This article examines a particular international supply chain, the Kenya-UK cut flower supply chain, and looks at the implications of such globalised systems of production for women workers. Using womens' own accounts of their working lives as presented in recent research data and in campaigning activities within Kenya, it confronts the realities facing women workers. With the proliferation of codes of conduct in the cut flower industry, the importance of participatory social auditing (PSA) in uncovering workers' grievances is highlighted. These accounts have been significant in bringing together different stakeholders, including UK supermarkets, and the subsequent establishment of the Horticulture Ethical Business Initiative (HEBI). The importance of participatory methodology is highlighted in the context of both the research exercise and the auditing procedures recommended by HEBI. The establishment of the HEBI using a PSA methodology emphasizes the importance of a local, multi-stakeholder approach to code implementation. It is concluded that although there are signs of some improvements in labour conditions on some farms, serious problems remain which are inherent in the downward pressures exerted in buyer controlled supply chains.
The paper gives an overview of the recent development within the Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI), especially the development of corporate codes of conduct, and considers the prospects they offer for improving labour conditions for workers in the international garments industry. It argues that two specific features of the industrycompetitive production systems based on international subcontracting and the use of predominantly female production workers-are likely to undermine the effective development of a codes-based strategy. Nevertheless, the labour rights agenda at the centre of ETI does provide a space for labour activists, whether operating in or out of formal union structures, to build campaigns and connections around global production networks.The protests at Seattle showed how challenges to the international trade regime have become a central plank of international policies and strategies, not only for unions but also for a wide range of social activists and campaigners from around the world. In the context of trade, international union strategies have focused on pressing for a linkage between trade and labour standards. At the same time, they have also been drawn into a series of labour rights-based campaigns and initiatives derived from consumer actions and organising.Consumer-led strategies in Europe and the US have been central to the development of an ethical trade movement seeking to promote
The paper gives an overview of the recent development within the Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI), especially the development of corporate codes of conduct, and considers the prospects they offer for improving labour conditions for workers in the international garments industry. It argues that two specific features of the industrycompetitive production systems based on international subcontracting and the use of predominantly female production workers-are likely to undermine the effective development of a codes-based strategy. Nevertheless, the labour rights agenda at the centre of ETI does provide a space for labour activists, whether operating in or out of formal union structures, to build campaigns and connections around global production networks.
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