Charity tops promoted by the Spice Girls which aim to raise equality funds for Comic Relief were made in a factory with poor working conditions

T-shirts made for Comic Relief which promoted gender justice were made in a factory where workers are paid 35p an hour.

Promoted by the Spice Girls, the charity tops - emblazoned with the message #IWannaBeASpiceGirl - were allegedly made at a factory in Bangladesh where one worker claimed the mainly female workforce were verbally abused and overworked.

A report in the Guardian has revealed the T-shirts are produced by mainly female machinists, who claim they face verbal abuse and harassment.

Money raised from sales of the £19.40 T-shirts will be donated to Comic Relief’s fund to help “champion equality for women”. The charity is due to receive £11.60 for each of the shirts, which were commissioned and designed by the band, but said it has yet to be given any money.

The charity said the online retailer commissioned to make the T-shirts, Represent, had switched suppliers without telling either it or the Spice Girls, away from an agreed supplier which had been ethically vetted.

A spokeswoman for Comic Relief said it was shocked and concerned by the allegations.

"No one should have to work under the conditions described in the piece,” she said.

"To be very clear, both Comic Relief and the Spice Girls carried out ethical sourcing checks on the supplier Represent told us they would be using for production of the T-shirts."

Online retailer Represent said it was "deeply disturbed" by the allegations, which it described as "appalling and unacceptable".

"Represent has strict ethical sourcing standards for all of our manufacturers," the company said.

"Comic Relief and Spice Girls did everything in their power to ensure ethical sourcing."

Refunds will be available to those who purchased the shirts on request.