After gaining independence from Pakistan in 1971, the Bangladesh state moved from a mainly state-managed sector to a privatised one based on export-oriented industrialisation. Under this policy, the production of garments for export emerged in the mid-1970s to later become the most lucrative export earner for Bangladesh, underlining the fact that it has become an important world exporter of garments. In developing into the only multi-billion- dollar manufacturing export in the country, this industry has created employment for more than a million workers most of whom are young females from the impoverished rural areas of Bangladesh. This is socially significant because, for the first time, it marked the entry of Bangladeshi women into formal manufacturing employment. This thesis attempts to examine the origins and development of this export garments industry, with specific reference to the role of women workers in this process. In so it endeavours to contextualise these issues by arguing that the changes that it endeavours can be best explained according to a Marxist class analysis and by reference to a colonial history characterised by ongoing exploitation in an emerging manufacturing sector and by ongoing resistance to such exploitation by an emerging industrial workforce. Additionally, in examining the development of this industry, the thesis also sets out to show how the industry is the product of a conjuncture of forces, including an emerging capitalist class, a weak state, foreign capital and international state formations such as GATT and the ILO. / Finally, by testing some of the prevailing hypotheses in the literature that deals with third world women workers, the thesis examines the impact of this industrial development on the place of women in Bangladeshi society. More specifically, it attempts to demonstrate that, contrary to the dominant view, such workers are not necessarily passive; nor are they reluctant to engage in trade union activity. Instead, it endeavours to show that, in the case of the export garments industry in Bangladesh, the young women workers have over time learned to exercise their rights and to participate in industrial activity, largely, and ironically because the centralisation necessary for labour and quality standards has also created the conditions for the proletarianisation of the women workers.

In the globalized garment industry (GGI) most clothing is involved in complex networks that exploit both people and the environment. This system is unsustainable yet supported by Canadian consumers, who have become disconnected from their clothing’s production and disposal processes as a result of the development of increasingly complex social and technological systems since the Industrial Revolution. Canadians currently learn about the industry from public portrayals in which the dominant messages are designed by corporations promoting consumption. Nevertheless, growing numbers of consumers are realizing that this system is unsustainable and attempting to take action. This study uses methods based on institutional ethnography to explore the challenges faced by Canadians trying to engage in ethical consumption. Promoting sustainability is seen as requiring broad structural change, which can be supported by individual Canadians seeking to learn about the industry and working with its global stakeholders to build the civil commons.

In the globalized garment industry (GGI) most clothing is involved in complex networks that exploit both people and the environment. This system is unsustainable yet supported by Canadian consumers, who have become disconnected from their clothing’s production and disposal processes as a result of the development of increasingly complex social and technological systems since the Industrial Revolution. Canadians currently learn about the industry from public portrayals in which the dominant messages are designed by corporations promoting consumption. Nevertheless, growing numbers of consumers are realizing that this system is unsustainable and attempting to take action. This study uses methods based on institutional ethnography to explore the challenges faced by Canadians trying to engage in ethical consumption. Promoting sustainability is seen as requiring broad structural change, which can be supported by individual Canadians seeking to learn about the industry and working with its global stakeholders to build the civil commons.

Issues in production processes in the fashion industry are highly topical as recentscandals covered by the media show. However, these scandals rather involved multinationalcompanies than small and medium-sized enterprises. This study investigates, how small andmedium-sized fashion enterprises source their material ethically and implement a CSRstrategy by introducing of a code of conduct. Motives and challenges for implementing codeswill be discussed as well as possible solutions.Data was collected by conducting four semi-structured interviews with three fashion retailersand a multi-stakeholder organisation in the textile industry. In addition, documents includingsustainability reports were analysed. Results show that the motives for introducing codes ofconduct are closely linked to the company’s definition of CSR. External pressure contributedto the introduction, however, the main motivation was based on internal decisions of thecompanies. Main challenges of implementing a code of conduct included handling thecomplexity of the fashion supply chain, effective monitoring of compliance as well as culturaldifferences between suppliers and buying brands. Meeting these challenges included theinvolvement of workers, and additional measures as the introduction of complaintsmechanisms.

Purpose: The purpose of this bachelor's thesis is to investigate the safety culture among employees within the garment factory industry in Bangladesh. This is made in order to increase the understanding of the need for improvements and how these can be made. Methodology: This qualitative thesis has an abductive approach. The empirical findings are based on semi-structured interviews with 26 garment factory workers. Theoretical framework: The thesis deals with two theoretical areas. It addresses the concepts of safety culture and safety climate as well as their relation to organizational culture. Thereto it addresses theories on method implementations and changes in organizational culture. Results: Five recurring themes were found in the semi-structured interviews with factory workers: a new focus among management, training, risk and dangers at work, speaking about safety at work and wish for changes at work. It is hoped that the recurring themes reflect distinctive patterns within organizational and safety culture among garment factory workers in Bangladesh. Conclusions: In the aftermath of Rana Plaza the safety culture within the ready-made garment industry have seen major improvements. However, the safety culture still possesses several of shortcomings. In order for international initiatives to succeed in their objective of creating a safer and healthier ready-made garment industry in Bangladesh these shortcomings must be acknowledged. Thereto a bottom-up perspective must complement a top-down perspective in the ongoing implementation process of an organization culture which aim to empower factory workers and support factory owners to take responsibility for safety and health at work. / Syfte: Syftet med kandidatuppsatsen var att undersöka säkerhetskulturen bland anställda inom textilindustrin i Bangladesh. Detta görs för att öka förståelsen om behovet av förbättringar och hur dessa kan göras. Metod: Denna kvalitativa uppsats har en abduktiv ansats. De empiriska fynden baseras på semistrukturerade intervjuer med 26 textilarbetare. Teoretiskt ramverk: Uppsatsen behandlar två teoretiska områden. Dels behandlar den begreppen säkerhetskultur och säkerhetsklimat samt deras relation till organisationskultur. Dels behandlar den teorier om metodimplementering och förändringar inom organisationskultur. Resultat: Fem återkommande teman återfanns ide semistrukturerade intervjuerna medtextilarbetare: ett nytt fokus hos ledningen, utbildning, risker och faror i arbetet, att tala om säkerhet på arbetsplatsen samt önskemål om förändringar på arbetet, Förhoppningen är att de återkommande temana speglar tydliga mönster i organisations- och säkerhetskulturen bland textilarbetare i Bangladesh. Slutsatser: I efterdyningarna av Rana Plaza har säkerhetskulturen inom textilindustrin sett stora förbättringar. Säkerhetskulturen lider dockfortfarande av flera brister. För att internationella initiativ ska lyckas nå sin lyckas skapa en säkrare och mer hälsosam textilindustri i Bangladesh måste dessa brister erkännas. Därtill krävs ett bottom-up perspektiv kompletterar ett top-down perspektiv i den pågående implementeringen av en organisationskultur som syftar till att skapa empowerment hos textilarbetare och att stötta fabriksägare till att ta ansvar för en säker och hälsosam arbetsmiljö.

Big business and small business, the global and the local, the rich and the poor—these polarities often inhabit compartmentalized geographies within the modern global city. This compartmentalization proves to be problematic since the lack of a localized diversity of socioeconomic actors is a critical point of vulnerability in the context of urban resilience. The question is, what role does the relationship between the built world and human socioeconomic agency play in the context of this issue? The objective of this dissertation is to document, analyze, and understand: (1) at the district scale, how architectural / urban characteristics, typologies, and configurations have historically influenced the developmental trajectory and composition of the city’s socioeconomic fabric, and in turn how socioeconomic structures have historically influenced the architectural / urban characteristics, typologies, and configurations observed in the city; (2) at the building scale, how the internal physical / spatial characteristics and configurations of buildings have historically influenced the developmental trajectory and composition of the socioeconomic fabric, and how socioeconomic actors in turn have historically altered and influenced the internal physical / spatial characteristics and configurations of buildings over time; (3) the commonalities, patterns, and processes that can be discerned via the historic study of these narratives of physical and socioeconomic change; and (4) how these commonalities can in turn inform future architectural and urban projects in their capacity to support localized diversities of socioeconomic actors. In seeking to answer these questions, this dissertation endeavors to understand, more broadly: (1) the historic nature of the relationship between the physical and the socioeconomic fabric of the city; and (2) how future alterations to the physical fabric of the city can be informed so as to positively impact a locality’s ability to attract and maintain a diversity of socioeconomic actors over an extended period of time. These broader objectives are pursued with the supposition that they have the capacity to significantly impact the ideological conception, as well as practical regulation, planning, and administration of global cities.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / A migração laboral de bolivianos para São Paulo é um processo intrinsecamente relacionado aos planos de ajuste estrutural ocorridos na Bolívia e no Brasil na segunda metade dos anos 1980 e no início da década de 1990, respectivamente. Para a Bolívia, o Decreto 21.060 implicou a privatização de mineradoras e conseqüentes demissões em massa, além de uma abertura econômica que favoreceu migrações internas para as regiões cocaleiras e para as periferias das grandes cidades. Posteriormente, esses migrantes e seus familiares se destinaram a países limítrofes como Argentina e Brasil. Destaca-se nesse contexto a localidade de El Alto, origem de grande parte dos imigrantes que se destinaram a São Paulo. Do lado brasileiro, houve também uma abertura econômica que foi prejudicial a amplos setores da indústria, como a cadeia têxtil-vestuário. Para reduzir os custos de produção e aumentar sua competitividade em relação às mercadorias asiáticas, a indústria de vestuário se reestruturou defensivamente e subcontratou grande parte de sua produção material às oficinas informais que empregam imigrantes bolivianos geralmente jovens, indocumentados e com baixa qualificação profissional. Nessa pesquisa, relacionamos esse fluxo populacional às transformações estruturais ocorridas nos dois países, destacando as mudanças nas relações de trabalho decorrentes do processo de reestruturação produtiva. Também abordamos as redes de solidariedade desses imigrantes e os meios pelos quais estes vêm revertendo uma inserção na sociedade de destino em que predominam condições precárias de trabalho e habitação, além de uma instabilidade permanente decorrente da irregularidade documental que atinge grande parte desses trabalhadores. / The Bolivian immigration to São Paulo is related to the structural adjustment plans which took place in both countries. In Bolivia, the State mines were privatized, meaning the loss of approximately thirty thousand jobs. The open trade policy was also harmful to familiar agriculture and both policies were followed by the migration to coca zones, the outskirts of the biggest cities and other countries, like Argentina and Brazil. In this context, the population of the city of El Alto located in the outskirts of La Paz - grew steeply and became the origin of most of the immigrants that travelled to São Paulo. On the Brazilian side, the trade-opening was harmful to many industrial sectors and led to their productive restructuring. That was the case of the garment sector which, to reduce its costs, outsourced the production to the sweatshops where the Bolivians work. These immigrants are mostly poor, undocumented and have low education level. In this research, we also relate this population flow to the structural transformations in these two countries, like the changes in the labor relations that occurred due to the productive restructuring processes. We also address the solidarity networks of these immigrants and the means by which they are improving their conditions on the destination society, where precarious work and habitation conditions prevail as well as a permanent instability as result of the irregular documentation for a expressive part of these workers.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / A migração laboral de bolivianos para São Paulo é um processo intrinsecamente relacionado aos planos de ajuste estrutural ocorridos na Bolívia e no Brasil na segunda metade dos anos 1980 e no início da década de 1990, respectivamente. Para a Bolívia, o Decreto 21.060 implicou a privatização de mineradoras e conseqüentes demissões em massa, além de uma abertura econômica que favoreceu migrações internas para as regiões cocaleiras e para as periferias das grandes cidades. Posteriormente, esses migrantes e seus familiares se destinaram a países limítrofes como Argentina e Brasil. Destaca-se nesse contexto a localidade de El Alto, origem de grande parte dos imigrantes que se destinaram a São Paulo. Do lado brasileiro, houve também uma abertura econômica que foi prejudicial a amplos setores da indústria, como a cadeia têxtil-vestuário. Para reduzir os custos de produção e aumentar sua competitividade em relação às mercadorias asiáticas, a indústria de vestuário se reestruturou defensivamente e subcontratou grande parte de sua produção material às oficinas informais que empregam imigrantes bolivianos geralmente jovens, indocumentados e com baixa qualificação profissional. Nessa pesquisa, relacionamos esse fluxo populacional às transformações estruturais ocorridas nos dois países, destacando as mudanças nas relações de trabalho decorrentes do processo de reestruturação produtiva. Também abordamos as redes de solidariedade desses imigrantes e os meios pelos quais estes vêm revertendo uma inserção na sociedade de destino em que predominam condições precárias de trabalho e habitação, além de uma instabilidade permanente decorrente da irregularidade documental que atinge grande parte desses trabalhadores. / The Bolivian immigration to São Paulo is related to the structural adjustment plans which took place in both countries. In Bolivia, the State mines were privatized, meaning the loss of approximately thirty thousand jobs. The open trade policy was also harmful to familiar agriculture and both policies were followed by the migration to coca zones, the outskirts of the biggest cities and other countries, like Argentina and Brazil. In this context, the population of the city of El Alto located in the outskirts of La Paz - grew steeply and became the origin of most of the immigrants that travelled to São Paulo. On the Brazilian side, the trade-opening was harmful to many industrial sectors and led to their productive restructuring. That was the case of the garment sector which, to reduce its costs, outsourced the production to the sweatshops where the Bolivians work. These immigrants are mostly poor, undocumented and have low education level. In this research, we also relate this population flow to the structural transformations in these two countries, like the changes in the labor relations that occurred due to the productive restructuring processes. We also address the solidarity networks of these immigrants and the means by which they are improving their conditions on the destination society, where precarious work and habitation conditions prevail as well as a permanent instability as result of the irregular documentation for a expressive part of these workers.

Essa dissertação analisa e demonstra fatores que afetam a cadeia têxtil e confeccionista, através de um mapeamento do panorama que os respectivos setores apresentam principalmente aqueles relativos à gestão e governança corporativa. Para adquirir dados empíricos o projeto contempla o desenvolvimento de uma pesquisa bibliográfica possibilitando a constatação de dados e avaliação de aspectos sobre o perfil do contexto atual desse segmento usando informações que comprovam os meios que levam a degradação do ramo, principalmente fatores que contemplem a governança corporativa como estrutura solucionadora para o quadro apresentado, foco central desta dissertação. A pesquisa visou obter dados qualitativos e quantitativos através de: a) caracterização do universo cultural de gestão das empresas têxteis e confeccionistas; b) fatores políticos que prejudicam a cadeia têxtil e confeccionista; c) identificação da visão dos diferentes tipos de consumidor sobre o nicho têxtil e confeccionista. d) a influência externa no mercado têxtil confeccionista; e) mapeamento de dados e identificação dos fatores relevantes da cadeia completa; f) apresentação de fatores globais que identifiquem os focos mais relevantes, de forma a compreender o momento dos setores associados. Com os resultados obtidos, foi evidenciado o uso da governança corporativa e a implementação de meios sustentáveis como meios de restabelecer e vigorar a competitividade do mercado interno e projetar melhores enfrentamentos perante a concorrência internacional, notadamente de países asiáticos, que são umas das grandes razões do atual panorama que esse setor enfrenta. / This dissertation analyzes and demonstrates factors that affect the textile and clothing manufacturer chain, through an overview of mapping the respective sectors have particularly those relating to management and corporate governance. To acquire empirical data the project includes the development of a literature enabling data verification and evaluation aspects of the profile of the current context of this segment using information that prove the means that lead to degradation of the branch, especially factors that include corporate governance as solver framework for the overview of the segment, central focus of this dissertation. The research aimed to obtain qualitative and quantitative data through: a) characterization of the cultural universe of management of textiles and clothing manufacturers companies; b) political factors that affect the textile and clothing manufacturer chain; c) Identification of view of different types of consumers about the textile and clothing manufacturer niche. d) the external influence on the clothing manufacturer textile market; e) data mapping and identification of the relevant factors of the complete chain; f) presentation of global factors that identify the most relevant focuses, in order to understand the timing of associated sectors. With the results, it was evident the use of corporate governance and the implementation of sustainable media as a means of restoring force and the competitiveness of the internal market and design better clashes in the international competition, especially from Asian countries, which are one of the biggest reasons of the current situation that the sector faces.

My study analyzes the role of the state and multinational corporations in the promotion of workers’ rights in Bangladesh through a case of the Ready-Made Garment(RMG) industry. My study examines the responsibility of Multinational Corporations(MNCs) and the motivation behind it. It also examines the principles of Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) and the way they work on practice in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza factory collapse. Additionally, it reveals the roots to the state’s failure to sufficiently comply with its obligations towards the protection of human rights through the lens of globalization and neoliberalism. My study concludes that as multinational corporations have much more resources at their disposal, the state of Bangladesh should not be held entirely accountable for the human rights violations, but the promotion of human rights should be performed in a mutual manner.