We all know that cheap clothing is usually made in sweatshop conditions and usually by women.

After watching Sweatshop TV series, where three Norwegian youngsters travel to Cambodia to discover the miserable living conditions of garment industry workers, Rut Abrain reflects on sustainable fashion.

But a century of experience in America and other parts of the world demonstrates that, by itself, no legal regulatory system can enforce, by administrative order or judicial ruling, the inner life of millions of workplaces. As anti sweatshop and human rights advocates in places like Malaysia and South China understand, no regime of rights is possible without hearing from workers, whose voices will remain silent unless some institution protects them from the consequences of speaking up.