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Would Higher Wages Break Fast Fashion’s Business Model?

This week, deadly protests after the Bangladeshi government proposed a minimum wage increase well below the level unions had called for highlighted a fundamental challenge in raising worker salaries: somebody has to pay for it.
Activists from garment worker unions protested in front of Bangladesh’s Minimum Wage Board office earlier this week.
Activists from garment worker unions protested in front of Bangladesh’s Minimum Wage Board office earlier this week. (Getty Images)

The protests started late in October. Thousands of garment workers in Bangladesh, one of the world’s largest apparel manufacturers, took to the streets demanding higher wages in

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