FAB-L

Fashion-workers Advice Bureau Leicester (FAB-L)

FAB-L is a community-led project based at Highfields Centre, working directly with Leicester’s garment workers to protect their rights, raise awareness of exploitation, and push for lasting change in the industry. Since launching in November 2021, we’ve supported hundreds of workers facing wage theft, unsafe conditions, forced labour, and unfair dismissal.

With the support of outreach workers, trusted community links, and strong partnerships with local groups, brands, and unions, FAB-L has built a vital and safe space where garment workers can find help, advice, and solidarity. Together, we’re creating a more informed, empowered and resilient workforce.

Our mission

FAB-L is committed to building a fair and safe garment industry in Leicester. We work by:

Preventing the exploitation of workers
Raising awareness to stop labour abuses before they happen
Protecting vulnerable and exploited workers
Disrupting exploitative practices
Championing workers’ rights and promoting decent work
Ensuring the inclusion of worker and community voices in shaping change
Providing clear, evidence-based guidance to local and national stakeholders

Highfields Centre and FAB-L offer a wide range of services to garment workers and their families:

ESOL and English Classes: Helping workers and their families improve language skills and access better opportunities
Safe Reporting Space: Our Fashion Workers Club provides a confidential environment to report concerns about exploitation, modern slavery, or unsafe work
Welfare & Benefits Advice: We offer tailored support for people facing unfair dismissal, wage loss, factory closures, or redundancy
Employment Support: Guidance to find alternative jobs—within or outside the garment sector—to help alleviate financial hardship
Advocacy: Pushing for better working conditions and encouraging brands to relocate ethical production to the UK

Connecting with garment workers

FAB-L’s success is rooted in direct community outreach. Our team has mapped factories, textile units and small workshops across Highfields, Belgrave and Rushey Mead, building trust with workers on the ground and identifying where support is most needed.

Through outreach and direct referrals, we’ve become a first point of contact for many workers facing issues such as:

Missing or withheld wages
Lack of leave or sick pay
Unsafe conditions
Redundancy concerns
Unfair treatment or dismissal

Our services are free, confidential, and community-focused

Working with our funders and partners

FAB-L is proudly supported by ASOS, River Island, Yours Clothing, and the Garment & Textile Workers Trust, whose funding enables us to run our services. Their brand auditors also help us gain safe access to workers, making it easier to promote awareness of legal rights around employment, wages and entitlements.

Thanks to shared publicity and strong networks, workers are reaching out to us discreetly—seeking help, sharing concerns, and taking their first steps toward justice.

Meet Ellias - our Social Welfare Advocacy Worker

“I’m Ellias Mussa, the new Social Welfare Advocacy Worker at FAB-L. I bring over 30 years of experience in the garment industry, working with global brands to promote ethical standards and drive operational improvement.
My background in supply chain auditing has given me deep insight into the challenges garment workers face. I’m passionate about social justice and workers’ rights, and I’m proud to join FAB-L in creating real change for Leicester’s communities.”

— Ellias Mussa, Social Welfare Advocacy Worker