We guarantee living wages for every maker because we pay them directly.
98% of the world's garment workers are not paid a living wage
Garment worker salaries vary significantly across the world, but what's most important are wage levels in the context of a "living wage" in the region where the worker resides. The Global Living Wage Coalition defines this as an amount sufficient to afford a decent standard of living for the worker and his or her family including food, housing, education, health care, and other essential needs including savings for unexpected events.
Unfortunately, most of the world's garment workers aren't paid enough to provide the basic essentials for themselves and their families. The ugly reality is that many garment workers are paid what are considered starvation wages.
Fair trade certificates are inadequate
Many brands give consumers the false assurance that living wages are paid by providing Fair Trade Certificates from their manufacturing partners. But these certificates don't guarantee living wages, they simply set "guidelines" and "targets" that must be reached within six years.
- Clean Clothes Campaign
Living wages can only be guaranteed by owning the manufacturing facility
At Clean Tee, we own our own factory and directly pay all the makers of our clothes. We've developed a production model that eliminates waste and increases pay, guaranteeing that every maker earns a living wage as a minimum starting salary.
Currently the lowest salary in our factory is equal to 110% of living wage. Average production worker salaries equal 145% of living wage, while pay for production team leaders exceeds 250% of the local living wage.
We publish wages, not paid-for 3rd party certificates
Clean Tee prefers transparency over 3rd party validation of wages. Salaries of all factory team members are published monthly.
Below you'll find the payroll for our factory that includes every production worker's monthly salary along with the living wage percentage as defined by the Global Living Wage Coalition.
OUR FACTORY PAYROLL - UPDATED AUGUST 31, 2024
Below is a graph of garment worker salaries as a percent of living wages comparing the leading country producers of clothing sold in the U.S. with Clean Tee wages.
Clean Tee worker salary as a percentage of living wage
- United States living wage data provided by MIT Living Wage Calculator for Los Angeles County, where 80% of “Made in USA” clothing is produced. Living wage is 2 working adults with 2 children. https://livingwage.mit.edu/counties/06037
- United States garment worker pay information provided by Department of Labor report. https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20230322-0
- All other countries living wage data provided by the Global Living Wage Coalition. www.globallivingwage.org/