Production country
North Macedonia
North Macedonia's garment sector is a cornerstone of the national economy, yet faces mounting pressure from declining orders, workforce shrinkage and persistent gaps in wages and working conditions. Fair Wear works with member companies on the ground to address these challenges and deliver lasting improvements for brands, workers and suppliers alike.
North Macedonia's garment and footwear sector is the country's third-largest industrial sector, contributing 5.23% of total exports, the majority destined for EU markets. The sector has faced significant headwinds in recent years, with declining orders, workforce shrinkage and company closures. Its proximity to Western Europe makes it well-suited for small, fast-turnaround orders, but also leaves the sector particularly exposed to shifts in global supply chains. The legal framework for labour is well-developed, and North Macedonia has ratified the relevant ILO Conventions. Social dialogue and collective bargaining contribute to workers' entitlements in practice. Key risks, however, remain: living wage gaps, workplace harassment, health and safety conditions, and limited worker awareness of the role of trade unions and worker representatives. As a transit country for migrants and refugees, attention to vulnerable worker groups is also essential.
Majority of exports go to the EU
Over 45,000 estimated garment workers
17
Factories Fair Wear members source from
10
Fair Wear member brands sourcing from the country
What Fair Wear is doing
How we work locally with partners to address risks and improve working conditions.
Due diligence requires companies to know what is happening in their supply chain. Fair Wear has state of the art risk tools that support brands with identifying and tracking their most urgent risks. In North Macedonia, the local team offers extensive risk identification and validation services based on Fair Wear methodologies. Companies can access detailed, stakeholder-validated country risk information and request Fair Wear's Onsite Assessments (Full, Modular and Validation). Companies can also request custom HREDD facilitation support, such as verification activities.
Real improvement starts with the right foundations. Fair Wear equips brands with a structured set of tools and trainings to implement with their suppliers. This includes awareness-raising on workers' rights and support for social dialogue between workers and management. Brands can also deploy the Fair Price App — a practical tool for estimating labour costs and building fact-based pricing conversations with suppliers — as well as templates of responsible contracting clauses to support fairer contractual terms in their supplier relationships.
Staying ahead of risks means knowing about them before they escalate. Fair Wear's grievance mechanism is available in Macedonian, ensuring workers can raise concerns in their own language. The mechanism also extends support to workers in neighbouring Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia, providing an accessible, confidential channel across the region, with findings feeding into Fair Wear's work with brands and suppliers to address root causes.
Fair Wear brings the right people to the table in North Macedonia through our extensive stakeholder network. We collaborate with the Textile Trade Association and Glasen Sindikat, bringing together industry and worker representation to advance working conditions and strengthen social dialogue across the sector.