In some countries, like Bangladesh, the garment industry comprises 80% of the country’s export value, with 60% being imported into the EU. The other major clothing exporters to the EU in 2016 were China, Turkey, India, Pakistan Vietnam, Morocco, Cambodia and Tunisia, with the EU importing between 1.3 and over 14 Billion Euros worth of clothing [1]. While retailers and brands are typically large buyers, they often source from multiple und different countries and distribution channels, which in turn are serviced by mainly small and medium production enterprises [2]. The production of garments furthermore involves many steps form the growing of cotton to the dying, weaving and sowing, with items passing through many processing phases and differently organized companies, involving diverse hazards.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is the most significant global organization concerned with workers’ rights. An exception among International Organizations, the ILO is based on tripartite negotiations, bringing governments and employers’ and workers’ organizations into conversation. The ILO supports the implementation of its rules through its supervisory mechanisms and promotes the adoption and implementation of ILO standards, “[…] promoting the ILO Declaration and the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, and putting the concept of Decent Work into practice. Under the ILO Constitution, the Office is committed to offering technical cooperation and advisory services to member States and to assist them in assessing and, where necessary, framing or revising their labour laws. This includes assistance in the development of national laws and regulations to allow ratification of Conventions or implementation of the corresponding principles” [3]. Its most fundamental conventions have been ratified by the vast majority of countries. Although ratification makes international law binding, there is no reinforcement of the standards and no punishment in case of deviation.
The United Nations Organization (UNO) takes action with regard to companies and workers’ rights through the UN Global Compact, which connects corporate sustainability to several areas, including human rights and labour issues and among others refers back to the ILO Declaration. The Global Compact is a public private partnership forum, with companies committing to a list of principles and proving their adherence in progress in annual Communication of Progress papers.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) provides due diligence guidelines for enterprises, a specific one aimed at the garment and footwear sector having been adopted recently in 2017 [4], but again these are non-obligatory and no enforcement mechanisms exist.
Despite recurring interest and outrage at sweatshop conditions, especially after accidents causing significant loss of human lives, such as outbreaks of fires and the collapse of factory buildings, demand, though relatively elastic, does not significantly alter or switch to the available fair trade brands. These include companies that solely produce in countries where labour rights are respected, that prove the respect of such rights in other countries or that are certified by an independent organization, such as the Fairtrade Labelling Organization (FLO). The FLO requires companies among other things to comply with certain ILO standards, to invest in the social development of their workers and to guarantee access for independent audits, including to subcontractors [5] [6]. Registration with Fairtrade International is only possible for companies based in countries that allow for the organization and de facto activities of labour unions.
The phenomenon of sweatshop production is difficult to come by in part because in areas where unemployment is high and alternatives are rare, many prefer working in sweatshops to unemployment. Thus, fierce competition among states to produce the most cheaply and thus to receive the purchasing orders leads to a race to the bottom with regard to the working conditions. Governments may be complicit for they too might fear losing the industry’s revenue and jobs. While governance structures in the countries may tolerate the working conditions by not holding the relevant companies accountable, what also drives the market of unethically produced items is the continuing demand for cheap products in the recipient countries, including the wealthiest countries.
Although there are many initiatives aimed at raising awareness and at making production chains and working conditions more transparent, none are binding and violations do not lead to any import restrictions on the part of the key outlet markets. The combination of the prohibition of labour unions and the workers’ ensuing inability to hit the brakes in the race to the bottom along with the lack of import restrictions in cases of significant violations enables this mode of production to continue, despite elaborate international standards, transparency, advisory, oversight and corporate social responsibility initiatives.
Sweatshop conditions are strictly speaking only illegal where states have signed international conventions on workers’ rights and relevant human rights. In these cases, it is the state’s responsibility to implement and enforce national legislation, without which the factories are not producing illegally. Other forms of illegality occur in cases of fraudulent certification. They are thus a market in which the product itself is legal but some aspects of the production and processing is regulated, requiring that the product be produced in a specific way [7], in this case in accordance with applicable labour and human rights law.
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[1] European Commission 2017a: European Commission, Trade, Export, Helpdesk Statistics. Available at: Link
[2] European Commission 2017b: Commission Staff Working Document. Sustainable garment value chains through EU development action. SWD 147 final. Available at: Link.
[3] ILO (International Labour Association) 2016: Labour Law. Available at: Link.
[4] OECD 2017: OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector. Available at: Link.
[5] Fairtrade International 2016a: Fairtrade Textile Standard, 22.03.2016_v1.0. Available at: Link.
[6] Fairtrade International 2016b: Fairtrade Textile Production Mark. Available at: Link.
[7] Wehinger, Frank (2011): Illegale Märkte: Stand der sozialwissenschaftlichen Forschung. Cologne: Max-Planck-Institut für Gesellschaftsforschung.
