In 2006, the UK charity War on Want commissioned Khorshed Alam, who has died, aged 46, of septicaemia, to undertake research in Bangladesh on workers producing clothes for Primark, Tesco and Asda. His report on their poverty wages and sweatshop conditions brought huge public attention.
Six months on, Khorshed addressed shareholders at Tesco's annual meeting to support a resolution from the charity's secretary, Ben Birnberg, demanding fair treatment for Tesco's garment factory workers. The Guardian followed up Khorshed's original study to expose these workers' continued exploitation in a report that went on to win the 2008 press section prize in the One World Media Awards. Before the end of that year, Khorshed's further research on the same factories had revealed workers still abused. Last March, an Observer article based on a study by Khorshed exposed exploitation of workers by the Olympic sponsor Adidas.
Khorshed's studies helped to win garment workers rights to maternity and paid leave, as well as rises in the national minimum wage. In addition, he conducted research for another UK group, Labour Behind the Label, and two international organisations, the Clean Clothes Campaign alliance and the Fair Wear Foundation.
He was born into a farmer's family, the youngest of six children, in the village of Amzadhat. Khorshed was educated at the local Dharmapur educational institute and Nizampur college. Later, he gained bachelor's and master's degrees from Dhaka University, as well as qualifications through German and Dutch education institutions.
From 1991, he was employed in Dhaka, the capital, by the organisation Ubinig (Unnayan Bikalper Nitinirdharoni Gobeshona, or Policy Research for Development Alternatives). Khorshed was research associate and assistant coordinator of its trade union education centre, Srama Bikash Kendra, supporting garment workers battling for labour rights. In 1994, he was appointed coordinator for another Dhaka-based organisation, Unnayan Shaojogy Team, helping the rural poor, especially women and children, on ecological agriculture, development and water.
In 2001, he became a policy and management research fellow at Delft technical university in the Netherlands, and 2002 saw him return to his native country as executive director of the Alternative Movement for Resources and Freedom Society. Five years later, War on Want asked him to provide reports on UK-linked overseas sweatshops.
Khorshed showed great courage and commitment in a country where many rights campaigners face state repression. He once said: "Fighting against inequality is a hard path. I have taken this hard path, consciously, and will follow this path till the last day of my life." In my work as media officer for War on Want, I found Khorshed's expertise invaluable in securing vital British support for workers demanding a living wage.
Khorshed is survived by his brother, Obaidul Haque.