Despite criticisms of their derivation and implementation, corporate codes of conduct (CoCs) continue to dominate debates on Corporate Social Responsibility and the informal regulation of worker exploitation and abuse by 'sweatshops' supplying northern multinational corporations (MNCs KeywordsSweatshop labour, codes of conduct, corporate social responsibility, supply chains, women workers Corporate codes of conduct (CoCs) have become a critical aspect of debates over business responsibilities to reduce abuse and exploitation of workers by suppliers in developing societies. Attention has focused particularly on high-profile, 'brand' corporations sourcing goods such as footwear and clothing for retailers and consumers in the global 'north'. The public aims of CoCs are to improve the material welfare of workers in contract suppliers' factories, to curb or remove arbitrary and coercive exercises of managerial power and authority, and to substantiate workers' human rights, such as freedom of association and gender rights. A snap verdict of CoC effectiveness in these areas would be largely negative (Hale and Wills, 2007;Raworth and Coryndon, 2004;War On Want, 2008). With ineffective monitoring and unauthorized subcontracting, brands and retailers often fail to track their producers and hence enforce CoCs -not only at factories in developing countries (Level Works, 2009), but even in the heartland of some brands' headquarters, such as the UK (Dispatches, 2010). Through new evidence from garment factories in Vietnam, we challenge and investigate a key assumption of both CoC supporters and some critics: the feasibility of a unilinear corporate chain of command through supply firms' managements into local workplaces.We focus, first, on oversimplifications of corporate power and control presupposing an underlying principal-agent conception in many -especially prescriptive accounts -of corporate responsibility via CoCs. This part of the analysis derives from existing accounts that point to the importance of a wider complex of institutional relationships within which multinational corporations' (MNC) transactions operate: both the globalized industrial and market structures of the clothing industry and the varying socio-political and cultural contexts affecting sweatshop supplier enterprises. The second focus links this 'macro' analysis with new micro-level data on CoC changes and the political economy of labour relations among clothing workers and firms in Vietnam. This data informs our second and more distinctive argument: powerful explanation for CoC's ineffectiveness than those based on deficiencies in the application of codes.These arguments are developed in four sections. The first outlines the general debates over the purposes and role of CoCs in supply relationships between western MNCs and contractors in developing societies. The second section examines the complications posed for these arrangements by the complex economic and social institutions governing supply chains. The third section presents the evide...

Reusable products offer reduced environmental impact compared to recycling, but producers mostly focus on strategies such as light-weighting, recyclability and ecolabelling. A reasonable number of innovative reusable products and business models exist for repeat purchase, low-involvement products, but they are largely restricted to niche health-food stores. Therefore, this research primarily attempts to understand consumer attitudes and behaviour towards reuse of household care products (e.g. air fresheners, domestic cleaning products). Focus groups with UK consumers are utilised to examine reusable/refillable spray products and the data are triangulated with global archival data on various refill business models, reusable products and recycling initiatives. The study offers useful guidelines for both producers and policy makers to encourage reusable products. First, we recommend that eco-innovations have a familiar design congruent with well-known brands, to reduce uncertainties for consumers. Second, if the innovation has an unfamiliar design, to mitigate, producers should offer new functional benefits. Third, and most important, producers must place greater emphasis on aesthetic aspects that could evoke product attachment, thus encouraging reuse. Fourth, if reusable products are to become mainstream, 'well-known brands' have to promote the transition from one-off sales to a service model built on durable products. Finally, a successful outcome is dependent on government interventions in designing new life cycle policy instruments, in particular de-marketing the current recycling norm and emphasising reusing over recycling.

In the recent decades, fashion brands and retailers in the West have introduced supplier’s Codes of Conduct (CoC) to strengthen international labour standards in their supply chain. Drawing from the concept of workers’ agency and the theory of reciprocity, this paper examines the implementation of CoC from the workers’ perspective and identifies the mechanism used by the workers to negotiate with their employer. Qualitative data was collected from forty semi-structured interviews with mangers, union representative and workers at a garment factory in Vietnam which manufactures clothes to a few well-known fashion brands in the US and Europe. The findings show that, externally, workers are united with the management in hiding non-compliance practices to pass labour audits while, internally, workers challenge the management about long working hours and low pay. This finding highlights the active roles workers play on the two fronts: towards their clients and towards the management. Their collaboration is motivated by the expectation that the management will return the favour by addressing their demands through a reciprocal exchange principle. This paper sheds light on an alternative approach to understanding collective bargaining and labour activism at the bottom of the supply chain and provides recommendations for further research.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the current state of the management of traditional retail markets (TRM) in the UK. TRM are indoor and outdoor markets located in town and city centres across the UK, selling food, household goods, clothing and the like. Design/methodology/approach The paper employs a comparative analysis approach of multiple cases using an analytical framework drawn from place management and retail business management literature. The study investigates 11 retail markets in the UK, including 7 run by Local Councils, 2 privately run and 2 operated by Charity Trusts. Findings The paper identifies the management challenges of TRM lying at the intersect between its private-like business entity and the management overseen by local authorities, whose roles and functions are mainly on delivering public services. Although some council markets struggle, it remains a popular model for TRM because it offers social space and inclusion which other types of markets lack. The study also highlights that the environment within which TRM operate, such as policy, infrastructure, business and entrepreneurial aspects play an important role in influencing the performance of the markets. Originality/value The paper contributes to the retail literature’s conceptual and empirical understanding of TRM management – the area which has been mostly neglected and under-researched. It offers an integrated analytical framework, including four dimensions of policy, infrastructure, business and entrepreneurial environment to advance the current limited understanding of this traditional form of retailing and sheds light on future research in this area.

No abstract