Workers at factories in Cambodia that produce clothing for the likes of Adidas, Nike and Puma are reportedly routinely faint due to exhaustion. More than 100 garment workers have reportedly fainted in two separate factories. Lacking access to nutritious, sanitary food, workers are highly susceptible to toxic fumes, dehydration and all the other poor conditions that they regularly encounter, which can easily tip them over the edge. 

These sportswear brands are blamed for wages that currently do not satisfy basic needs or provide for a life with human dignity. Garment manufacturers say the faintings are not caused by malnourishment, toxic fumes, unsanitary food, poor working conditions or dehydration. They argue workers are looking for an early start to the Khmer New Year holiday, which runs from April 14 to 16. They say that when garment workers see one person faint they all follow suit because they don’t want to work.

Mass faintings are common in Cambodia, which has become an important manufacturing centre for many high street fashion brands. Garment manufacturing earns Cambodia more than $5 billion a year in revenue and employs some 6,00,000 people, many of them breadwinners for impoverished families in the countryside.

Garment makers have often complained of poor ventilation, strong chemicals and use of potent glue for footwear.