The costs of compliance? Views of Sri Lankan apparel manufacturers in times of global economic crisis

Abstract

Complementing the rise of ethical trading initiatives there has been a parallel growth in the number of academic studies tracking their origins and evolution, and assessing the implementation and success of social auditing practices. Despite this, the consequences and responses to the implementation of codes of conduct relating to labour standards at sites of production remains an understudied topic. This article focuses on those issues in the context of the global apparel industry using evidence from interviews with managers in the Sri Lankan garment manufacturing sector. In particular, it focuses on the contradictions and tensions inherent in compliance, and the anxieties management face during a period of global economic crisis, in a country which is generally considered to be in the vanguard of promoting and protecting ethical labour standards.

Economic and Social Upgrading in Global Value Chains and Industrial Clusters: Why Governance Matters

“…The fear of global buyers being ''foot-loose'' can keep cluster actors from making sustained investments in infrastructure or workforce development, thereby hindering local joint action. Such anxiety has grown in the face of global economic recessions (Ruwanpura and Wrigley 2011).…”

Scripted Performances? Local Readings of ‘Global’ Health and Safety Standards in the Apparel Sector in Sri Lanka

“…Initial fieldwork for the research included interviewing 25 senior and mid-ranking managers drawn from buying offices and producers in the apparel trade of Sri Lanka (Ruwanpura and Wrigley 2011). These initial interviews lead to serendipitous connections, where two senior factory managers expressed willingness to having us do extended ethnography in their factory.…”

“…All managers noted the many accomplishments the Sri Lankan industry has made in this regard (Ruwanpura and Wrigley 2011), and constant improvements remain an aspiration of local management. While each corporate or multi-stake initiative has its own points of emphasis and orientation, the ETI base code suggests that safe working places are a priority for clothing retailers.…”

Industrial Clusters and CSR in Developing Countries: The Role of International Donor Funding

“…Ruwanpura andWrigley (2011) andDe Neve (2014) explore the perceptions, by SME managers in the developing world, of CSR as a form of cultural and economic imperialism imposed on them by foreign customers. For example, the requirement against the use of child labor might be seen as a cultural imposition in contexts where children's work is regarded as a form of job training that will secure these children and their families a future source of livelihood in the absence of adequate, locally available, and affordable schooling options (Lund-Thomsen 2008).…”