Garments without Guilt?


Book Description

Sri Lanka's apparel sector holds an enviable place in the imaginary of its competitors for having a niche position amongst global retailers, given its claims of producing 'garments without guilt'. Exploitative labour conditions are not part of the industry's portfolio – ethicality, eco-friendly production and unblemished conditions of work are. Sri Lanka's transition away from a protracted ethnic war has meant that the industry portrays itself as investing in the former war zone to create jobs without reflection on how its vaunted mantle, the deployment of ethical codes effectively, themselves may be under duress. This book uses an analytical framing informed by labour and feminist perspectives to explore how labour struggles in the post-1977 period in Sri Lanka provided important resistance to capitalist processes and continue to shape the industry both within and outside of the shop floor. It studies contextual moments in the country's recent history to rupture the dominant narrative and record the centrality of labour in the success of the country's apparel industry.




Garments without Guilt?


Book Description

Explores how labour struggles in the post-1977 period in Sri Lanka provided important resistance to capitalist processes.




Made in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka: The Labor Behind the Global Garments and Textiles Industries


Book Description

The general perception of the garment and textile industry in the global South is fueled only by images of dismal labor conditions and unsuitable factories, descriptions of labor clashes with police, and analyses of low wages and exploitative multinational corporations. This book presents an insightful perspective on the garment and textiles industries in Asia by highlighting that an industry fraught with competing concerns can, in fact, collaborate and work together when it is in the interest of both the state and interest groups to do so. This comparative study recognizes the role of both the state and interest groups in the policy making process and argues that they are interlinked and require one another for sustainable reforms. Employing original, in-depth research in three different countries, the study skillfully delves down deep beyond the macro statistics and commonly held images to cast light on some of the significant policy and attitudinal shifts that have occurred in this industry. It demonstrates that even though the struggle continues, it is important to recognize the improvements thus far and to work towards positive change. This book also takes a much larger historical view of the sector, arguing that manipulation of the trading regime has created and continues to create both incentives and disincentives for the various stakeholders involved in this industry. This book is is essential for students and researchers in policy studies, labor studies, South and Southeast Asian studies, international trade, and political science, as well as those engaged in program design and evaluation of projects focused on labor rights. This study is also critical for non-governmental organizations with a thematic focus on the garments and textiles industry, labor rights, human rights, and international trade policy, as well as for private sector organizations focused on improving labor conditions around the world. More information at http://www.cambriapress.com/books/9781604978780.cfm




Workers' Rights and Labor Compliance in Global Supply Chains


Book Description

This book provides insight into the potential for the market to protect and improve labour standards and working conditions in global apparel supply chains. It examines the possibilities and limitations of market approaches to securing social compliance in global manufacturing industries. It does so by tracing the historic origins of social labelling both in trade union and consumer constituencies, considering industry and consumer perspectives on the benefits and drawbacks of social labelling, comparing efforts to develop and implement labelling initiatives in various countries, and locating social labelling within contemporary debates and controversies about the implications of globalization for workers worldwide. Scholars and students of globalisation, development, corporate social responsibility, human geography, labour and industrial relations, business ethics, consumer behaviour and fashion will find its contents of relevance. CSR practitioners in the clothing and other industries will also find this useful in developing policy with respect to supply chain assurance.




The Sri Lanka Reader


Book Description

Fifty-four images and more than ninety classic and contemporary texts introduce Sri Lankas recorded history of more than two and a half millennia.




Skill Formation Regimes in South Asia


Book Description

In the face of accelerated economic globalisation, many of the industries in economically less developed countries have become more technology-intensive. Skill formation processes, both inside and outside firms, are therefore changing. This study scrutinises such transformations by comparing - from the perspective of historical institutionalism - the skill formation regimes of the garment industries in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It sheds light on the differences between the trajectories of the in-firm skill formation regimes of the two countries, and reveals the important part that varying paths of educational development in both countries have played in shaping these trajectories. At the same time, the study shows how, in both countries, state-led skill formation regimes have been transformed not only by market forces and the growing importance of corporate business interests, but also by the social demand for educational credentials.




The Report: Sri Lanka


Book Description

While the presidential and parliamentary elections in 2015 instigated a wait-and-see approach within Sri Lanka’s private sector, the outcome is expected to be positive in the longer term, bringing improved stability and a more encouraging environment for foreign investment. Under what has been described as a more liberal, open and business-oriented government, Sri Lanka is entering a period in which it stands to grow rapidly. In 2016 the country should begin to see the benefits of the recent reform agenda, as the new leadership introduces policies that will help bring about strong and sustainable growth.




Sustainable Fashion


Book Description

As issues surrounding sustainability in the fashion industry continue to evolve, the conversation in this collection of essays from leading fashion scholars, thinkers and practitioners has been updated with current concepts and industry practices. This revised edition examines the challenges that designers, product developers, and consumers confront as they create, wear, and recycle clothing and fashion. The introductions to each section have been completely revamped to provide readers with a foundation for the concepts and principles of sustainability covered in detail in the chapter essays. Contributors include experts such as Lucy Dunne writing about how technology is helping create a sustainable fashionable future and Timo Rissanen on his innovative methods for creating fashion with zero fabric waste. New to this edition: - New sidebars focusing on an expansion of Real World Applications -Best Practices sections feature new examples of contemporary industry practices - Discussion questions at the end of each chapter - New chapter on social justice and corporate social responsibility (CSR) emphasizes the conditions of garment workers and human sustainability




Luxury Fashion Retail Management


Book Description

Using various research methodologies, such as reviews, case studies, analytical modeling and empirical studies, this book investigates luxury fashion retail management and provides relevant insights, which are beneficial to both industrialists and academics. Readers gain an understanding of luxury fashion retailing, including proper operations and strategic management, which now are the most crucial items on the luxury fashion industry’s senior management agenda.




I-PEEL: the International Political Economy of Everyday Life


Book Description

andbull; Do we work for social media?andbull; Why do we go into debt?andbull; How is desire manufactured in fast fashion?andbull; How are our diets governed?andbull; Who owns what in the sharing economy?I-PEEL: The International Political Economy of Everyday Life provides a new introduction to the field of IPE by locating it in our daily experiences. By using topics such as social media, debt, food, and clothes as thematic entry points, this textbook shows how concepts from IPE can be used tounderstand and question the world around us.Eight core chapters each start with a discussion of an everyday object or practice linked to that topic, including social media influencing, student debt, chocolate, and fast fashion. From there the chapters open out to discuss broader questions that speak to the core themes of IPE and its study ofpower, wealth, and global capitalism. Each chapter ends with a pair of learning activities, such as creating your own meme (chapter 8, Humour), to help apply what you have read. These are accompanied by student-voice podcasts, in which current IPE students discuss how they approached the activity.Developed by the creators of the popular teaching tool www.i-peel.org: I-PEEL: The International Political Economy of Everyday Life is a ground-breaking, exciting, and engaging new approach to IPE that places you at the centre of knowledge production.The first edition includes a wealth of embedded digital resources, which are accessible through the enhanced e-book, and are viewable in a university's VLE.The online student resources include:- Videos from the authors introducing the I-PEEL approach- Quickfire quiz questions- Author chapter-introduction podcasts- Reflective multiple-choice questions- Support for tackling the chapter's learning activities- Student reflection podcasts- Web links to relevant blogs, debates, and videos- An interactive flashcard glossaryThe online digital lecturer resources include:- A guide to the I-PEEL approach- Customisable PowerPoint slides