Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle, who is eco-conscious, cradled her son Archie during his first family outing in an organic shawl reportedly made in an Indian sweatshop where workers are paid as little as 37 pence per hour.
Erawan Cotton Dohar is a traditional summer product and is sold by a Hong Kong based brand called Malabar Baby. The blanket was manufactured by textile company Nayika, based in Bangru, a small city in Jaipur, India. The baby shawl now costs £35.
According to Daily Mail, Aruna Regar, a seamstress who works at the factory and who reportedly helped to add the finishing touches to the blanket, produced her pay slips showing she takes home an average of 6000 rupees per month (£70) for a 48 hour week.
The 50-year-old Aruna, who doesn’t know who Meghan is was quoted by Mirror UK, saying: “The blanket almost costs what I earn in two weeks and that’s difficult for me to believe.”
She was delighted to hear the Royal had opted for the Malabar Baby Indian blanket.
She said, for her, her work is just about “survival”. “We do not understand things about saving the planet or what is or is not organic. For us it is all about work and survival.”
In the pink city of India, the minimum wage for a skilled worker is 31.125 rupees per hour, which is 36p.
Meghan previously on many occasions spoke of her wish to help the planet through her philanthropy and her desire to raise her son to be ‘eco-conscious’.
Aruna’s husband Ram Gopal helped to cut the organic cotton that was for used for Archie’s blanket, who also works at the same factory. They are paid a fixed monthly salary.
When shown a picture of Meghan holding the blanket, Ram was quoted by Mirror UK, saying: “I do not know who these people are but we had heard that somebody very famous was using our dohar. This must be them.”
From the time the duchess was pictured with the blanket she used to swaddle baby Archie, has sold out online and is available for pre-order only.
Farid Mohammed, the manager of the factory, was quoted by Mirror UK saying that Meghan and Archie have been the “best advertisement” for the product as it has become a “global hit”.
He also addressed the low wages of some of the workers, replying: “These are industry standard rates. We do not set them.
“Our workers enjoy good conditions, much better than you’ll find at other factories. We pay them the correct rate and treat them well.”
