Tommy Robinson's Anti-Migrant Gear is Made in Bangladesh

A damning revelation has exposed an extraordinary contradiction at the heart of the British far-right movement, linking anti-immigrant activist Tommy Robinson to a garment factory in Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation, allegedly operating under 'sweatshop' conditions. The 'patriotic' polo shirts and merchandise worn by Robinson and his supporters during their recent anti-Muslim 'Unite The Kingdom' (UTK) march are reportedly manufactured by low-wage Bangladeshi workers.

The merchandise, emblazoned with Union Jacks and the UTK logo, is sourced through a Belgian company, Stanley/Stella, but is explicitly labelled as 'Made in Bangladesh'. This geographical fact alone—that the clothes worn to a rally denouncing Muslim immigration are manufactured in a Muslim country—immediately draws an undeniable line of hypocrisy. However, the revelation cuts deeper, focusing on the dire working conditions in the Bangladeshi Ready-Made Garment (RMG) sector.

Exploitation in the Garment Industry-

According to an audit by the FairWear Foundation cited in the Daily Mail investigation, the factory responsible for Robinson's merchandise, supplied by Stanley/Stella, pays its Bangladeshi workers an equivalent of approximately 36 pence per hour. This alarmingly low rate of pay fuels accusations that the manufacturer utilises a model of low income and poor conditions—widely defined as a sweatshop—to keep production costs minimal and profits high.

The grim reality for Bangladesh's four million garment workers, 85% of whom are women, is well-documented. Despite the country being a major global supplier, minimum wages have historically been inadequate. While the minimum monthly wage has seen increases, for instance, from 8,000 Taka to 12,500 Taka (approximately $113 USD) in recent years, this figure still falls drastically short of the estimated 23,000 Taka that labour unions demand as a living wage needed to cover basic necessities amid soaring inflation. Workers in Bangladesh have repeatedly protested against poverty wages, poor safety, and long hours, sometimes working 14-16 hours a day, which can be seen as an environment of exploitation. 

A Direct Affront to the British Bangladeshi Community-The irony of the merchandise being produced by the very demographic his rhetoric targets is not lost on the British Bangladeshi community, which forms the largest concentration of British-Asians in London's East London and Tower Hamlets borough.

Robinson, the founder of the English Defence League (EDL), has repeatedly targeted these areas. Historical records show he and other EDL leaders have been arrested in or near Tower Hamlets, particularly close to the East London Mosque, while attempting to stage protests, despite police orders to stay away. Furthermore, Tower Hamlets Council recently mobilised a festival to celebrate the borough's diversity following far-right protests, including the 'Unite The Kingdom' rally led by Robinson.

The local community views Robinson and his far-right campaigns as a direct threat to their safety and way of life. For instance, the Mayor of Tower Hamlets and local groups swiftly defended a Whitechapel school, Kobi Nazrul Primary, after Robinson criticised its pupils, the majority of whom speak Bengali as their first language, following an inflammatory Daily Mail article. The Mayor denounced the criticism as "racist nonsense being peddled by the far right," highlighting the community's consistent stance against Robinson's anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant ideology.

The revelation that the 'Unite The Kingdom' shirts—the uniform of a movement dedicated to what the British Bangladeshi and wider Bangladeshi communities perceive as hate and division—are made possible by the labour of exploited Muslim workers in Bangladesh, amounts to what many critics are calling the ultimate double standard and moral bankruptcy. While Robinson attacks immigrants and Muslims on British streets, he simultaneously profits from the cheap labour of Muslim workers abroad, exposing a purely financial opportunism overriding his purported 'patriotic' principles.