Michelle Tolson

Michelle Tolson is a freelance journalist based in Asia who has contributed to publications such as Inter Press Service (IPS), the Global Post, Women’s Media Center, and the Diplomat about Cambodia and Mongolia. She has also worked on research projects in New York City and Cambodia.

Made in Cambodia: Garment Workers Fight Gap, H&M and Others for a Minimum Wage

Michelle Tolson

Cambodian garment workers are fighting for a livable wage. Of the half-million garment workers in the county, 90 percent are women living on about $3 a day, not enough to eat much less afford housing. The majority of textiles exported are destined for brands like Gap and Wal-Mart, as Cambodia enjoys “most favored nation” status with the United States under the World Trade Organization’s free trade agreement.