Inside factories where Celtic and Arsenal shirts earn under £1 an hour
Inside a investigation, fans’ frustration at soaring shirt prices meets the stark reality of workers earning less than £1 an hour to stitch kits for clubs such as Celtic, Arsenal and Liverpool in Cambodia.
Factory conditions
Our tracing led to two sites – Bowker Garment Factory on the outskirts of Phnom Penh and Trax Apparel ten miles east. About 3,400 people, most of them women, work at Bowker and 3,200 at Trax. Temperatures regularly top 35 °C, humidity reaches 57.6 %, and staff report verbal abuse when daily targets of 300 to 700 items are missed.
Wages versus living costs
Five payslips show basic monthly salaries of $210‑$220 (£158‑£166), complying with local minimum‑wage law. Overtime and allowances push earnings to roughly $300 (£226) for some workers. A Bowker employee said, “It’s hard to live with this amount,” while a Trax worker added, “One shirt costs more than two weeks’ salary for a worker.”
Supply chain and brand oversight
Adidas does not own either factory but lists them as primary suppliers subject to its workplace standards. The sportswear giant conducts around 1,200 factory audits each year and claims its Cambodian suppliers earn 34 % above the Anker Research Institute’s living‑wage benchmark. Clean Clothes Campaign spokesperson Emma Vogt described the findings as a “very grim picture”.
Fans’ anger over rising shirt prices prompted the investigation; a typical £85 shirt breaks down into £8.50 for fabric, £37.45 for the retailer, £16.25 for the manufacturer, £9.50 for marketing and £13.60 in VAT. With such margins, many supporters turn to cheaper counterfeits.
Production begins months before designs reach club shops. Fabric arrives from Thailand and Vietnam, a specialist tailor creates a sample, and the bulk of sewing, ironing and packaging occurs on the factory floor. Workers typically log six eight‑hour shifts per week, handling up to 700 items a day to meet group targets.
“The heat stress is really taking a toll on our health,” said an employee on the ironing line, underscoring the physical strain behind each shirt. The investigation paints a stark contrast between the premium price tags on club merchandise and the minimal wages of those who make them.