Although, US-based certifying agency Social Accountability International (SAI) is constantly upgrading its programme based on feedback to improve accountability in labour issues in India, it has failed to enforce procedures to protect the consumers. Many of the 1,500 mills in Tamil Nadu - the largest hub in India’s $40 billion-a-year textile and garment industry - operate informally with poor regulation and few formal grievance mechanisms for workers, most of whom are women. Following reports that girls as young as 14 were lured from rural areas to work long hours in mills and factories without contracts, and often held captive in company-run hostels, global rights groups have tried to improve accountability.

Manufacturers who comply with voluntary labour standards introduced by SAI receive certification, with around 300 certified factories employing about 64,000 workers in South India. But forced labour, sexual harassment and repression of unions is not being properly addressed, believes Dutch advocacy groups India Committee of the Netherlands (ICN) and the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO).