, allowing remediation before exit. Dadush’s RCP offers model clauses that prioritize fixing harm over severing ties. For the Lingerie Museum, this is a call to remember that every lace trim and silk strap carries the weight of those who stitched it—and that the most intimate garment deserves a supply chain built on justice, not fiction.
Originally reported by WWD