Coronavirus: 'Fashion box money will feed my family'

Fatema Begum has only been able to buy essential food

A Bangladeshi garment worker says a "fashion box" scheme set up by an Edinburgh business will help her feed her family.

Fatema Begum, 30, is one of an estimated two million garment workers in Bangladesh who lost their jobs during the coronavirus crisis.

UK and European retailers cancelled orders without payment to factories.

Now a new venture is selling boxes of the clothes in a bid to support former garment workers facing poverty.

• Clothes box bid to help Bangladeshi workers

Lost Stock is sending cut-price packages of the garments made in Bangladesh for high street retailers to individual customers in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

It is the brainchild of Edinburgh businessman Cally Russell, who runs clothes shopping Mallzee, and more than 105,000 boxes have been sold.

Facing destitution

A total of £12 from each box is donated to Bangladeshi garment workers and under the scheme Mrs Begnum will receive £48 - enough to support her family for a month.

The mother-of-two who is the sole earner for her family told BBC Scotland she lost her job in April.

"It has been really difficult, my family is dependent on me, but now we are all helpless," she said.

"My kids aren't able to go to school as their fees are overdue. I am not able to pay back my debts, our home rent, and I can't find any work.

"As I am not able to earn any money, I can't provide food for my family, and I am afraid that this is harmful for our health."

Fatema Begum was the sole earner for her family before she lost her job at the start of the UK lockdown

Four million Bangladeshis are believed to work in garment factories making clothes ad an estimated two million of them have lost their jobs as a result of the outbreak.

More than 80% of exports from Bangladesh are clothes.

Mr Russell said: "I would love Fatema's story to be unusual but too often over the last two months we've heard of whole families facing destitution and living with no income as brands cancel orders due to Covid's impact on their businesses.

"The disruption to the retail landscape in countries like the UK will undoubtedly change our high streets and result in major job losses but in countries like Bangladesh it's ending in starvation.

"This is why we set up Lost Stock, to help families like Fatema's at such a horrible time."

Mr Russell and co-founders Callum Stuart and Jamie Sutherland have been working with the Sajida Foundation in Bangladesh.

Fazlul Hoque, Sajida Foundation's senior director of development programs, said: "The situation for many Bangladeshis like Fatema is only getting worse as lockdowns continue impacting factories and many workers continue having no work, especially as future orders are now being cancelled as well.

"Working with Lost Stock is allowing us to support workers in this position and we've been blown away to have seen 105,000 weeks worth of support generated so far."