Every morning, Zhou sifts his way through the crowds of hopeful workers, factory owners and snake oil sellers that throng the open air labour market in Datang, Guangzhou in the hope of finding suitable work.

Wading into a crowd of hopefuls surrounding a clothing factory manager perched on a bicycle one day last month, he picks up the half-finished lace top on display, weighs it in his hands and shakes his head: the pay per item is too low for a work that intricate.

Zhou, who declined to give a full name, is one of at least 200mn people in China working in the “gig economy”, a growing, informal sector of the labour market that spans everything from delivery drivers to construction workers. And while China’s fast fashion industry has long relied on nimble day labourers like Zhou, analysts say the increasing use of short-term labour in manufacturing is harming the country’s human capital and putting workers at risk.