IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/devchg/v51y2020i5p1296-1305.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Contested Understandings in the Global Garment Industry after Rana Plaza

Author

Listed:
  • Sarah Ashwin
  • Naila Kabeer
  • Elke Schüßler

Abstract

This Introduction synthesizes the key themes of this special cluster of articles and explores the implications of the three contributions on garment supply chains after the Rana Plaza disaster. The three articles examine the perspectives of key stakeholders in garment value chains — global buyers, managers of garment factories in Bangladesh, and workers at these factories — and analyses their responses to the new governance initiatives that emerged in the aftermath of Rana Plaza. Placing the contrasting perspectives of these stakeholders alongside each other starkly reveals how their different positions within hierarchically organized global value chains form the particular lens through which they view post‐Rana Plaza initiatives. This special cluster scrutinizes the particular understandings of these stakeholders and reveals the very different capacity for voice and influence that they bring to bear in shaping outcomes. It reflects on the contradictory imperatives faced by actors in the garment industry caught between a logic of competition on the one hand and global labour standards norms on the other. The Introduction concludes by examining the prospects for a re‐embedding of the market in global value chains via the activation of civil society.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarah Ashwin & Naila Kabeer & Elke Schüßler, 2020. "Contested Understandings in the Global Garment Industry after Rana Plaza," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 51(5), pages 1296-1305, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:devchg:v:51:y:2020:i:5:p:1296-1305
    DOI: 10.1111/dech.12573
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/dech.12573
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/dech.12573?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mark Anner, 2018. "CSR Participation Committees, Wildcat Strikes and the Sourcing Squeeze in Global Supply Chains," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 56(1), pages 75-98, March.
    2. Jimmy Donaghey & Juliane Reinecke, 2018. "When Industrial Democracy Meets Corporate Social Responsibility — A Comparison of the Bangladesh Accord and Alliance as Responses to the Rana Plaza Disaster," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 56(1), pages 14-42, March.
    3. Ashwin, Sarah & Oka, Chikako & Schüßler, Elke & Alexander, Rachel & Lohmeyer, Nora, 2020. "Spillover effects across transnational industrial relations agreements: the potential and limits of collective action in global supply chains," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 100997, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Sarah Ashwin & Chikako Oka & Elke Schuessler & Rachel Alexander & Nora Lohmeyer, 2020. "Spillover Effects across Transnational Industrial Relations Agreements: The Potential and Limits of Collective Action in Global Supply Chains," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 73(4), pages 995-1020, August.
    5. Sarah Ashwin & Chikako Oka & Elke Schüssler & Rachel Alexander & Nora Lohmeyer, 2020. "Spillover Effects Across Transnational Industrial Relations Agreements: The Potential and Limits of Collective Action in Global Supply Chains," Post-Print hal-02952125, HAL.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Murshid, Nadine Shaanta & Irish, Andrew, 2020. "Understanding teen sex in Bangladesh: Results from Global School Health Survey 2014," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    2. Sheba Tejani & David Kucera, 2021. "Defeminization, Structural Transformation and Technological Upgrading in Manufacturing," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 52(3), pages 533-573, May.
    3. ASM Anam Ullah, 2024. "Explaining Low Level of Trade Unionism: The Case of RMG Sector in Bangladesh," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 67(3), pages 909-933, September.
    4. Gary GEREFFI & Anne Caroline POSTHUMA & Arianna ROSSI, 2021. "Introduction: Disruptions in global value chains – Continuity or change for labour governance?," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 160(4), pages 501-517, December.
    5. Sarosh Kuruvilla & Chunyun Li, 2021. "Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining in Global Supply Chains: A Research Agenda," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 57(2), pages 43-57, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stephen J. FRENKEL & Elke S. SCHUESSLER, 2021. "From Rana Plaza to COVID‐19: Deficiencies and opportunities for a new labour governance system in garment global supply chains," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 160(4), pages 591-609, December.
    2. Chunyun Li & Sarosh Kuruvilla, 2023. "Corporate codes of conduct and labour turnover in global apparel supply chains," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(3), pages 481-505, September.
    3. Schüßler, Elke & Lohmeyer, Nora & Ashwin, Sarah, 2022. "We can't compete on human rights: creating market-protected spaces to institutionalize the emerging logic of responsible management," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 115506, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Chikako Oka & Niklas Egels‐Zandén & Rachel Alexander, 2020. "Buyer Engagement and Labour Conditions in Global Supply Chains: The Bangladesh Accord and Beyond," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 51(5), pages 1306-1330, September.
    5. Juliane Reinecke & Jimmy Donaghey, 2021. "Towards Worker‐Driven Supply Chain Governance: Developing Decent Work Through Democratic Worker Participation," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 57(2), pages 14-28, April.
    6. Ashwin, Sarah & Kabeer, Naila & Schüßler, Elke, 2020. "Contested understandings in the global garment industry after Rana Plaza," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 102350, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Yossi Dahan & Hanna Lerner & Faina Milman-Sivan, 2023. "Shared Responsibility and Labor Rights in Global Supply Chains," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(4), pages 1025-1040, February.
    8. Vyacheslav Volchik & Elena Maslyukova & Wadim Strielkowski, 2023. "Perception of Scientific and Social Values in the Sustainable Development of National Innovation Systems," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-18, April.
    9. Matthew Amengual & Sarosh Kuruvilla, 2020. "Editorial Essay: Introduction to a Special Issue on Improving Private Regulation of Labor in Global Supply Chains: Theory and Evidence," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 73(4), pages 809-816, August.
    10. Kelly Pike, 2020. "Voice in Supply Chains: Does the Better Work Program Lead to Improvements in Labor Standards Compliance?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 73(4), pages 913-938, August.
    11. John S. Ahlquist & Layna Mosley, 2021. "Firm participation in voluntary regulatory initiatives: The Accord, Alliance, and US garment importers from Bangladesh," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 317-343, April.
    12. Enrico Fontana & Muhammad Atif & Ammar Ali Gull, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility decisions in apparel supply chains: The role of negative emotions in Bangladesh and Pakistan," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1700-1714, November.
    13. Nathaniel Tetteh & Stephen Mustchin, 2023. "Contrasting union orientations and engagement with international private regulation: The agency and role of labour in MNC subsidiaries in Ghana," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(3), pages 506-525, September.
    14. Oka, Chikako & Egels-Zandén, Niklas & Alexander, Rachel, 2020. "Buyer engagement and labour conditions in global supply chains: the Bangladesh Accord and beyond," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 106695, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    15. Catherine Casey & Helen Delaney & Antje Fiedler, 2021. "Recalling the moral dimension: Transnational labour interests and corporate social responsibilities," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(5), pages 389-405, September.
    16. Arif Mostafa Khan & Meine Pieter van Dijk, 2024. "The role of multi‐stakeholder initiatives in advancing circularity and social sustainability in the textiles sector of Bangladesh," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(3), pages 1765-1788, April.
    17. Sarosh Kuruvilla & Chunyun Li, 2021. "Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining in Global Supply Chains: A Research Agenda," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 57(2), pages 43-57, April.
    18. Mark ANNER, 2019. "Predatory purchasing practices in global apparel supply chains and the employment relations squeeze in the Indian garment export industry," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 158(4), pages 705-727, December.
    19. Mark Anner, 2019. "Addressing Workers’ Rights Violations in Apparel and Agricultural Supply Chains through Binding, Cost-Sharing Accords," Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, Centre for Agrarian Research and Education for South, vol. 8(1-2), pages 93-114, April.
    20. Jonathan Morris & Jean Jenkins & Jimmy Donaghey, 2021. "Uneven Development, Uneven Response: The Relentless Search for Meaningful Regulation of GVCs," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(1), pages 3-24, March.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:devchg:v:51:y:2020:i:5:p:1296-1305. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0012-155X .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.