Garments without guilt? New book on global labour justice and ethical codes in Sri Lankan apparels
Sri Lanka's apparel sector holds an enviable place of its competitors, for having a niche position amongst global retailers, given its claims of producing 'garments without guilt'. Kanchana N. Ruwanpura, Professor in Human Geography, at the University of Gothenburg has written the book “Garments without guilt? Global labour justice and ethical codes in Sri Lankan apparels”. She gives a historical background informed by labour and feminist perspectives, of the labour struggles in the post-1977 period in Sri Lanka and record the centrality of labour in the success of the country's apparel industry.
Bringing together research that spans over a decade, Ruwanpura seeks to interrogate claims around how exploitative labour conditions are not part of the Sri Lankan apparel 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.
The book “Garments without guilt? Global labour justice and ethical codes in Sri Lankan apparels”, is published by Cambridge University Press.
Visit website: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/garments-without-guilt/FB0306278CC8ED7EBDDEF3ADF9A7B804