Assessing NGO influence on unethical labour conditionsessay.utwente.nl/80217/1/Endeman_MA_BMS.pdf · Assessing NGO influence on unethical labour conditions The effect and changes

AssessingNGOinfluenceonunethicallabourconditions

TheeffectandchangesofNGOstrategies,lobbyingandcollaboration,toimprovelabour

conditionsinthefastfashionindustryinBangladeshandMyanmar

MasterThesis

TamarEndeman

9December2019

AuthorName: TamarEndeman

Programme: EuropeanStudies,MSc

Behavioural,ManagementandSocialsciences

Institute: UniversityofTwente

Enschede,theNetherlands

E-mail: [email protected]

GraduationCommitteeUniversityofTwente

Firstsupervisor: dr.G.Jansen

Secondsupervisor: dr.C.Matera

Department: PublicAdministration

Date: 9December2019

Words: 15.970

Abstract

ThefastfashionindustryisdrivenbyahighdemandofWesternconsumers.Thelabourconditions

in the fast fashion industry are unethical, garmentworkers are dealingwith lowwages, long

workinghours,dangersandunhealthyconditions.NGOscantrytoimprovetheseconditionsby

meansoftheirstrategies.Thecentralquestioninthisresearchis:towhatextenthavethestrategies

ofNGOstoimprovethelabourconditionsinthefastfashionindustrychangedunderthesocialand

politicalcircumstancesoftwosuddenshocksinBangladeshandMyanmar,since2013?Thestudied

strategiesare collaborationand insideandoutside lobbying.Toanswer the researchquestion

qualitative researchhasbeen conducted, through theanalysisofdata from threeNGOs:Clean

Clothes Campaign, Fair Wear Foundation, and Oxfam International. This document analysis

involves the process of coding. The results are presented through two case studies, on the

situationinBangladeshbeforeandaftertheRanaPlazacollapseof2013,andonthesituationin

Myanmar before and after the US economic sanctionswere lifted in 2016. In Bangladesh the

AccordonFireandBuildingSafetywasestablishedaftertheRanaPlazacollapsein2013,which

ledtomorecollaborationbetweenNGOsandotherorganizations.InMyanmar,theUSeconomic

sanctionswereliftedin2016,whichledtomorebrandssourcingfromgarmentfactorieslocated

inMyanmar.InbothcountriesNGOswerealreadyactivebeforethetwosuddenshockstoimprove

thelabourconditions.TheNGOscombinedifferentstrategies,orusethestrategiesthatarebest

suited to theirenvironmental,politicalorsocial influences,whichcanchangeoveraperiodof

time,aswellastheirstrategies.Therefore,thisstudyshowsthatthestrategiesofNGOstoimprove

labourconditionsinthefastfashionindustrydidnotchangetoagreatextentunderthesocialand

politicalcircumstancesofthetwosuddenshocksinBangladeshandMyanmar.Forfutureresearch

itwouldbeinterestingtoanalysetheexperiencesofgarmentworkersmoreindepth,byfocusing

onlocaltradeunionsactiveinBangladeshandMyanmarbycombiningqualitativemethodswith

quantitativemethods.

TableofContents

1.Introduction..................................................................................................................................5

Researchquestion.....................................................................................................................................................6Subquestions..............................................................................................................................................................6

2.Theory.............................................................................................................................................72.1LiteratureReview..............................................................................................................................72.2Expectationsandhypotheses......................................................................................................14

3.Methodology..............................................................................................................................16

3.1StrategyandDesign........................................................................................................................163.2SampleandSampling.....................................................................................................................163.3DataCollection..................................................................................................................................183.4DataAnalysis.....................................................................................................................................19

4.Analysis.......................................................................................................................................22

4.1CasestudyBangladesh...................................................................................................................224.1.1StrategiesofNGOsbefore2013............................................................................................................224.1.2StrategiesofNGOsafter2013...............................................................................................................264.1.3Hypotheses....................................................................................................................................................30

4.2CasestudyMyanmar.......................................................................................................................314.2.1StrategiesofNGOsbefore2016............................................................................................................314.2.2StrategiesofNGOsafter2016...............................................................................................................344.2.3Hypotheses....................................................................................................................................................36

5.Conclusion..................................................................................................................................38

References......................................................................................................................................41

Appendices.....................................................................................................................................47

Appendix1–Codingscheme............................................................................................................................47Appendix2–Relationbetweenstrategiesandparameters................................................................50

v The imageon the frontpage is retrieved fromhttps://www.sarahbeekmans.com/key-issues-in-

the-fast-fashion/

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1.Introduction

Thelabourconditionsinthefastfashionindustryareunethical.Westerncountrieshavealarge

demandforfashionthatisproducedinlargenumbers,andinacheapandfastway,thistrendis

called fast fashion. In order to achieve this form of fast fashion, a lot of European fashion

companies,forexampleH&MorInditex,haveoutsourcedtheirworktodevelopingcountries,such

asChina,India,Bangladesh,andMyanmar(Turker&Altuntas,2014).Thegarmentworkersthat

workinfactoriesindevelopingcountriesaremostofthetimeyoung,underpaid,andareworking

underunhealthyanddangerousconditions(Turker&Altuntas,2014).Therearedifferentactors

thatwilltrytosafeguardandimprovethelabourconditionsandhumanrightsinthesecountries,

forexamplenon-governmentalorganisations(NGOs)andtradeunions.NGOscanbedescribedas

non-profit organisations, which operate independently from governments. NGOs can be

organisedonalocal,nationalorinternationallevel,andaddressissuesandproblemsthatsupport

thewell-beingof thepublic.When itcomestodeliveringservices to thedisadvantagedpublic,

NGOsare very effective andefficient (Miraftab, 1997).Resulting inNGOs takingon important

rolesininternationaleconomicdevelopment,andtradepolicy(Nelson,2002).

TheWesternsocietyis,tosomeextent,awareoftheunethicallabourconditionsinthefastfashion

industry,however,theproblemsarenotyetacknowledgedanddealtwithbyWesternconsumers

andbrands.Theunethicallabourconditionsinthefastfashionindustryisseenasapressingsocial

issue,whichrequiresactionof the fashion industry,aswellas legalandpublicaction(Garcia-

Torres,Rey-Garcia,&Albareda-Vivo,2017).NGOscanplayanimportantroleinimprovingthese

labourconditions.ThisresearchwillanalysedifferentstrategiesofNGOs,andidentifytheextent

towhichthesestrategieshavecontributedtotheimprovementoflabourconditionsindeveloping

countries in the fast fashion industry. The organisational actions and behaviour of NGOs are

influenced and shaped by the social environments of institutions, as well as the political

environment NGOs operate in (Pache & Santos, 2010; Nelson, 2002). These influences are

exercised onto NGOs through rules and regulations, normative prescriptions, and social

expectations(Pache&Santos,2010).TheNGOsanalysedinthisstudyallfocusonthesocialissues

surroundingthefastfashionindustry.NGOstargetprivateandpublicindividuals,byusingallthe

strategiestheyhaveinachievingtheirgoals.ThestudiedstrategiesofNGOsinthisresearchare

collaborationandlobbying;thelattercantakeontwoforms,insidevs.outsidelobbying.NGOsare

able to target different actorswithin their lobby, the actors targeted in this research are; the

brandsorcompanies,theconsumers,andthemanagersofthegarmentfactories.Thisstudywill

identify the changes of NGO strategies after two sudden shocks; the Rana Plaza collapse in

Bangladesh,andtheupliftedeconomicsanctionsbytheUnitedStates(US)inMyanmar.

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Withinthisstudytwocasesarebeinganalysed;thefirstcaseregardingBangladesh,andsecond

caseregardingMyanmar.Bothcountrieshaveexperiencedshockingeventsthatcouldhavehad

animpactonthestrategiesofNGOstoimprovelabourconditionsinthefastfashionindustry.In

Bangladesh,theRanaPlazacollapsehappenedin2013,andbecameoneofthedeadliestaccidents

inthefashionindustry.ThecaseofMyanmarregardstheupliftedeconomicsanctionsin2016,

whichledtoariseininvestmentbyinternationalbrands,suchasH&M.Morebrandswerestarting

tosourceworkfromgarmentfactoriesinMyanmar(OxfamInternational,2015).Thisresearch

triestounderstandhowstrategiesofNGOsareaffectedbythetwosuddenshocks. Inorderto

understandthischange,thecasesofBangladeshandMyanmararerelevant.Fourhypotheseshave

been postulated, which will be corroborated or falsified through addressing the following

researchquestion:TowhatextenthavethestrategiesofNGOstoimprovethelabourconditionsin

thefastfashionindustrychangedunderthesocialorpoliticalcircumstancesoftwosuddenshocks

thathappenedinBangladeshandMyanmar,since2013?First,thestrategiesofNGOstoimprove

thelabourconditionsregardingthesituationinBangladeshwillbeanalysed.Subquestionone

willexplorethestrategiesofNGOsinBangladeshbefore2013,andthethirdsubquestionexplores

theNGOstrategiesafter2013.Thereafter, the situationofMyanmarwillbeanalysed, through

answeringsubquestionstwoandfour.Theanswersofthesesubquestionswillprovidenewand

additional insightsthatcancontributetotheformulationofthemainresearchquestion.These

situationswillbepresentedasatwoseparatecasestudies.Finally,thisresearchwillexploreto

whatextentthestrategieschangedtoimprovethelabourconditionsinthefastfashionindustry

inBangladeshandMyanmar.

ResearchquestionTowhatextenthavethestrategiesofNGOstoimprovethelabourconditionsinthefastfashion

industrychangedunderthesocialorpoliticalcircumstancesoftwosuddenshocksthathappened

inBangladeshandMyanmar,since2013?

Subquestions1. WhatwerethestrategiesofNGOsactiveinBangladeshtoimprovethelabourconditions

inthefastfashionindustrybeforethecollapseoftheRanaPlazabuildingin2013?

2. WhatwerethestrategiesofNGOsactiveinMyanmartoimprovethelabourconditionsin

thefastfashionindustrybeforetheUSeconomicsanctionswereliftedin2016?

3. What are the current strategies of NGOs active in Bangladesh to improve the labour

conditions in the fast fashion industry after the collapse of theRana Plaza building in

2013?

4. What are the current strategies of NGOs active in Myanmar to improve the labour

conditionsinthefastfashionindustryaftertheUSeconomicsanctionswereliftedin2016?

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2.Theory

Thetheorysectionformstheliterarybasisofthisstudy.Thischapterprovidesaliteraturereview

on the problems regarding the labour conditions, on the different types of NGOs, and on the

strategiesthatNGOscanusetoimprovethelabourconditionsinthefastfashionindustry.

2.1LiteratureReview

2.1.1Problemsregardinglabourconditionsinthefastfashionindustry

TheodoreLevittwasoneofthefirstresearchersthatmadethetermofglobalisationpopularunder

researchers. Levitt (1983) described globalisation as a process driven by technology. “It has

proletarianizedcommunication,transport,andtravel(Levitt,1983,p.1).”Meaningthattechnology

has made people curious for the charms of modernity. Now, everyone wants the things or

productsthattheyhaveheardabout,seen,orexperiencedthroughtheuseoftechnology.Which

has led to the emergence of globalmarkets thatmeet the requirements of the people (Levitt,

1983).Inaddition,theUnitedNations(2017)statethatduetothefastchangesintechnology,and

thegrowingmobilityofgoods,services,capitalandlabour,globalizationhaschangedeconomies,

societies,andtheenvironmentoverthepastyears.Whichhasresultedinaworldthathasnever

beenso interconnected,alsoglobalisationhas led toan increasedmarketcompetition (United

Nations,2017).Asaresult,globalisationhasmadeitpossibleforcompaniestooutsourcetheir

worktodevelopingcountriesthatofferedthelowestwages,andcountrieswherecompanieshad

todealwith little tonorestrictionsonhumanandworkers’rights. (FashionRevolution,2015;

Lipschutz,2004).Furthermore,globalisationhascontributedtothedisappearanceofnationalor

regionalpreferencesof the consumers,which led to aworld’spreference that is standardized

(Levitt,1983).Toillustratethis,Levitt(1983)statesthatMcDonaldsrestaurantsareeverywhere,

thesamefoodisbeingsoldallovertheworld,justasCoca-Cola.Additionally,LeviJeansaswell;

jeansthatarebeingmadeinafewgarmentfactories,butthatarebeingsold,onlineandinstores,

allovertheworld,fromtheNetherlandstoJapantotheUS,alltomeetthepeople’srequirements.

The production and consumption of fashion has changed rapidly in the last 20 to 30 years.

Formerly,garmentswouldbeproducedonasmallscalebylocaltailors,andsoldinlocalstores.

Around the1970’s, it became cheaper to outsource theproductionof garments todeveloping

countries,wherethegarmentscouldbeproducedfaster,andinmuchlargerscales.Throughout

the 1980’s fast fashion was born (Fashion Revolution, 2015). Therefore, it can be said that

globalisation had an effect on the fashion industry. Fast fashion is characterised by the

transformationoffashionabledesignsintoproductswhichcanbeboughtbyconsumers,andcan

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be found in stores such as H&M and Zara. The availability of fashionable designs is achieved

throughlowcostsandlowpricedfashion,whichremainsinstoresforashorterperiodoftime

thanclothing in thestandard fashion industry(Turker&Altuntas,2014). Inorder tokeepthe

production of garments as fast, and as cheap as possible, the production continually moves

towards the countries where the costs are the lowest, where the regulation is weak or non-

existing,aswellastheprotectionforgarmentworkersandtheenvironment.Thisglobalisationof

sourcing and distribution has led the garmentmanufacturing industry to become theworld’s

third-largest industrial industry (Fashion Revolution, 2015). While the garment workers are

earningminimumwages,thecompaniesinthefashionindustrykeepgrowing,andcontinueto

earna lotofmoney(OxfamAustralia,2017).Ananti-globalisationmovement,asdescribedby

Fogarty(2011),emergedinthelate1980s,thismovementofNGOstargetedinstitutionssuchas

theWorldBank,IMF,andWTO.Theseinstitutionswere,accordingtotheNGOs,associatedwith

powerfulstatesandcorporationsofwhichtheNGOsbelievedthattheseinstitutionsdisregarded

global social justice, environmental protection, and other goals. Eventually, this movement

includedavariousamountofNGOsactiveindifferentfields,suchas; labour,environment,and

humanrights(Fogarty,2011).

It canbestated that the trendof fast fashion ispartlydrivenby thehighorderof consumers’

demand(Barnes&Lea-Greenwood2006;Turker&Altuntas,2014).Thesocietyweliveincanbe

describedasamaterial-orientedsociety(Joung,2013),whichhasbeeninfluencedbyglobalisation

(Levitt, 1983). Bauer,Wilkie, Kim, and Bodenhausen (2012) describematerialism as “a value

system that is preoccupiedwith possessions and the social image they project”.Acquiring these

possessions,materialproductssuchasclothing,shouldcontributeto thesocialstatusofmany

people.Therefore,clothingisusedbythesematerialisticconsumersasawaytorepresenttheir

socialstatus,andtheirsuccess(Joung,2013;Baueretal.,2012).Additionally,Yangetal.(2017)

statethatshoppinghasbecomemoreofaleisureactivity,itisdonemoreoutofluxurythanoutof

necessity.Furthermore,Joung(2013)pointsoutthatmaterialisticconsumersaremorelikelyto

showcompulsivebuyingbehaviour,meaning thatcompulsivebuyersaremore focusedon the

process of acquiring a product, than on the actual use of the product. Moreover, the young

consumersofoursocietyarefirmlyassociatedwithmaterialism,meaningthattheythinkthatthe

clothesandthebrandstheyweardescribe,anddefinetheirsocialstatus.Theseyoungconsumers

areseenasagenerationthatismaterialistic,andbuysalotmorethanoldergenerations(Joung,

2013).Additionally, Joung (2013) states thatmaterialistic consumers areprofoundly involved

withthe fashion industry.Therefore, thishighdemandofconsumers’canbecloselyrelatedto

materialism.

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TurkerandAltuntas(2014)statethat fast fashion,anditstimepressurehaveledtoemployee

abuse,andotherunethicalworkingpracticesingarmentfactories.Mostofthegarmentworkers

areloweducatedwomenandchildren,becausetheworkcarriedoutinthegarmentfactoriesdoes

notrequirehighskills.Theemployees in these labourenvironmentsare facingdiscrimination,

badtreatment,lowwages,andlongworkinghours(Turker&Altuntas,2014;Lipschutz,2004).

Thewagesinthefashionindustrycannotprovideaworkerwiththefundamentalssuchashygiene

orhealthbenefits(OxfamAustralia,2017).AccordingtoOxfamAustralia(2017)theminimum

wage of a garment worker in Bangladesh is 0.39$ per hour. Additionally, in a lot of these

developingcountries international standardsarenot implemented,andnational legislationon

labourconditionsisweakornon-existing.OxfamAustralia(2017)statesthatglobalsupplychains

and brands are able to change the wages garment workers earn to a sufficient amount, by

increasingtheirpriceswith1%.However,accordingtoTurkerandAltuntas(2014)itisdifficult

forEuropeanfashioncompaniestomanageandmonitorthesupplychainactivities,andtoensure

the quality standards in developing countries. The International LabourOrganisation (ILO), a

UnitedNationsagency,hassetuptheDeclarationonFundamentalPrinciplesandRightsatWork,

in1998.ThisDeclarationincludescore labourstandards,whichshouldberespectedbyallUN

MemberStates(OxfamInternational,2004),andpreferablybeadvocatedbyNGOs.Theminimum

labourstandardsincludethefollowing(OxfamInternational,2004):

§ “Freedomofassociationandtherighttocollectivebargainingarerespected

§ Employmentisfreelychosen

§ Childlabourisnotused

§ Nodiscriminationispractised

§ Workingconditionsaresafeandhygienic

§ Livingwagesarepaid

§ Workinghoursarenotexcessive

§ Regularemploymentisprovided

§ Noharshorinhumanetreatmentisallowed”

The ILO distinguishes the following core elements of the employment relationship, economic

performance,andworkers’protection:“wages,workingtime,workorganizationandconditionsof

work,arrangementstobalanceworkinglifeandthedemandsoffamilyandlifeoutsidework,non-

discrimination and protection from harassment and violence at work” (ILO, 2019). Garment

workers thatwork in factories indevelopingcountriesareyoung,underpaid,andareworking

underunhealthyanddangerousconditions,mostof thegarmentworkersarewomen,andcan

thereforebepaidlowerwagesthanmen(Turker&Altuntas,2014).Inthisresearchpoorlabour

conditionsarecharacterisedbywagesthataretoolow,employeesthatareunderage,andworking

conditionsthatareunhealthyanddangerousfortheemployeesinthefastfashionindustry.

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2.1.2.TypesofNGOs

There are a lot of NGOs focus on the social issues surrounding the fast fashion industry, by

influencing the political agenda, and the decision-making process of political institutions or

companies. Fogarty (2011) states that some NGOs are highly decentralised and grass root-

oriented,andthatotherNGOsaremorebureaucraticandprofessional.TheNGOsanalysedinthis

studyallfocusonthesocialissuessurroundingthefastfashionindustry.TheseareNGOswitha

morebureaucraticandprofessional structure.CleanClothesCampaign,FairWearFoundation,

andOxfamInternationalaretheNGOsanalysedinthisstudy.Theworkandactionscarriedoutby

tradeunionswillbeanalysedaswell,tradeunionsrepresentandprotecttheinterestsandrights

ofitsmembers,whichareinthisstudyreferredtoasgarmentworkers.Gillan(2000)statesthat

whenachievingsatisfactionofbasichumanneeds,cooperationbetweentradeunionsandNGOs

isnecessaryandpossible,iftheyhaveasharedobjectiveandacommonapproach.Objectivesof

trade unions consist ofmore basic common features thanNGOs objectives, also there can be

differences inpolitical traditions, and in the cultureof theorganisation.Often the concernsof

tradeunionsarehumanrightsissues,e.g.labourconditions(Gillan,2000).AnexampleofaNGO

that works in close cooperation with trade unions is Amnesty International. Amnesty

International(2018)statesthattradeunionsarefirstinlineindealingwiththefightforhuman

rights.AmnestyInternationalhasbeencooperatingwithtradeunionsfor30years,todealwith

challenges of labour exploitations, and to tackle restrictions on fundamental freedoms of

assembly,association,andexpression(AmnestyInternational,2018).

A lotof theNGOsactive in the fast fashion industryarepartof theglobalmovement,Fashion

Revolution. For example; Centre for Sustainable Fashion, Clean Clothes Campaign, Fair Wear

Foundation, InternationalLabourRightsForum.ThevisionofFashionRevolution(n.d.) is:“we

believe in a fashion industry that values people, the environment, creativity and profit in equal

measure”.FashionRevolutionstrivesforclothesthatareproducedinasafe,cleanandfairway.

Furthermore, Fashion Revolution raises awareness for the pressing social issues in the fast

fashion industry, by showing that it is possible to change, and to support sustainable fashion

organisations (Fashion Revolution, n.d.). The structure and strategies NGOs take on can be

explainedthroughtheinstitutionaltheory.Theinstitutionaltheoryconsidershoworganizations

pursuelegitimacywithintheirenvironment,andinwhatwaytheytrytocorrespondwiththese

differentenvironments(Doh&Guay,2006).TheorganisationalactionsandbehaviourofNGOs

are influenced and shaped by the social environments of institutions, as well as the political

environment NGOs operate in (Pache & Santos, 2010; Nelson, 2002). These influences are

exercised onto NGOs through rules and regulations, normative prescriptions, and social

expectations(Pache&Santos,2010).Theculture,history,andpoliciesofacountryorregionalso

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influencesthestructureofNGOs(Doh&Guay,2006).NGOstargetprivateandpublicindividuals,

byusingallthestrategiestheyhaveinachievingtheirgoals.Herewith,NGOsarefocussingtheir

strategies of persuasion more and more on firms, resulting in companies becoming more

responsive to the strategiesofNGOs (Spar&LaMure,2003).Twoof theNGOs thatarebeing

analysed in thisresearcharepartof theFashionRevolution;FairWearFoundation,andClean

Clothes Campaign, which advocates for improving the working conditions and empowering

workersintheglobalgarmentandsportswearindustries.Thisisdonethroughtheuseofdifferent

activities,suchaseducating,informing,andlobbying(CleanClothesCampaign,2012).

2.1.3.StrategiesofNGOs

NGOsareabletoinfluencethepoliticalagenda,andthedecision-makingprocessbymeansoftheir

strategies and activities. NGOs also conduct research and publish reports on their findings,

regarding topics such as the labour conditions, workers’ and human rights in Bangladesh or

Myanmar. Within this research two types of strategies are being studied, lobbying and

collaboration. The lobby strategy can take on two forms; inside vs. outside lobbying. Momin

(2013) states that NGOs represent public citizens who are frequently affected by actions of

companies,andwhoareisolatedbysociety,meaningtheirvoicesarelessoftenheard.However,

Fogarty(2011)statesthatNGOscanvary intheirchoicesofstrategiesduetoseveralreasons;

theirorganisationalstructure,thenatureoftheinstitutionaltargets,theavailableresources,and

theirideology.

AlotofworkconductedbyNGOsandtradeunionsiscarriedoutbymeansoflobbying.Through

the use of lobbying important information, regarding labour conditions in the fast fashion

industry,willreachthegloballevelofgovernance,e.g.theEuropeanUnionandtheUnitedNations.

Van Esch and Princen (2012) describe lobbying as lobbyists and interest groups that try to

influencethedecision-makingprocess,inthiscaseglobalgovernance.Lobbyinghappensmostof

the time through lobbyists trying to get in touchwith politicians, or other officials thatmake

politicaldecisions(VanEsch&Princen,2012).NGOsareabletotargetdifferentactorsintheir

lobby.TheactorsintheWest;brands,companies,andconsumers,andtheactorsinthelowwage

countries;theowners,andmanagersofthegarmentfactories.Withinthisresearchalltypesof

actorsarebeingstudied,duetothepossibilitythatNGOswillusevariouslobbystrategiestotarget

differentactors.Insidelobbyingmeansthatpoliticaldecisionsarebeinginfluencedbyconsulting

withthedecision-makers(VanEsch&Princen,2012).Thishappens, forexample,whenaNGO

seeks accreditation frommultilateral institutions, and the institution gives the NGO a formal

consultativestatus.OrwhentheNGOslobbywithpolicy-makersinthesecretariatsornational

delegations of international organisations (Fogarty, 2011). In other words: lobbyists try to

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influencethelegislationordecision-makinginadirectway,throughcontactingthepoliticiansand

legislators.Therefore, lobbyistshavetodevelopandmaintaincontacts,andprovidethemwith

informationandpolicyproposals.Anexampleofan inside lobbystrategywasusedduringthe

FashionRevolutionWeek,aplatform,FashionQuestionTime,wasestablishedinwhichthefuture

ofthefashionindustryisdebatedbyapanelofpowerfulpeopleofgovernmentandthefashion

industry(FashionRevolution,n.d.b).Outsidelobbyinghappensinamoreactiveway,wherethe

publicopinionisturnedagainstthestatusquo(Fogarty,2011).Lobbyists,interestgroupsorNGOs

thatusetheoutsidelobbystrategyareputtingpressureonthedecision-makers,byattemptsto

mobilizecitizenstospeakout,whichcanhappenthroughprotestsanddemonstrations(VanEsch

&Princen,2012).DuringtheFashionRevolutionWeekanoutsidelobbystrategyisperformed,

thisisthe#whomademyclothescampaign.Thegoalofthiscampaignistoraiseawarenessforthe

unknownsidesofthefashionindustry,andtomakeashiftinfocusfromtheconsumerstobrands,

which isdonebyaskingconsumerstoaskbrandsonsocialmediathequestion“whomademy

clothes?”, by using #whomademyclothes (Fashion Revolution, n.d.b). A second example of an

outsidelobbystrategyistheprotestcarriedoutbytheNGOLabourBehindtheLabelinNovember

2018.OnBlackFridaytheNGOcalledforpublicactionoutsideoftheH&MstoreatOxfordCircus

inLondon,UnitedKingdom,wheretheyaskedpeopletosignapetitiondemandingH&Mtokeep

theirpromisesofpayinglivingwagesandguaranteefairlabourconditionsfortheirsupplychain

(LabourBehindtheLabel,2018).Whenitcomestolobbyingitisimportanttoknowwhentoshift

between theoutsideand inside strategies.Besides, the combinationofusinganoutside lobby

strategytogetherwithaninsidestrategy,isproventobeacomplementarymethod(Fair,Green&

Globalalliance,2014).

The use of collaborationas a strategy between different international organizations, active in

fields such as; development, human rights, environment, andwomen’s rights, emerged in the

1990s. These organisations joined in several collaborative efforts to protect civil andpolitical

rights (Nelson & Dorsey, 2003), for example labour conditions. Organisations that NGOs

collaboratewithcanbetheEuropeanUnion,theUnitedNations,otherNGOs,orlocaltradeunions.

Withthesecollaborations,NGOsareabletodevelopcommonstrategiestoinfluenceactors,and

theyhavedevelopedenvironmentalpoliciesinlinewithcivilandpoliticalstandards.Thisformof

strategyincludesactiveinvolvementofNGOsinadvocacycampaigns(Nelson&Dorsey,2003).

ThisstudywillanalyseifthecollaborationbetweenNGOsandotherinstitutionshasbroadened

anddeepenedafterthetwosuddenshocksBangladeshandMyanmarexperienced.Anexampleof

a collaboration is the, close cooperation between Amnesty International and trade unions.

AnotherNGOthatworksinclosecollaborationwithtradeunionsandotheractorsistheClean

Clothes Campaign (Clean Clothes Campaign, 2012), several of the studies conducted by Clean

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ClothesCampaignarefinanciallysupportedbytheEuropeanUnionforexample.Inaddition,the

European Unionworks in cooperation with NGOs. NGOs engage with the European Union to

ensure better implementation of EU initiatives and policies within EU countries (European

Commission,n.d.).

Asmentionedbefore,theinstitutionaltheoryinfluencesthestructureandorganisationofNGOs.

Toillustrate,theenvironmental,politicalorsocialimpactsexertamajorinfluenceonthestructure

andstrategiesofNGOs.NGOsthatemerged inEuropeandtheUShavebeen influencedbythe

social,andpoliticalhistoryofthecountries(Doh&Guay,2006).DohandGuay(2006)statethat

thestructureofNGOsinEuropearefocusedontheachievementofpoliticalandsocialassimilation

withother (European) countries. CleanClothesCampaignandFairWearFoundationareboth

European based organisations. Accordingly, Clean Clothes Campaign has established national

coalitionswithotherorganisations, e.g. tradeunions,humanandwoman rightsorganisations,

researchers,andactivists.FairWearFoundationalsobelievesstronglyincooperationwithother

countriesandorganisations,therefore,theirstructureconsistsofamulti-stakeholderapproach

(Fair Wear Foundation, 2017e). Moreover, institutions and organizations are fundamentally

reflectiveand revolutionary (Doh&Guay,2006),NGOsareable to reflect andcancreatenew

normswithin a society. In addition,DohandGuay (2006) suggest that the strategiesofNGOs

shouldbecreatedandadjustedtoparticularissuesoftheenvironment.InorderforNGOstocarry

outtheirwork,andtohelpcitizensregardinghumanandlabourrights,theyhavetocomplywith

differentactorsindifferentenvironments.Forexample,withthegovernmentofacountry,andto

influencethedecision-makingprocessNGOshavetomaintainingoodcontactwithpoliticiansand

decision-makers.Aswellasbrandsandemployers,NGOsalsohaveto listento thecitizens for

which theyare fighting.All theseactorsoperate indifferentenvironments,whichcanmake it

difficult forNGOstocollaboratewith them.Therefore,NGObehaviourandtheirstrategiescan

differbetweenthedifferentactorsandtheirenvironment.Accordingly, thesocialandpolitical

impact of the two sudden events should seriously be taken into account by the NGOs when

choosingtheirstrategies.

Furthermore,thesuddenshocksinBangladeshandMyanmarcouldhavehadanimpactonthe

political,andsocialenvironmentofCleanClothesCampaign,FairWearFoundation,andOxfam

International.TheRanaPlazacollapseistheworstdisasterinthefashionindustry,whichkilled

morethan1.100people(Ashraf&Prentice,2019).Thisdisasterattractedworld-wideattention

for theunethicalworkingconditions inBangladeshand inother sourcing countries.After this

disaster plenty of local initiatives emerged to help the victims, these local initiatives worked

together with NGOs active in Bangladesh (Hossain & Luthfa, 2014). The world-wide (media)

14

attention for labourconditions inBangladeshcanbeseenasamechanismthatcontributed to

NGOs collectingmore data on the environmental impact and human safety conditions of the

fashionindustry(Siddiqui&Uddin,2016;Anner,2018).Besides,thisworld-wideattentioncould

haveprovided aplatform forNGOs to informconsumers anddecision-makers about thepoor

labourconditionsinBangladeshandothersourcingcountries.NGOsstartedpublishingreports

ontheactivitiesofbrandsandcompaniessourcinginlow-wagecountries,whichcanbeseenas

an inside lobby strategy. On the contrary, these reports also put pressure on the brands and

companiesbyexposinginformationontheirproductionprocess.Eventually,theAccordonFire

andBuildingSafety(hereafter,theAccord)wasestablishedforgarmentfactoriesinBangladesh,

afive-yearprogrammewhichincludesfactoryinspectionsandsafetyupgrades.Itisalegalbinding

agreementbetweenNGOs,tradeunionsandmultinationalcompaniesthatoutsourcetheirwork

toBangladesh,toimprovethelabourstandards.Thisisdonebymakingretailersandinternational

brandsresponsibleforthesafetyofthegarmentfactories(Prenticeetal.,2017).TheupliftedUS

economicsanctionsinMyanmarhasledtoariseininvestmentbyinternationalbrands,suchas

H&M,morebrandswere starting to sourcework fromgarment factories inMyanmar (Oxfam,

2015).Which led toagrowof the industrialpopulation that increasedthe interestofNGOsto

improvethelabourconditionsinMyanmar.Thisriseininvestmentbyinternationalbrandsand

companies contributed to the change of NGO behaviour in Myanmar. NGOs become more

concerned about the labour conditions in garment factories, which could have led to more

researchandestablishedprogrammestoimprovelabourconditions.

2.2Expectationsandhypotheses

AsaresultoftheRanaPlazacollapse,NGOsandInternationalOrganisationsconductedalotmore

researchinthefieldofsafetyandlabourconditionsinthefastfashionindustry(Siddiqui&Uddin,

2016;Anner,2018).Thesuddenshocksanalysedinthisstudyincludetwodifferenteventsthat

tookplaceinBangladeshandMyanmar.ThefirsteventistheRanaPlazadisaster,thathappened

inBangladesh,onthe24thofApril2013.(Siddiqui&Uddin,2016).Thesecondeventcanbeseen

asapoliticaleventthathappenedinMyanmar.In2016theUSeconomicsanctionsofMyanmar

havebeenlifted(BBCNews,2016),resultinginalotoffashioncompaniesoutsourcingtheirwork

toMyanmar.These fashioncompaniesareattractedtothe lowwages,andthebeneficial trade

conditionsofMyanmar(Oxfam,2015).Bothofthesesuddenshockscouldhavehadasocial,and

politicalimpactonthestrategiesofNGOsactiveinthefastfashionindustry.Bylookingatthese

twodifferentcountriesandevents,varioussituationscanoccur.

15

TheNGOs that are being studiedwithin this research are Clean Clothes Campaign, FairWear

Foundation, andOxfam International. Clean Clothes Campaign, and FairWear Foundation are

both located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, aWestern country. The headquarters of Oxfam

International is located inNairobi,Kenya, however, this is an internationalNGO that is active

worldwide, resulting in a lot ofWestern influences. Although, these NGOs are not located in

BangladeshorMyanmar,theyareallactiveworldwide,includingthetwodevelopingcountries

BangladeshandMyanmar.FairWearFoundationevenhasstaffinBangladeshrepresentingthe

organisation(FairWearFoundation,2017e).ThesethreeNGOsarebeinganalysedinthisstudy

because of their overlapping objectives. Their common objective can be best described as

improvingthelabourconditions,therightsofgarmentworkers,andendingpovertyworldwide.

ThisstudywillalsofocusontheachievementoftheNGOsobjectiveinBangladeshandMyanmar

inthefastfashionindustry.

Four hypotheses have been postulated on the use of strategies by NGOs to improve labour

conditionsinthefastfashionindustryinBangladeshandMyanmar:

§ Hypothesis1:Inordertocontributetotheimprovementofthelabourconditionsinthe

fastfashionindustry,NGOsinBangladeshwillrelyoninsidestrategiesmoreoften,such

asdiscussionsandmeetings,incomparisontothesituationbeforeRanaPlazacollapsein

2013andafter2013.

§ Hypothesis2:AftertheRanaPlazacollapsein2013inBangladesh,NGOswillfocusmore

oncollaboration,withotherinternationalorganisationsorinstitutions,asastrategy,than

theydidbefore2013.

§ Hypothesis3:Inordertocontributetotheimprovementofthelabourconditionsinthe

fastfashionindustry,NGOsinMyanmarwillrelyonoutsidestrategiesmoreoften,suchas

protestsanddemonstrations,incomparisontothesituationbeforetheliftofUSeconomic

sanctionsin2016andafter2016.

§ Hypothesis4:AftertheliftofUSeconomicsanctionsinMyanmarin2016,NGOswillfocus

moreoncollaboration,withotherinternationalorganisationsorinstitutions,asastrategy,

thantheydidbefore2016.

16

3.Methodology

The methodology section focuses on the strategy and design, the sampling cases, the data

selectionandanalysisofthestudy.

3.1StrategyandDesign

In order to explore towhat extent the strategies of NGOs in both situations have changed to

improve the labour conditions in Bangladesh and Myanmar, qualitative research will be

conducted.WithinthisresearchtheunitofanalysisaretheNGOs.Thedependentvariableofthis

researcharethestrategiesofNGOs,andtheindependentvariablearethetwosuddenshocks.An

advantageofqualitativeresearchisthepossibilitytoexplorethematerialmoreindepth,aswell

asinformationonexpectations,needs,andfuturedevelopmentsregardingapossiblechangeof

NGOstrategies to improve the labour conditions in the fast fashion industry,willbeprovided

(Fischer&Julsing,2014).TofindouthowthestrategiesofNGOsactiveinthefastfashionindustry

mighthavechanged,thedataofthreedifferentinternationalNGOswillbeanalysed.TheseNGOs

are:CleanClothesCampaign,FairWearFoundation,andOxfamInternational.

3.2SampleandSampling

Thisresearchwillanalysetwodifferentsituations.AccordingtoSeawrightandGerring(2008)

theselectionofchoosinggoodcasesforsamplingisseenasachallengingprocess.Itisimportant

thatthechosencasesconsistoveravariationofrelevantmeasurements(Seawright&Gerring,

2008),inthisresearchthemeasurementsarethestrategiesusedbyNGOs.InBangladeshtheRana

Plazagarmentfactorycollapsedin2013,whichcalledforalotmoreactionofthefashionindustry,

institutions,andNGOs.In2016alotoftheUSeconomicsanctionsinMyanmarhavebeenlifted,

whichledtoanincreaseofgarmentfactoriesinMyanmar.Thetablebelowprovidesinformation

on the settingof this research,whichdiffersamong the twocountries.Accordingly, this study

looksatthesituationregardingthestrategiesofNGOsbeforethesuddenshockstookplace(t=0),

and at the situation of NGO strategies after these sudden shocks (t=1). Eventually, these two

situationswillbeanalysedandcomparedfromwhichapossiblechangeinstrategiesofNGOscan

beobservedandconcluded.

17

Table1–Setting

CleanClothesCampaign

FairWearFoundation

OxfamInternational

Bangladesh<2013 T=0

>2013 T=1

Myanmar<2016 T=0

>2016 T=1

Bangladeshischosenasasampleduetothedisasterthathappenedonthe24thofApril2013;the

collapseoftheRanaPlazabuilding,agarmentfactorylocatedinSavar,Bangladesh(Shen,2014;

Siddiqui&Uddin,2016).Thisdisasterisseenasthedeadliestgarmentaccidentsinhistory,which

killed 1.134 people (Ashraf & Prentice, 2019). Shen (2014) states that after this disaster the

attitudeofthefashionindustrytowardsbuildingandfiresafetymighthavechanged,whichcould

result in more sustainable manufacturing. After this disaster a lot more research has been

conductedonpolicies,andconditionsinthegarmentfactoriesinBangladesh,butalsoinother

developing countries. Consequently, a lot more data on garment factories and its conditions

concerningBangladeshcanbefound.Myanmarischosenasthesecondsampleduetothepolitical

andeconomicregimechangesinthiscountry.ThebordersofMyanmarhaveonlybeenopenfor

foreigners since a few years. In 2003, the US invoked economic sanctions on Myanmar that

restrictedthecommercialrelationshipofMyanmarwithothercountries.Beforethesesanctions

wereimplemented,theUSwasthelargestexportmarketfortextilesandgarmentsderivingfrom

Myanmar(Ajmani, Joshi,Kishore,&Roy,2018).Theseeconomicsanctions ledtoadecreaseof

exportproductstotheUS.However,in2016,theeconomicsanctionsbytheUSwerelifted(BBC

News,2016),resultinginalotoffashioncompaniesoutsourcingtheirworktoMyanmar,andin

anincreasingexportmarket.Thesefashioncompaniesareattractedtothelowwages,andtothe

beneficial tradeconditionsMyanmarhas(Oxfam,2015).ManyEuropeancompanieshave(re-)

located their garment factories to Myanmar, leading to more data available on the labour

conditionsinMyanmar,whichcanbeofimportantvalue.

These two sampling cases, Bangladesh and Myanmar, consist over similar and different

characteristics(Seawright&Gerring,2008).Similarcharacteristicsofthecasesarethattheyboth

focus on the labour conditions in the fast fashion industry, such as: low wages, under age

employees,andunhealthyanddangerousworkingconditions.Also,thatbothcountriesareseen

asdevelopingcountries,meaningthattheeconomyofbothcountriesisslowlygrowing,andthat

thedegreeofhumanwell-beingisalsolowerincomparisontodevelopedcountries,e.g.Western

countries.Onthecontrary,adifferentcharacteristicofthecasesisthepoliticalsituationofthe

countries,bothcountrieshavebeenruledunderdifferentregimes.

18

3.3DataCollection

Qualitativeresearchincludestheuseofdeskresearch,forthisliteraturestudyofficialreportsof

thethreeinternationalNGOsareanalysed,togetherwithscientificarticlesregardingstrategiesof

NGOs and labour conditions. These documents have been selected due to the information

providedonstrategiesofNGOs,andlabourconditionsinBangladeshandMyanmar.Accordingly,

documentshavebeenselectedunder the followingcriteria: language,year, country,and topic.

Fortunately,mostoftheNGOpublicationsarewritteninEnglish,duetothefactthattheNGOs

operateworldwide.Theyearofpublicationisalsoanimportantcriterion,therehavebeenalotof

changes in the fashion industry in the last decade. Consequently, only documents published

between the period of 2005–2019 have been selected, not all the information provided in

documentsbefore2005isstilluptodate.Anothercriterionisthatthereportsshouldmostlybe

focusedonthesituationinBangladeshorMyanmar.Finally,themaintopicoftheresearchand

reportsisimportant,theresearchshouldinclude,forexample,labourconditions,humanrights,

orlabourlawandregulation.Thefollowingsearchtoolshavebeenused:thelibrarydatabaseof

theUniversityofTwente,GoogleScholar,andtheavailabledatabasesofthethreeinternational

NGOs, to select these reports, documents, and articles.Within the databases of the NGOs the

following filters have been applied: Bangladesh, Myanmar, labour conditions, and

garment/fashionindustry.Table2showsanoverviewoftheselectedliterature,includingtheyear

ofpublication,sequence,andsetting.

Table2–Sourcelist

NGO/author Year Report/article Time Setting

1CleanClothes

Campaign2005 MadebyWomen t=0

Bangladesh

+Myanmar

2CleanClothes

Campaign2008

FullPackageApproachtoLabour

codesofConductt=0

Bangladesh

+Myanmar

3CleanClothes

Campaign2013

SolidarityAction-Makinga

DifferenceforWorkerst=0

Bangladesh

+Myanmar

4CleanClothes

Campaign2013

StillWaiting:sixmonthsafterRana

Plazat=1 Bangladesh

5CleanClothes

Campaign2016 RanaPlaza3yearson t=1 Bangladesh

6CleanClothes

Campaign2018

FiveyearssincetheRanaPlaza

collapset=1 Bangladesh

7 OxfamInternational 2015 MadeinMyanmar t=0 Myanmar

8 OxfamInternational 2015 InWorkButTrappedinPoverty t=1 Myanmar

19

9 OxfamInternational 2017 WhatSheMakes t=1Bangladesh

+Myanmar

10 FairWearFoundation 2013 FWFPositionPaperonMyanmar t=0 Myanmar

11 FairWearFoundation 2015 BangladeshCountryStudy2015 t=1 Bangladesh

12 FairWearFoundation 2017GuidanceAgeVerificationatGarment

FactoriesinMyanmart=1 Myanmar

13 FairWearFoundation 2018Enhancedmonitoringprogramme

Myanmart=1 Myanmar

14Fair,Green&Global

Alliance2014

Thestrengthoflobbyingand

advocacyn.a. n.a.

15 SOMO,ALR&LRDP 2017

TheMyanmarDilemma.Canthe

garmentindustrydeliverdecentjobs

forworkersinMyanmar?

t=1 Myanmar

16 Chowdhury 2017TheRanaPlazadisasterandthe

complicitbehaviorofeliteNGOs.t=1 Bangladesh

17 Anner 2018

BindingPower:TheSourcing

Squeeze,Workers'Rights,and

BuildingSafetyinBangladeshSince

RanaPlaza.

t=1 Bangladesh

18 FashionRevolution 2019FashionTransparencyIndex2019

Editiont=1

Bangladesh

+Myanmar

19 Ahmad 2019WageIndicator.DecentWorkCheck

2019t=1 Myanmar

20InternationalLabour

Organisation2017

NORMLEX,Ratificationsof

fundamentalConventionsbycountry

t=0,

t=1

Bangladesh

+Myanmar

3.4DataAnalysis

Forthisresearchadocumentanalysisisconducted,tofindoutiftherearepatternsbetweenthe

datathatwillhelpunderstandthemainresearchquestion.Thefirstsubquestion:“Whatwerethe

strategies of NGOs active in Bangladesh to improve the labour conditions in the fast fashion

industrybeforethecollapseoftheRanaPlazabuildingin2013?”,andthesecondsubquestion:

“WhatwerethestrategiesofNGOsactiveinMyanmartoimprovethelabourconditionsinthefast

fashionindustrybeforetheUSeconomicsanctionswereliftedin2016??”,willbeansweredby

meansofaliteraturestudyondatafoundbefore2013and2016.Thethirdsubquestion:“What

arethecurrentstrategiesofNGOsactiveinBangladeshtoimprovethelabourconditionsinthe

fastfashionindustryafterthecollapseoftheRanaPlazabuildingin2013?”andthefourthsub

question: “What are the current strategies of NGOs active inMyanmar to improve the labour

20

conditionsinthefastfashionindustryaftertheUSeconomicsanctionswereliftedin2016?”,will

beansweredaswellthroughaliteraturestudy,butnowwiththefocusonactivitiesafter2013

and2016.Thisdatawillbepresentedintheformoftwocasestudies;oneonBangladeshandone

onMyanmar.SubquestionsoneandthreewillformtheanalysisforthecasestudyonBangladesh.

ThesecondandthefourthsubquestionwillformtheanalysisforthecasestudyonMyanmar.The

mainresearchquestionwillbeansweredthroughthefindingsofthetwocasestudies.

Documents that are analysed within a document analysis involve the process of coding. The

processofcodingstartswithreadingalltheselecteddataandtheory.Then,alltherelevantwords,

sentences,andparagraphsfoundinthedatawillbelabelled.Following,themostimportantlabels

willbeselectedandcategorieswillbecreated,andthereafter labelled.Throughtheprocessof

codinginaqualitativedocumentanalyses,theunitsapplicabletoacertaindocumentcandiffer,

alsothelengthsofthecodecategoriescandiffer(Babbie,2016).Thefollowingcodeshavebeen

setupfortheanalysis,underthesecodesdifferentinformationwaslabelled:labourconditions,

NGOstrategies,countries,sequence,socialandpolitical impact.Tostructuretheanalysisthree

key parameters are defined. These parameters are included in the coding scheme, these are:

securityandsafety,wages,andsocialdialogue.Safetyandsecuritycoversallaspectsrelatedto

the safety and security of garment workers in the fast fashion industry. Wages includes

informationanddevelopmentsrelatedtotheminimumwagesinBangladeshandMyanmar.Social

dialogueincludesthenegotiationsbetweengovernmentandtradeunionsorNGOsonlabourlaw,

policies,ILOconventions,andfreedomofassociation.

Appendix1showsthecodingscheme,whichprovidesinformationonhowthedocumentshave

beenreadandanalysed.This issupportedbyexamples fromthe literature, suchassentences,

statements,andactivities.Itshowswhichsentencesprovidewhichsortofinformation,andunder

which code category these sentences, statements, and activities can be recognized. From the

codingschemeitbecomesclearthattherearedifferentunitsapplicabletothecodes.Wordsthat

relatetolabourconditionsare:minimumwage,workinghours,issues,andviolence.Wordssuch

asaftermath,before,after,andcontinueillustrateeventsinsequencetothesuddenshocks.The

codingcategorysocialandpolitical impact is illustratedwithwordslikeactivism,suppression,

and freedom. Examples ofwords that illustrate aNGO strategy are: challenge, understanding,

tools,importantrole,steps,andpressure.Intable3thesevariablesofNGOstrategiesarefurther

explained; these are linked to the key elements of activities, and examples of these activities

derivingfromthereportsaregiven.Wordsthatcanillustrateacertainstrategyaremarkedbold

inthecodingschemeinappendix1.

21

Table3–Codes

Strategiesof

NGOsActivities Examples

Insidelobby

strategy

- Informingthepublic,

industry,anddecision-

makers

- Meetingswithpoliticians

andlegislators

- Discussionpanels

- Conductresearchand

publishreports

“embracedtheroleofinformingthe

publicandindustry”

Informing,communicate,warning,

discussions,pressure,negotiations,to

present,documents,andfindings.

Outsidelobby

strategy

- Protests

- Demonstrations

- Socialmediacampaigns

- Mobilizecitizens

“pressurefromconsumerandtrade

unioncampaigns”

Pressure,activism,strikesofprotest,

activelyinform,topromote,and

encourage.

Collaboration

- Closecooperationwith

otherNGOsorinstitutions

- Establishmentof

agreements

- Developcommonstrategies

- Conductjointresearch

“pressurefromtheEuropeanUnion,the

UnitedStates,andinternational

organizations”

Workstogetherwith,forming,

commitment,together.

22

4.Analysis

Thischaptershowstheanalysisoftheresearch,bymeansoftwocasestudies.Firsttheresultsof

thecasestudyonBangladesharepresented,thereafter,casestudyonMyanmarispresented.In

bothcasestudiesthestrategiesofNGOshavebeenstructuredunderthekeyparametersofthe

codingscheme.Intheend,thepostulatedhypothesesarefalsifiedorcorroborated.

4.1CasestudyBangladesh

4.1.1StrategiesofNGOsbefore2013

- SafetyandSecurity

BeforetheRanaPlazacollapsein2013NGOsandtradeunionswerealreadyactiveinBangladesh,

andtryingtodealwiththepoorlabourconditionsinthecountry.CleanClothesCampaign(2013a)

statesthattradeunionsandlabourrightsactivistshavebeenwarningforalmosttenyearsthata

disasterliketheRanaPlazacollapsewasgoingtotakeplace.CleanClothesCampaignwasfounded

around1990, andbeganwith raisingawareness for the fact that all over theworldalmostall

clothingismadebyunderpaidwomen,andunderbadconditions.Intheirfirstyears,CleanClothes

Campaigntookonaninformativerolebyinformingthepublicandtheindustryofthepositions

they could, and should take on to support the femaleworkers in the fashion industry (Clean

ClothesCampaign,2005).AstrategythatCleanClothesCampaignusedwasoutsidelobbying,by

makingthepublicawareoftheexploitedlabourinthisindustry,andtellingthemthatactionwas

needed(CleanClothesCampaign,2005).Afterthecollapseofabuildingin2005inBangladesh

(Mustafa, 2013), Clean Clothes Campaign changed their campaigning approach. From that

momenton,theystartedputtingpressureonallactorsactiveinthefashionindustry,including

the European brands and retailers, the brands and retailers sourcing in Bangladesh, and the

governmentandindustryassociations(CleanClothesCampaign,2013b).CleanClothesCampaign

(2013b)statesthatasaresultoftheir ‘urgentactioncampaigning’healthandsafetystandards

improved,andthateffortstowardsmonitoringworkingconditionsstrengthened.Additionally,in

2008CleanClothesCampaignestablishedsteps forgarment factories,which factorymanagers

couldfollowtoensurethattheirproductswouldbemadeunderhumaneconditions.Thesesteps

aretheso-called‘LabourCodesofConduct’.Thesecodesofconductconsistofguidelinesregarding

what companies can do to improve compliance with labour standards in their supply chains

(Clean Clothes Campaign, 2008). As a result, a lot of Western companies and brands have

developedcodesofconductfortheirsourcingfactories(CleanClothesCampaign,2013b).

23

Oxfam International (2019) strives to fight poverty all over the world, their involvement in

Bangladeshalreadybeganin1970.InBangladeshthestrategyofOxfamInternationalisfocused

onworking togetherwith international and local civil society organisations, other NGOs, and

differentlevelsofgovernment.Throughthiscollaborationandinfluencing,OxfamInternationalis

abletoincreaseitsimpactonpovertyandinequality,andcanprovidesocialchangeatdifferent

levels(OxfamInternational,2019).WhenNGOsusecollaborationasastrategytoachievecertain

goals,theywilljointogetherinseveralcollaborativeeffortstoprotectcivilandpoliticalrights;as

OxfamInternationaldid.ItcametolightthatbeforetheRanaPlazacollapsenoneofthefashion

brands or retailers were incorporating building inspections or checking building certificates

(CleanClothesCampaign,2013a).More transparencyofbrandsandretailers couldcounteract

these acts. Furthermore, Fashion Revolution (2019) states that more transparency can help

brandsengageandcollaboratewithtradeunionsinordertoidentifyandresolvecertainproblems

inthefashionindustry.Inaddition,CleanClothesCampaignusedcollaborationasastrategy,Clean

ClothesCampaign(2013b,p.4)explainsthisstrategyasfollowing:“TheCCCworkstogetherwith

otherorganisationstosimultaneouslypushallthoseresponsibleforimprovingworkplaceconditions

(forexample,factoryowners,buyingagents,brandnamecompaniesandretailers)toactivelywork

to solve problems”. This collaboration was achieved through a so-called ‘triangle solidarity’

strategy.CleanClothesCampaignwouldcampaign(outside lobbying) in threedifferentplaces:

first, thecountrywereviolationsareexceeded,second,countrieswherethegarmentsaresold

andwhere thebuyers arebased, and third, in thehome countryof theownerof the garment

factory(CleanClothesCampaign,2013b).Therewith,CleanClothesCampaign(2013b)statesthat

thisstrategyhasledtoanincreaseinsharingexpertiseandexperiencesbetweenactivistsallover

the world. Clean Clothes Campaign’s development of joint strategies increased as well. The

collaboration strategy used by Oxfam International and Clean Clothes Campaign influenced

variouslevelsofgovernment,anddifferentactorsactiveinthefastfashionindustry.Herewith,a

large public has actively been informed about the negative sides of the fashion industry in

Bangladesh.

- Wages

According to Clean Clothes Campaign (2013a), the minimum wage of garment workers in

Bangladeshwas,atthetimeofthecollapse,38USDpermonth.Thisonlycovers12%ofastandard

livingwage.Anner(2018)confirmsthisminimumwagebystatingthattheminimumwagebefore

theRanaPlazacollapsewas39USDpermonth.Whichwasin2013approximately29EURper

month(Wisselkoers.nl,2019).FairWearFoundation(2011)describesa livingwageasawage

thatmeetsthebasicneedsofagarmentworker,suchasfood,clothing,housing,healthcare,and

education.ItcanbestatedthattheminimumwageofBangladeshigarmentworkersbeforethe

24

collapsedidnotmeetthestandardsofalivingwage.Astrategyortoolthatcanbeusedtoestimate

alivingwageforacertainregionorcountryistheWageLadder.Thewagesareestimatedforeach

countryor region,andcompared towagebenchmarkssetupby local tradeunions,NGOsand

government institutions.AccordingtoFairWearFoundation(2011)theWageLadder includes

threemainpurposes.Firstofall,theWageLaddershowsthemonetaryvaluesinrelationtothe

applicableandavailablewagestandards ina countryor region.Second, the factorywagesare

shownrelatively,ageandgenderaretakenintoaccount.Third,theWageLadderisabletoshow

theprogressinimprovingwagesovertime.TheWageLadderisfreeofaccess,andcan,therefore,

beusedbyanyone to find informationonwages in certain regionsor countries regarding the

fashionindustry.TheWageLadderwasfirstestablishedbyRutTuftsintheJo-InprojectinTurkey

(FairWearFoundation,2011).ThistoolhasbeenfurtherdevelopedbytheFairWearFoundation

toprovidecompaniesandbrandswithatoolthroughwhichtheycanmonitorthewagelevelsin

theirsupplierfactories.AnadvantageoftheWageLadderisthatbrandsandcompaniesareable

use the tool in negotiations to strive for a livingwage. TheWage Ladder only estimates and

displays the wages of garment workers in the fashion industry, it does not actively inform

differentactors,e.g.tradeunionsorNGOs,aboutthecurrentsituation.However,NGOscanuse

theWageLaddertoseeinwhichcountryorregionactionisneededregardingthelivingwagesof

garmentworkers.Furthermore,thetoolhelpstradeunionsandNGOsunderstandhowincreasing

wagesofgarmentworkerswillaffecttheproductcostsinawaythatcompaniesandbrandscan

still compete in the fashion industry (FairWear Foundation, n.d.). Therefore,NGOs and trade

unionscaninformbrandsandcompaniesaboutthepositiveconsequencesofincreasingthewages

toanamountthatcoversthebasicneedsofagarmentworker,alivingwage.

- SocialDialogue

The ILO works in close cooperation with NGOs. This cooperation is maintained through

integrationofnon-governmentalsocialpartnersbypromotingsocialdialogue,providingNGOs

withaconsultativestatuswithintheILO,andbycollaborationattheoperationallevel(ILO,n.d.).

WithintheILOit ispossiblefortradeunions,nexttostates,tonegotiateandparticipateinthe

developmentoflabourstandards,policies,andprogrammestopromotedecentworkforallmen

and women. The conventions established by the ILO have to be ratified by the national

government of the applicable country.A convention comes into force approximately one year

after the date of ratification, as the ratifying countries have to apply the convention in their

national law and practice (ILO, 2017). Before the Rana Plaza collapse, the government of

BangladeshratifiedthefollowingfundamentalconventionsofILO:

§ TheFreedomofAssociationandProtectionoftherighttoorganise(No.87)

§ RighttoOrganiseandCollectiveBargaining(No.98)

25

§ ForcedLabourConvention(no.29)

§ AbolitionofForcedLabourConvention(No.105)

§ WorstFormsofChildLabourConvention(No.181)

§ EqualRemunerationConvention(No.100)

§ Discrimination(EmploymentandOccupation)Convention,(No.111),(ILO,2017).

All these conventionswere ratified before 2013, andwere in force at time of the Rana Plaza

collapse. Unfortunately, the rights to organise are still weak in Bangladesh, whereas the

prohibition on unionisation has been lifted. After all, existing trade unions in Bangladesh are

dealingwithlownumbersofmembershipandwithlackofrecognition(FairWearFoundation,

2017a).Besides, theRanaPlazadisastercouldhavebeenavoided:thedaybeforethecollapse,

crackswere showing in thewalls of the building.Which led to protests of garmentworkers,

workersweresayingthattheywouldnotreturntoworkuntilthebuildingwasrestoredandsafe.

However, theworkerswere threatenedby the factorymanagersandowners; theywould lose

theirmonthlysalaryiftheywouldnotreturntowork(CleanClothesCampaign,2013a).

According to Clean Clothes Campaign (2013b) the statements of men and women, that have

spokenout about their situation, had apositive impact on the fashion industry. CleanClothes

Campaign(2013b,p.2)states:“Speakingoutinsolidaritywiththewomenandmenwhoproduce

the world’s clothes has had a positive impact.” As a result, more demands regarding labour

conditionsofgarmentworkersintheindustryweremet.Mostimportantly,thevoicesofthese

workersintheindustrywereheard,andthelabourconditionsofthefastfashionindustryareno

longer ‘secret’ for Western countries (Clean Clothes Campaign, 2013b). Both Clean Clothes

Campaign and the Fair Wear Foundation have been providing the garment workers with a

platform through which they can file complaints regarding labour conditions in the garment

factories. Since 2012, Fair Wear Foundation has received 62 complaints regarding labour

conditions,fromwhichtheyhavesolvedandclosed22complaints,incollaborationwithfactories,

companiesandbrands(FairWearFoundation,2017a).NGOsdealingwiththesecomplaintshave

to work together with garment factory managers, and with sourcing brands, therefore, the

collaborationstrategyisapplied.Together,theNGOs,factories,andbrandsdevelopaplantodeal

withthecomplaintsofthegarmentworkers.

It can be said that all three of the NGOs used of collaboration as a strategy; they all worked

togetherwithotherorganisations,toimprovelabourconditionsinBangladeshbefore2013.Clean

Clothes Campaign and Fair Wear Foundation worked closely together with factory owners,

companiesorretailers.However,OxfamInternationalfocusedmoreontheactivesocialchangeat

different levels, which is achieved by working together with the government of Bangladesh

26

(OxfamInternational,2019).StrikingisthechangeinstrategyofCleanClothesCampaignalready

in2005.Theirstrategychangedfrombeingmorequietinthebeginning,tobecomingmoreactive

and outspoken in the end (Clean Clothes Campaign, 2013b), their campaign changed from

consistingofaninsidestrategytoamoreoutsidestrategy.Furthermore,FairWearFoundationis

focusedoncollaborationand inside lobbystrategies, suchassettingupdifferentprojects, and

supportingtheratificationof ILOconventions(FairWearFoundation,2011). Intheend,NGOs

werealreadyactive inBangladeshbefore2013 to improve the labour conditionsbymeansof

lobbyingandcollaboration.ThestrategiesweremainlyfocusedonmakingtheWesterncountries

awareoftheunethicallabourconditionsgarmentworkersinBangladeshwerefacing.

4.1.2StrategiesofNGOsafter2013

- SafetyandSecurity

After theRanaPlazadisaster,NGOs focusedon theestablishmentof theAccord,whichcanbe

consideredasapositiveactionthatwastakenaftertheRanaPlazadisaster.TheAccordcanbe

seenasacollaborationstrategyusedbyNGOs;NGOsworkedtogetherwithotherorganisationsin

ordertoestablishandimplementtheAccord.TheAccordwassupposedtobeexecutedforfive

years,from2013till2018,however,in2017,thesignatoriesoftheAccordannouncedthatthe

deadlinewouldbeextendedwiththreeextrayears(CleanClothesCampaign,2017).Thereafter,

brandsandretailers,multiple-stakeholderinitiatives,governmentrepresentatives,international

institutions, trade unions, and NGOs announced their support for the Accord with several

statements.OnJune25,2018,H&Mstated(CleanClothesCampaign,2019a,p.1):“Wewantto

completetheremediation[atourfactories]becausewerecognisethereisnoadequatestructurein

placetoregulatesafetyinBangladesh.”H&Mbelievesthatgarmentworkershavetherighttoa

safeworkplace,andtorefuseunsafework.Therefore,H&Mrecognizesthatthereisnosufficient

structureimplementedwhichregulatessafetyinBangladesh(CleanClothesCampaign,2019a).In

November 2018multiple-stakeholder initiatives, e.g. Ethical Trading Initiative and the Dutch

Agreement on Sustainable Garments and Textile stated that companies, brands, and retailers

active in Western export markets of the Bangladesh fashion industry, have taken on their

responsibilityfordecentlabourconditions.InJanuary2019,NGOs,e.g.CleanClothesCampaign,

andOxfamInternational,statedthattheyencouragethegovernmentofBangladeshtoallowthe

AccordtoindependentlycontinueoperationsinBangladeshuntil2021(CleanClothesCampaign,

2019a). Clean Clothes Campaign still calls upon brands and retailers sourcing from garment

factories located inBangladeshtosignthe(new)agreement,allBangladeshigarmentworkers

should share the protection the Accord can offer them (Clean Clothes Campaign, 2017).

Accordingly, the Accord has played an important role in improving the labour conditions of

27

garment workers in Bangladesh, by motivating brands and retailers to think about the

circumstancesintheirgarmentfactories,andencouragingthemtoactonthis.

AftertheRanaPlazacollapse,FairWearFoundationfocuseditsstrategiesmainlyonbuildingand

firesafety,duetothefactthatafterthecollapseunauthorisedsubcontractingcontinuedtobea

probleminBangladesh(FairWearFoundation,2016a).InJanuary2019CleanClothesCampaign

(2019a, p. 9) stated the following: “a genuine transition plan for factory inspections, safety

trainings,andaworkercomplaintmechanismwillneedmuchmoretimeandgenuineengagement

by the government”. However, Fair Wear Foundation has set up a Workplace Education

Programme.Thisprogrammeprovidesonsitetrainingformanagers,supervisors,andworkersof

garmentfactories.Thegoalofthetrainingistoraiseawarenessaboutthelabourstandardsinthe

industry,alsoitprovidesthemanagers,supervisors,andworkerswitheffectivemethodstheycan

use when communicating problems, and dealing with disputes regarding the working

environment of the garment factory (FairWear Foundation, 2017d). Clean Clothes Campaign

(2013b) states six concrete ways that have contributed so far to the improvement of labour

conditionsgarmentworkersarefacing.AllthesewaysarepartofacollaborationbetweenClean

ClothesCampaignandotherorganisations,suchasbrandsorcompanies,anddifferentlevelsof

government. Theseways include: providing information on brands, and onmulti-stakeholder

initiatives; making contact with managers of the workplace, public authorities, and industry

associationstocommunicateworkers’demands;helpingto facilitatecommunicationsbetween

trade unions and companies; preparing and distributing public materials and events to raise

awareness for workers’ demands; coordinating communications among campaigning

organizations working on cases (Clean Clothes Campaign, 2013b). These ways can be

characterisedasstrategiesusedbyNGOsto improvelabourconditions.Providinginformation,

making contact with different actors, and facilitating communications are forms of inside

lobbying.Raisingawarenessthrougheventsisaformofoutsidelobbying.AftertheRanaPlaza

collapsethestrategiesofNGOsregardingsafetyandsecuritychanged,therewasmorefocuson

the building safety of the garment factories. More building inspections were incorporated,

therewiththecommunicationwithfactorymanagersimproved.

- Wages

Fair Wear Foundation (2017c) states the following: “labour conditions have been improved

significantlyaftertheRanaPlazatragedy”.However,whatismeantherewith‘significantly’?The

labourconditionsinBangladeshhaveindeedimproved,butwithlittleprogress.Forexample,in

2013theminimumwageofgarmentworkersincreasedwith79%(FairWearFoundation,2017a).

Toillustratethis,Anner(2018)statesthattheminimumwageofgarmentworkersinBangladesh

28

increasedaftertheRanaPlazacollapsetoaminimumof68USD/50EURpermonthin2013.In

February2018, theminimumwageofgarmentworkers inBangladeshwasestimatedat63.60

USDamonth,adeclinesince2013.Reckoningwithalltheotherlabourrelatedcircumstances,e.g.

workhours, theminimumwageperhourwasestimatedat0.31USD/0.26EUR(Anner,2018).

FairWearFoundation(2016b)statesthefollowing:“Weneedtoraisewagesforgarmentworkers.

Despitemorethanadecadeofdiscussionsaboutraisingwagesintheglobalgarmentindustry,we

have seen little progress.” In addition, Fair Wear Foundation (2017) states that the current

minimumwageinBangladeshisoneofthelowestminimumwagesintheworld.Therefrom,it

can,unfortunately,beconcludedthat theminimumwage inBangladeshcanstillnotprovidea

garmentworkerwith living needs, such as food, hygiene, and proper housing. Despite all the

discussions,actions,andpublishedreports,suchastheWageLadderofFairWearFoundation.

Additionally,itcanbesaidthatthestrategiesofNGOswithregardstowageshavenotchanged.

Furthermore,FairWearFoundation(2017a)statesthattheageverificationhasbeenimprovedin

most of the factories, however, there are still factories where the age verification has not

improved.Ontheotherhand,therehavebeenfewercasesofchildlabourfoundinthegarment

factoriesofthefashionindustry(FairWearFoundation,2017a).

- SocialDialogue

CleanClothesCampaign(2013a)publishedareportinwhichtheyanalysedtheactionstakenby

theinvolvedparties,suchastheretailersandfactorymanagers,sixmonthsaftertheRanaPlaza

collapse.First,thereportshowedthattherewasstilllittlecompensationgiventothevictimsof

thecollapseby the involvedparties.AresearchconductedbyChowdhury(2017) includedthe

followingquoteofRahima,agarmentworkerintheRanaPlazabuildingduringthecollapse:“We

donotknowwhatNGOsdo.WhoeverworksforNGOs,theyarebecomingrich.WhileNGOsreceive

moneytohelpmanyvictims,theydistributesuchfundonlytotwo,threeorfivevictims.Restofthe

fundgo to their pocket (Chowdhury, 2017, p. 938).”This statement refers to the compensation

victimsofthecollapsereceived.Thereweredifferentinstitutionsincontrolofthedistributionof

compensationfunds,includingseveralNGOs(Chowdhury,2017).InSeptember2013,NGOs,trade

unions, brands, the government of Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and

ExportersAssociationdevelopedtheRanaPlazaAgreement(RPA).TheRPAwassetuptoprovide

payments for the lossessufferedbythevictimsofRanaPlaza, thesepaymentsarebasedupon

several principles established by the RPA (RPA, n.d.). Therewith the Rana Plaza Coordination

Committee(RPCC)wasfounded.TheRPCCoversawallthepaymentsregardingtheRanaPlaza

victims(CleanClothesCampaign,2016).TheRPCCsetupaformulawhichcalculatedafulland

fair compensation for the victims of disasters like the Rana Plaza collapse (Clean Clothes

Campaign,2013a; ILO,2015).The compensationpayments thevictimsofRanaPlaza received

29

werefundedbycontributionsmadetotheRanaPlazaDonorsTrustFund,setupbytheILO(RPA,

n.d.).ThedevelopmentoftheRPAandtheRPCCcanbeseenasaninsidelobbystrategy,because

theNGOswerelookingforaccreditationfromtheILO,andfromthegovernmentofBangladesh.

TheseinstitutionshaveeventuallyprovidedtheNGOswithaformalstatusintheRPCC;together

they oversaw the compensation for the victims. The strategy tool of collaboration has been

appliedhereaswell.Chowdhury(2017)statesthatifsuchadisasterwouldhavehappenedina

Western country the compensationprocesswouldhaveprobably beendealtwith by lawyers,

instead of NGOs. This can be explained by the fact that Bangladesh did not have a national

employmentinjuryinsurancesystem,hence,NGOssetupthecompensationfund(ILO,2015).It

hasbeenarguedthattheactivitiescarriedoutbyNGOscouldhavereducedtheinfluenceofthe

Bangladesh government. However, themain responsibility of the Rana Plaza collapse and its

aftermathshouldliewiththegovernmentofBangladesh(Chowdhury,2017).

Currently,thecountryofBangladeshhasratified35conventions,ofwhich30areinforce(ILO,

2017b).ThereisonefundamentalconventionoftheILOthatremainsunratifiedinBangladesh,

theMinimumAgeConvention(No.138).Therightsofgarmentworkersregardingtheirfreedom

ofassociationhaveimprovedtoacertainextentsincetheprohibitionontradeunionswaslifted.

Forexample,in2016,theILOlaunchedtheSocialDialogueproject,acollaborationbetweenthe

ILO,tradeunions,andthegovernmentofBangladesh.Thisprojectwillhelptradeunionsoperate

in a more effective way, to provide better services to their members regarding the labour

conditionsinthecountry(ILO,2018).Nevertheless,garmentworkersarestillfacingunpleasant

consequences if they speak or act out regarding their labour conditions. In December 2018,

garmentworkersinBangladeshwentonstrikeandorganisedproteststofightforalivingwage.

Duringaprotest,whichtookplaceinJanuary2019,thepoliceofDhakafiredrubberbullets,and

used tear gas to stop the garmentworkers. Numerous of garmentworkerswere fired by the

factory managers as a consequence of their participation in the protest. Therewith, union

representatives and garment workers that were arrested are now facing charges that could

resolve in long prison sentences, e.g. life imprisonment (Clean Clothes Campaign, n.d.). Clean

ClothesCampaign(n.d.)statesthatthebrandsandcompaniessourcingfromBangladeshhaveto

inquiry their supply chain regarding these charges, if there are charges against union

representatives or garment workers, these will have to be dropped. Even though the ILO

conventiononFreedomofAssociationhasbeenratifiedandis inforce,andtheprohibitionon

tradeunionsislifted,therightsofgarmentworkersregardingfreedomofassociationarestillnot

respectedbythefactoryowners,andbythegovernmentofBangladesh.

30

ItcanbesaidthatthelabourconditionsinBangladeshhaveimprovedinsomerespectssincethe

RanaPlazacollapse.However,theminimumwageaBangladeshigarmentworkerearnsdoesstill

notcovertheirlivingstandard.WiththeestablishmentoftheAccordandtheRPCC,severalNGOs

tookoversomeoftheresponsibilitiesandtasksthatthegovernmentofBangladeshshouldhave

provided. However, the establishment of the Accord has had a positive impact on the labour

conditionsinBangladesh,andcontinuestodoso.TheAccordcanbedescribedasacollaboration

andaninsidelobbystrategy,NGOswerelookingforaccreditationfromotherinstitutions,suchas

brandsandretailers,andstakeholderinitiatives,toachieveaformalconsultativestatustodeal

with issuessurroundingthefashionindustry.Additionally,FairWearFoundationcontinuedto

focusmostlyon inside lobby strategies, through theestablishmentof severalprogrammes.To

summarise,thestrategiesusedbyNGOsafter2013weremainlyfocusedoncollaborationandon

insidelobbying.

4.1.3HypothesesThefirsthypothesisstated:“Inordertocontributetotheimprovementofthelabourconditionsin

thefastfashionindustry,NGOsactiveinBangladeshwillrelyoninsidestrategiesmoreoften,suchas

discussionsandmeetings, incomparisonto thesituationbeforeRanaPlazacollapse in2013and

after 2013.” Before the Rana Plaza collapse, the collaboration strategy was used by Oxfam

International and Clean Clothes Campaign to improve labour conditions in Bangladesh. Clean

Clothes Campaign had already changed its strategy, before the Rana Plaza collapse, as a

consequenceofabuildingcollapsein2005.Theirstrategychangedfrombeingmorefocusedon

insidelobbyingtowardsmorefocusedonoutsidelobbystrategies.Therefore,thishypothesisdoes

notcorroboratewiththestrategiesofCleanClothesCampaign.ThestrategyappliedbyFairWear

Foundation before the Rana Plaza collapse was also an inside lobby strategy. Fair Wear

Foundation established several programmes to improve the poor labour conditions in

Bangladesh.However,FairWearFoundationcontinuedtorelyoninsidelobbystrategies.Onthe

otherhand,itcanbesaidthatthishypothesisispartlycorroborating,duetotheAccordthatwas

establishedbyseveraloftheinvolvedparties.AftertheRanaPlazacollapsetheinvolvedparties

reliedmoreontheestablishmentoftheAccord,aninsidelobbystrategy.TheNGOswerelooking

foraccreditationfromotherinstitutionsinordertoachieveaformalconsultativestatustodeal

withissuessurroundingthefashionindustry.

Thesecondhypothesisstated:“AftertheRanaPlazacollapsein2013inBangladesh,NGOswillfocus

moreoncollaboration,withotherinternationalorganisationsorinstitutions,asastrategy,thanthey

didbefore2013.”Intheend,thishypothesisispartlycorroborating,theRanaPlazacollapseledto

theestablishmentoftheAccord.Nexttoaninsidestrategy,theAccordwasalsoacollaboration

31

betweenNGOsandotherorganisationsor institutions, suchas thegovernmentofBangladesh,

brands,retailers,andotherstakeholderinitiatives.NGOsjoinedinacollaborativeefforttoprotect

thevictims,garmentsworkers,brandsandcompanies,intheaftermathofthecollapse.Together

commonstrategiesweredeveloped,forexamplegatheringsignatoriesofbrandsandretailersto

influenceotheractorsinthesupplychain.Therefrom,itcanbesaidthatNGOstrategiestoimprove

the labour conditions in Bangladesh after 2013 did focus more on collaboration with other

internationalorganisationsorinstitutions.Itwasclearthatthecollaborationstrategyfocusedon

joinedefforttoprotectcivilandpoliticalrights.However,fromtheanalysesitcanbearguedthat

thecollaborationstrategiesandcommondevelopmentswereparticularlyestablishedinlinewith

theobjectivesoftheAccord.Governments,retailersandNGOsonlycollaboratedbecauseofthe

common objectives of the agreement. On the contrary, NGOs also focused on lobbying as a

strategy, by informing the public about the consequences of the Rana Plaza collapse, and by

providinganeducationprogrammetoraiseawarenessaboutthelabourstandardsintheindustry.

4.2CasestudyMyanmar

4.2.1StrategiesofNGOsbefore2016

- SafetyandSecurity

FairWear Foundationworks togetherwith brands and influencers of the fashion industry to

improvethelabourconditions.Therefore,FairWearFoundation(2017c)distinguishesdifferent

labourstandardsforgarmentworkersinMyanmar:“lowwages,longworkinghours,repressionof

unionmembersandstrikeleaders,poorworkingconditions,childlabour,andthelackofahealthy

socialdialogueamongbothemployersandunions.”Throughtheestablishmentofdifferentprojects

and campaigning, FairWear Foundation tries to improve the labour conditions in the fashion

industry.During2014,FairWearFoundationactivelyinformedcompaniesonwhyproductionin

Myanmarrelatestohighriskforgarmentworkersandfactorymanagers.Furthermore,FairWear

Foundationwillimplementadditionalrequirementsforthecompaniesthatdodecidetoproduce

garments inMyanmar, these requirementsmust be followedby the sourcing companies (Fair

WearFoundation,2013).

Clean Clothes Campaign (2013b) has been using different strategies to improve the labour

conditions inMyanmar. One of these strategies is the so-calledDirect Solidarity Action; Clean

ClothesCampaignanditsalliesresponddirectlytourgentrequestofgarmentworkersthatcall

foractionfromtheNGOs(CleanClothesCampaign,2013b).Thisisarequest,e.g.aletteroremail,

fromgarmentworkersortheirorganisationswhichstatesthatpeopletakeactiontodemonstrate

theirsupportforworkers’demandsinapositionwhereworkers’rightsarenotrespected.Clean

32

ClothesCampaignonlyactivelyresponsestotherequestsincasesofrightsviolations,mostlyon

freedomofassociationandontherighttoorganizeandcollectivelybargain,whereitisclearthat

it is what the workers want (Clean Clothes Campaign, 2019b). Furthermore, Clean Clothes

Campaign(2013b)statesseverallessonstheyhavelearnedfrom,andabouttheirurgentaction

campaigning,anoutsidelobbystrategy.CleanClothesCampaignhasanalysedtheimpactoftheir

work,andfoundoutthatseveralcharacteristicscontributedtotheircampaign.First,ithelpsifthe

workersarewellorganised,usuallyintounions.Second,inthecountrieswhereviolationsoccur

strongcampaignscancontribute.Third,facilitationisimportantfortheinformationflow.Fourth,

it helps when more than one pressure point is targeted internationally to support workers’

demands.Last,thenationalandinternationalcampaignsconsistofvarioustacticsandtoolswhich

canbedirectedatseveralpressurepoints(CleanClothesCampaign,2013b).OxfamInternational

hasbeenfightingpovertyandinequalityallovertheworld,thisincludesensuringdecentwages

andworkingconditions.InMyanmar,OxfamInternationalfightspovertythroughthepromotion

ofthepowerofwomenandmenbydevelopingtheirabilitytoinfluencecompaniesanddecision-

makers, in order for policies to protect the rights ofwomen andmen, and to reduce poverty

(OxfamInternational,2019).ThestrategyofOxfamInternationalcanbeconsideredasaninside

lobbystrategy,duetothewayofinfluencingthecompaniesanddecision-makers.

- Wages

BeforetheUSeconomicsanctionswereliftedinMyanmar,therewasnoexistingminimumwage

for garmentworkers (Oxfam International, 2015a).According toOxfam International (2015a)

someofthegarmentworkerswereworkingforanamountof0.60USDaday,whichconvertsto

0.46 EUR. In 2015, Oxfam International (2015b) conducted a study on garment stitching in

Myanmar, and found that the average wage was 1.50 USD a day, 40 USD a month, which is

approximately 30 EUR a month (Wisselkoers.nl, 2019). In addition, an average worker in

Myanmarspends50%oftheirwageonaccommodation,moreover,alotoftheworkershaveto

supporttheirfamilymemberswiththeirlowincome(OxfamInternational,2015b).Thegarment

workerswerealsofacing(forced)unpaidovertime,whichresultedinmajorstrikesandprotests,

ledby thegarmentworkersofMyanmar.Theworkerswereprotestingagainst the lowwages,

unpaidovertime,andotherpoorlabourconditions.Theseoutsidelobbystrategieshaveledtotwo

yearsofnegotiationsbetweenthegarmentworkers,andtheMyanmargovernment;insidelobby

strategies.Eventually,onSeptember1,2015,thegovernmentannouncedanewminimumwage

of0.35USD/0.31EURperhour,and85USD/75EURpermonth(OxfamInternational,2015a).

Therefrom, it can be concluded that the newminimumwage is still not enough for garment

workerstocovertheirlivingexpenses(Ahmad,2019).Aftertheirresearchonthelivingwagein

Myanmar,OxfamInternationalorganisedaneventduringwhichtheypresentedanddiscussed

33

theirfindingswithotherrepresentativesfrominternationalsourcingcompanies,e.g.tradeunions

inMyanmar,theMinistryofLabour,EmploymentandSocialSecurity,andtheMyanmarGarment

Manufacturers Association (Oxfam International, 2015a). This can be seen as an inside lobby

strategy, through which Oxfam International shared and discussed their findings with other

representatives,toraiseawareness,andpossiblycomeupwithsolutionsforthelowwagesand

otherpoorlabourconditionsgarmentworkersface.

- SocialDialogue

AlotofthegarmentworkersinMyanmararenotinformedaboutthelengthoftheircontracts,

whichmeanstheyhavenocontroloverthesecurityof theiremployment.OxfamInternational

(2015a)statesthatcompaniesshouldensuresecureemploymentforthegarmentworkers,which

canbedonebytellingsupplierstoseverelylimittheuseofshort-termcontracts.Furthermore,

Oxfam International (2015a) believes that trade unions play an important role in the

improvementofnegotiations,andinsecuringnationallegislationregardinglabourconditions.At

aglobal level, tradeunionsare important to informandeducategarmentworkersabout their

rights(OxfamInternational,2015).Freedomofassociation,thepossibilityforgarmentworkers

tojoinatradeunion,ispartofthefundamentalhumanrights.Itisnotallowedtoputgarment

workersatadisadvantageonce theyhave joineda tradeunion, that isactiveoutsideworking

hours (Ahmed, 2019). Trade unions were prohibited for more than 50 years in Myanmar.

However,in2011,theMyanmargovernmentratifiedtheconventiononFreedomofAssociation

andProtectionoftheRighttoOrganise(No.87)intheirnationallaw.Thismeansgarmentworkers

are allowed and able to form trade unions, and to speak out regarding their rights (Oxfam

International,2015a).NexttoConventionNo.87,twootherfundamentalILOconventionswere

ratifiedandinforceinMyanmarbefore2016,thesearetheConventiononForcedLabour(No.

29),andtheConventiononWorstFormsofChildLabour(No.182)(ILO,2017c).Unfortunately,

tradeunionsarestilllimitedinMyanmar,andtherearestillalotofworkersuninformedabout

theirfreedomofassociation,andabouttheirrighttocollectivebargaining(SOMO,ALR&LRDP,

2017).

It canbe concluded that all threeof theNGOsuseddifferent strategies to improve the labour

conditionsinMyanmarbeforetheUSeconomicsanctionswereliftedin2016.OxfamInternational

used inside lobbying as a strategy, they influenced the sourcing companies and the decision-

makers.FairWearFoundationhasbeenfocusedmostlyonestablishingcollaborationwithother

organisations,suchasWesternbrandsandcompanies,toachievechange.Onthecontrary,Clean

ClothesCampaignhasbeencampaigninginaveryactiveway,byusingoutsidelobbystrategies.

Inaddition,aftertheILOconventiononFreedomofAssociationwasimplemented,tradeunions

34

becamemoreactiveandcontributed to the implementationof theminimumwage in2015. In

conclusion, thestrategiesofNGOsweremostlydrivenby influencing thedecision-makersand

informingthegarmentworkersonworkers’rights.

4.2.2StrategiesofNGOsafter2016

- SafetyandSecurity

Myanmarhasshownsomeprogressonitscivilandpoliticalrightssince2016.However,FairWear

FoundationstillbelievesthatMyanmarisahigh-riskcountry,duetothechallengesthecountry

facesregardingtheimplementationoflabourstandards(FairWearFoundation,2017c).Oxfam

International(2015a)statesthatsincetheUSeconomicsanctionshavebeenlifted,thegarment

industryofMyanmarhasenteredthe‘racetothebottom’.Toillustrate,Myanmarisacountrythat

isveryattractiveforcompaniesthatseektomaximizetheirprofits.Thisresultedinthefollowing

(negative)change;before2016therewere130garmentfactorieslocatedinMyanmar,after2016

theamountofgarmentfactoriesincreasedto400,withanestimatedamountof35.000garment

workers(SOMOetal.,2017).ThechallengesMyanmarfacescomplywiththelabourstandardsof

FairWearFoundation.DuetotheliftedUSeconomicsanctions,FairWearFoundationestablished

asetofrequirementsforbrandssourcingtoMyanmar,theserequirementsconcernthefollowing

topics:“Transparency,DueDiligence,AuditingsuppliersinMyanmar,Promoteprocessestoensure

Freedom of Association and enhance social dialogue at suppliers, Payment of at least the legal

minimumandworktowardsthepaymentofalivingwage,ChildLabour”(FairWearFoundation,

2017c).Furthermore,FairWearFoundationpublishesalistoffactoriesthataretransparentabout

theirsourcingactivitiesandcountries,thispublicationcanbeseenasanoutsidelobbystrategy.

Fair Wear Foundation has been carrying out different actions to improve the poor labour

conditions.In2016,FairWearFoundationpublishedacountrystudyonMyanmar,inwhichan

overviewwasgivenoftheindustry,labourconditions,labourlaw,andoftheindustrialrelations

withinthefashionindustry(FairWearFoundation,2017c).In2017,FairWearFoundationhas

established a Guidance Document which should provide garment factories in Myanmar, that

supplymembercompaniesofFairWearFoundation,withpracticalinformationonhowtosetup

anAgeVerificationSystem.TheAgeVerificationSystemconsistofsixsteps;childlabourpolicy,

documentscheck,interviewwiththecandidateworker,medicalcheck,checklisttodocumentall

HR steps for age verification, and training for HR Staff (Fair Wear Foundation, 2017b). The

management of the factories can follow these steps to prevent child labour. Additionally, Fair

WearFoundationestablishedtheEnhancedMonitoringProgramme,thisprogrammeguarantees

a set of requirements for brands, the members of the Fair Wear Foundation, that source in

Myanmar.TheserequirementsforMyanmarareadditionaltothesetofgeneralrequirementsFair

35

WearFoundationsetsupforothercountries,likeBangladesh(FairWearFoundation,2017c).NGO

strategies regarding security are seen as an inside lobby, the strategies aremore focused on

guiding garment factorymanagers by providing themwith practical information and general

requirements.

- Wages

ThelegalminimumwageinMyanmaris3,600Kyatperday,2.64USD/2.48EUR.Itoftenhappens

thatownersandmanagersofgarment factories inMyanmar try toavoid topay theminimum

wage. This is done through abusing the apprenticeship and prohibition provisions of the

minimumwagelaw(SOMOetal.,2017).OxfamInternational(2015a)confirmsthisbystatingthat

somefactorymanagersinMyanmarstoppedovertimehours,foodandtransportallowances,and

bonusesaftertheminimumwagewasimplemented.Consequently,somegarmentworkersare

nowearninglessthantheydidbeforetheminimumwagewasintroduced.Therefrom,itcanbe

concludedthatalsoinMyanmar,theminimumwageisstillnotenoughforgarmentworkersto

cover their livingstandards.OxfamInternational (2015b)states thata livingwagealsoallows

workers to participate in a social and cultural life, and it helps them afford a lifestyle that is

acceptedbythecurrentlevelofdevelopmentofsociety.Lowwagesaredrivenbythreefactors;

anunfairshareofvalueinchain,theabsenceofcollectivebargaining,andaninadequateminimum

wage(OxfamInternational,2015b).Thesethreefactorsneedtobeaddressedinordertoensure

a fair living wage for garment workers. Furthermore, Oxfam International (2015b) provided

recommendations for governments, companies, workers, and consumers. The government of

Myanmarshouldchangetheminimumwagetowardsalivingwage.Thecompaniesandbrands

shoulddomoretoensure thegarmentsworkersarepaida livingwage.Thegarmentworkers

shouldbeinformedandtrainedabouttheirrights,andconsumersshouldaskcompaniesmore

questionsregardingthelivingwageofgarmentworkers(OxfamInternational,2015b).Allthese

actorsshouldnotjustfocusoncreatingworkforthepeopleinMyanmar,butthisworkshould

alsobedecentwork,withdecentpay(SOMOetal.,2017).

- SocialDialogue

ThelabourlawinMyanmarisstillweak,alotoftimeslabourlawswereintroducedwithouthaving

a process of social consensus or open discussion (SOMO et al., 2017). Some of the ratified

legislationinMyanmarhasbeenrevisedsince2016,thesearetheFactoryAct(1951),theShops

andEstablishmentsActs(1951),andtheChildLaw(1993)(FairWearFoundation,2017b).These

laws have been altered or corrected to the current standards and circumstances. Currently,

Myanmar has ratified 24 ILO conventions on labour standards, ofwhich 18 are in force (ILO,

2017c).Unfortunately,therearestillfivefundamentalILOconventionsnotratified,theseare:

§ RighttoOrganiseandCollectiveBargainingConvention(No.98)

36

§ AbolitionofForcedLabourConvention(No.105)

§ EqualRemunerationConvention(No.100)

§ Discrimination(EmploymentandOccupation)Convention,(No.111)

§ MinimumAgeConvention(No.138),(ILO,2017).

The implementation of labour laws and regulation is still a challenge in Myanmar (Oxfam

International,2015a).Ahmad(2019)statesthatnotallgarmentworkersinMyanmararefully

awareoftheaspectsandadvantagesofthelabourlaw.Whenworkersareawareofthelabourlaw,

theywill askmorequestions regarding their rights, andwillbemoreactive in complyingand

enforcingtheserules(Ahmad,2019).Forexample,therearealotofgarmentworkersthatdidnot

signalabourcontract(SOMOetal.,2017).Withoutasignedcontract,garmentworkersarenot

entirely protected under the labour law. Unsigned contracts can be seen as an advantage for

factorymanagers and owners; without a contract factory owners have to complywith fewer

restrictions. Furthermore, not all garment workers are brave enough to speak out, only the

workersthatare,filecomplaints,whichisaminorityofgarmentworkers(SOMOetal.,2017).Fair

Wear Foundation (2017c) states that the number of complaints they received from workers

increased,however,FairWearFoundationexperiencesthisaspositive.Workersarebecoming

moreawareoftheirrights,andmorecomfortablewithspeakingupabouttheirrights(FairWear

Foundation,2017c).

In conclusion, Myanmar is still seen as a high-risk country, however, this does not withhold

companies from sourcing from Myanmar. The garment factories located in Myanmar have

increasedrapidlyoverthelastfewyears.FairWearFoundationusesbothinsideandoutsidelobby

strategies to contribute to the improvement of labour conditions in Myanmar. The outside

strategyisusedinthepublicationlistoftransparentcompanies;thislistcanpressurecompanies

andbrandstobecomemoretransparentregardingtheirsourcingactivities.OxfamInternational

appliescollaborationasastrategy,bycomplyingwithgovernment,andcompaniestoimprovethe

poorlabourconditions.Moreover,aminimumwagehasbeenintroduced,however,thiswageis

stillfarfromalivingwage.

4.2.3HypothesesThethirdhypothesisstated:“inordertocontributetotheimprovementofthelabourconditionsin

the fast fashion industry, NGOs in Myanmar will rely on outside strategies more often, such as

protests and demonstrations, following the lift of US economic sanctions in 2016”. Before the

sanctionswereliftedin2016theNGOsalluseddifferentstrategiestoimprovelabourconditions

inMyanmar.OxfamInternationalusedinsidestrategies,whereasFairWearFoundationfocused

oncollaboration.CleanClothesCampaignwastheonlyNGOthatmainlyfocusedonoutsidelobby

37

strategies,bymeansof theiractivecampaigning.After the liftof thesanctions in2016,Oxfam

internationalalsofocusedoncollaborationasastrategy.OnlyFairWearFoundationfocusedon

outside lobby strategies; by pressuring companies through their publications of reports on

transparency,nexttothis,theycontinuedtofocusoninsidelobbystrategies.Inconclusion,the

strategiesofNGOstoimprovethelabourconditionsinthefastfashionindustryinMyanmardid

notrelymoreonoutsidelobbyingaftertheliftofUSeconomicsanctionsin2016.

Thefourthhypothesisstated:“followingtheliftofUSeconomicsanctionsinMyanmarin2016,NGOs

will focus more on collaboration, with other international organisations or institutions, as a

strategy”.Before2016,FairWearFoundationalreadyfocuseditsstrategiesoncollaborationwith

otherinternationalorganisationstoimprovepoorlabourconditionsinthefastfashionindustry.

TheanalysisshowedthatOxfaminternationaldidfocusonthecollaborationstrategyafter2016,

however,OxfamInternationalalreadyworkedtogetherwithotherorganisationsbefore2016to

improvethe labourconditions.Therefore, the liftof theUSeconomicsanctionsdidnot leadto

morefocusoncollaborationasastrategyofNGOstoimprovelabourconditionsinMyanmar.

The social and political impact of the sudden shocks could have exerted an influence on the

structureandstrategiesusedbyNGOsinthefastfashionindustryinBangladeshandMyanmar.

AccordingtoFairetal.(2014),aneffectivelobbystrategyconsistsofmorethanjustacampaign,

itrequiresconstantactionbykeepingthebusinesssectorandgovernmentssharpandaccurateto

ensuretheyarereallykeepingtheirpromises.FromthehypothesisitcanbeconcludedthatNGOs

donotonlyfocusononestrategy;theNGOsanalysedinthispapercombinedifferentstrategies,

orusethestrategieswhicharebestsuitedtotheirenvironmental,politicalorsocialinfluences,

whichcanchangeoveraperiodoftime,aswellastheirstrategies.Thiscanbesupportedbythe

tableinappendix2,whichshowstherelationbetweenthestrategiesofNGOsandthethreekey

parameters,asobservedinthecodingscheme.Therearenolargedifferencesobservedwhena

certainstrategywasusedtodealwithissuesofoneofthekeyparameters.Therefore,thereisno

causalrelationbetweenthestrategiesandtheparameters,thestrategiesusedbyNGOsweremost

suitable to their environment and situation. The sudden shocks influenced the use of NGO

strategies,butthesestrategiesdidnotchangedrasticallyaftertheshockstookplace.Therefore,

the analysis confirmed that strategies of NGOs can differ among various situations and

environments.

38

5.Conclusion

In2019thelabourconditionsinthefastfashionindustryindevelopingcountriesarenotmuch

better than the labour conditions ten years ago. However, the developing countries have

experienceddifferentsocialandpoliticalcircumstances.TenyearsagoChinaandIndiawerethe

low wage sourcing countries experiencing unethical working conditions in their garment

factories.Nowadays,ashifthasbeenmadetothedevelopingcountriesthatofferthelowestwages,

andhaveweakrestrictionsonhuman,andworkers’rights.BangladeshandMyanmarhavenow

takentheplaceofChinaandIndiabeingthelowwagesourcingcountries.Thesecountriesarestill

dealingandcopingwithemployeeabuse,lowwages,longworkinghours,andwithhumanrights

violationsofthegarmentworkers.ThestrategiesofNGOshaveplayedanimportantroleinthe

improvementoftheseconditions.

In2013theRanaPlazabuildingcollapsed,whichbecamethebiggestaccidentinthefastfashion

industry.Before2013, all threeof theNGOswere active inBangladesh to improve the labour

conditionsinthefastfashionindustry.Theyallusedcollaborationwithotherorganisationsasa

strategy.Alreadyin2005,thestrategyofCleanClothesCampaigndrasticallychanged, froman

insidelobbystrategytowardsanoutsidelobbystrategy.AftertheRanaPlazacollapse,theNGOs

took over some of the responsibilities and tasks of the government of Bangladesh. The

governmentdidnotcompletecertain tasks, suchasprovidingcompensation for thevictimsof

RanaPlaza.TheAccordhadagreatinfluenceonthefastfashionindustry,andcontinuestodoso.

Itcanbeseenasapositiveagreementorcollaborationderivingfromthedisaster.However,the

commondevelopmentsderiving fromtheAccordwereonlyestablishedbecauseof the shared

objectives.Insomerespects,thelabourconditionsinBangladeshimprovedaftertheRanaPlaza

collapse; fewer cases of child labourwere found, and a legalminimumwagewas introduced.

However, before 2013 the NGOs were as active in Bangladesh as they were after 2013.

Particularly,theRanaPlazacollapsehadagreatimpactonthemedia,companies,andgovernment,

whichledtoworldwideattention.ThisworldwideattentiongavetheNGOsmorepossibilitiesto

conductcertainstrategiestoimprovethelabourconditionsinBangladesh.Thetwohypotheses

onthesituationinBangladesharebothpartlytrue.TheAccordcanbeseenasaninsidelobby

strategyaswellasacollaborationstrategy.Therefore,itispartlytruethattheNGOsreliedmore

ontheinsidelobby,andcollaborationstrategy.BeforetheUSeconomicsanctionswereliftedin

2016,alloftheNGOsuseddifferentstrategiestoimprovethelabourconditionsinthefastfashion

industry in Myanmar. The lift of the US economic sanctions resulted inmore investments of

companies,andinmoregarmentfactoriessourcingfromMyanmar.Nonetheless,thestrategiesof

NGOs after 2016 remained diverse. To summarise, theNGOs combined different strategies to

39

achieve their goals in the fast fashion industry. Oxfam International continuedwith its inside

lobby strategy, which eventually turned into a collaboration strategy, by complying with the

Myanmargovernmentandotherorganisations.Itcanbesaidthatthetwopostulatedhypotheses

forthesituationinMyanmarbothincorrect.AftertheliftofUSeconomicsanctionsin2016,the

NGOs active inMyanmar did not relymore on the inside lobby, and collaboration strategy to

improvethelabourconditionsinthefastfashionindustry.

TheNGOswereveryactiveinBangladeshandMyanmarbeforetheRanaPlazacollapseandthe

liftofUSeconomicsanctions,a lotof theiractivitieswerealreadysetup.Accordingly, thetwo

suddenshocksdidleadtoachangeinenvironment,whereasthesocialandpoliticalenvironments

ofthecountrieshavebeeninfluentialforthetypeofstrategyusedbyNGOs.However,therewas

no direct change in strategies ofNGOs to improve the labour conditions after the Rana Plaza

collapseandtheliftofsanctions.Furthermore,thetypesofNGOstrategiesdidnotdifferbetween

thekeyparameters.Allstrategieswereusedfordifferentelements,NGOshavebeenusingthe

strategiesthatarebestsuitedtotheirenvironmental,politicalandsocialinfluencestoimprove

thelabourconditions.Therefrom,itcanbeconcluded,thatthestrategiesofNGOstoimprovethe

labourconditionsinthefastfashionindustrydidnotchangetoagreatextentunderthesocialor

politicalcircumstancesoftwosuddenshocksthathappenedinBangladeshandMyanmar,since

2013. This could be explained by the fact that NGOs were already focusing its strategies on

improvinglabourconditionsindevelopingcountriesbeforethetwosuddenshockstookplace.

Afterthesuddenshockstherewasalotmoremediaattentionfortheunethicallabourconditions

in developing countries, especially after theRanaPlaza collapse inBangladesh.However, this

attentiondidnotlastlong,itprovidedNGOswithatemporarymediaattention,whichtheycould

use to raiseawareness.Therefrom, this studyshows that labourconditions in the fast fashion

industrydonotchangeovernight,ittakesyears.

NGOscontinueto improvethe labourconditions,however, toachievethis,NGOsneedsupport

frominstitutionsandgovernmentstoachievechangeatalegallevel.Unfortunately,thereisstill

littleinvolvementofthelocalgovernment,inbothBangladeshandMyanmar.Itisimportantthat

theeightfundamentalconventionsoftheILOareratifiedandinforceinBangladeshandMyanmar.

NGOs can only act to a certain level, therefore, the government should pursue its binding

legislation on human, and labour law. Additionally, the European Union can develop, or

strengthenitscooperationwithinternationalNGOstosupporttheirstrategiestoimprovelabour

conditions. Furthermore, the European Union can help international NGOs, e.g. by giving

subsidies,toraisemoreawarenessforthepoorlabourconditionsinthefastfashionindustryin

developingcountries.Forexample,bysupportingthecampaignsthattargetEuropeanconsumers,

40

and by informing them about the negative sides of the fast fashion industry. In addition,

consumers, and companies are ought to change their behaviour. Considering the growing

consumers’ demand of fast fashion, the intention of FairWear Foundation (n.d.b) and Oxfam

International(2015b)toaimtheirawarenessatthebrandsaswellastheconsumersmightbean

important approach to improve labour conditions in developing countries in the fast fashion

industry.Consumers,andcompaniesshouldbecomemoreawareof theconsequences to their

actions,andonhowtheseactionscanbechangedtohelp.

ThisstudycontributedtotheunderstandingofhowdifferenttypesofNGOstrategiescanimprove

labourconditionsinthefastfashionindustryinBangladeshandMyanmar.Theanalysisofthis

studyaddedtoexistingresearchbyconceptuallymappingthestrategiesofNGOsbeforeandafter

the two sudden shocks, by structuring the strategies of NGOs under three key parameters.

CategorisingthestrategiesofNGOsunderkeyelementshasnotbeendoneinexistingliterature.

The results showed that there is no causal relation between the strategies of NGOs and the

elements. However, it substantiated that strategies used by NGOs depend on the social and

politicalcircumstancesofthecountry(Pache&Santos,2010;Doh&Guay,2006).Theresultsof

thisstudyshouldbeconsideredinthelightofsomelimitations,limitationsduetothefocus,the

applied methodology, the data selection, and the language barrier. The study has limitations

consideringthefocusofthestudy.ThestudyhasbeenfocusedoninternationalNGOs,thelocation

of thedevelopingcountriesmadeitunattainabletocarryout fieldresearch inBangladeshand

Myanmar. Another aspect that made field research impossible are the financial aspects.

Consequently,thisresearchwasconductedatagreaterdistancewiththefocusoninternational

NGOs.Theappliedmethodologyalsohadanimpactonthestudy.Duetothequalitativeresearch

methodsthesamplesizewassmaller,andfewerarticlesanddocumentshavebeenanalyseddue

totime.Furtherthedatacollection,thedatainthisstudyderivedmostlyfromNGOsthatmightbe

biasedintheirrepresentationofinformation.NGOsdonotoftenpublishinformationonactivities

thatdidnot achieve thedesiredgoals, they ratherpublish their achievements than theirnon-

achievements.Inaddition,importantdocumentscouldhavebeenmissedbytheresearcher,due

toinaccessibilityornotmasteringthelanguageofthedocuments,e.g.BengaliorBurmese.Future

research may design a similar coding scheme for other developing countries. Moreover, the

qualitative researchmethod can be used in combinationwith quantitativemethods, e.g. field

researchandinterviewswithlocaltradeunions,NGOs,orgarmentworkers.Duetothelanguage

barrier, this study focused on three international NGOs: Clean Clothes, Campaign, Fair Wear

Foundation,andOxfamInternational.Toanalyse theexperiencesofgarmentworkersmore in

depth,asuggestionwouldbetofocusfuturestudiesonlocaltradeunionsactiveinBangladesh

andMyanmar.

41

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Appendices

Appendix1–CodingschemeReport/article

Code Parameter Example

CCC–MadebyWoman(2005)

Outsidelobbystrategy

Safety/security

“CleanClothesCampaignerswantedthepublictoknowthatexploitedlabourintheseindustriesoftenhadafemaleface,andifsomethingwasgoingtobedoneabouttheirsituationthatfactcouldn’tbeignored.”

Insidelobbystrategy

Safety/security

“theCCCembracedtheroleofinformingthepublicandindustryoftherolestheycouldandshouldplaytosupporttheoftendifficultanddangerousorganisingeffortsofthesewomen.”

Sequence;insidelobbystrategy

Safety/security

“…thechallengeremainstocommunicatetheimportanceofunderstandingtherolethatgenderplaysinshapingconditionsintheseindustries,andhowsolutionstoanyproblemsneedtotakethison.”

Lobbying&collaboration

Safety/security,socialdialogue

“Devisingstrategiestoconnecttothesewomen,understandtheirneeds,andsupporttheirattemptstogainrespectasworkerswithlegalrightsshouldbeatoppriorityfortradeunionandNGOactivists.”

CCC–FullPackageApproachtoLabourCodesofConduct(2008)

Insidelobbystrategy

Safety/security

“Therearemanystepscompaniescanandshouldtake(…)toimproveworkersrights,therearenoquick-fixsolutions.CleanClothesCampaignestablishedstepsforgarmentcompanies,sotheycanensuretheirproductsaremadeunderhumaneconditions.”

CCC–SolidarityAction–MakingaDifference(2013)

Insidelobbystrategy

Safety/security

“DirectSolidarityisoneofthemaintoolsusedbytheCleanClothesCampaigntoreachitsgoalsofimprovedworkingconditionsintheglobalgarmentandsportsshoesectorsandtheempowermentofworkers.”

Insidelobbystrategy

Safety/security

“SincetheCCCbeganitsworkmanycompanieshavedevelopedcodesofconduct…”

Collaborationstrategy

Safety/security

“TheCCCworkswithotherorganizationstosimultaneouslypushallthoseresponsibleforimprovingworkplaceconditions(…)toactivelyworktosolveproblems.”“Supportingthismodelresultsinmoresharingofskillsandexperiencebetweenlabourrightsactivistsglobally”


Safety/security

“theCCCsteppedupitscampaigningonhealthandsafetyproblemsinthesectorinBangladesh.”

CCC–StillWaiting:SixMonthsAfterRanaPlaza(2013)



“manyofthebrandsandretailerssourcingfromBangladeshhavetakensomefirststepstowardsasaferindustrybyformingtheAccordonFireandBuildingSafetyinBangladesh,whichnowhasmorethan100signatories.”“Theremustbeacommitmentfromallbrandstoensurecompensationfundsaresufficienttocoverfullandfaircompensationpaymentstoallthevictimsandtheirfamilies.”

Insidelobbystrategy

Safety/security

“Tradeunionsandlabourrightscampaignershadbeenwarningfornearlyadecadethatsuchadisasterwasnotonlylikelybutinevitable.”

Socialandpoliticalimpact

Safety/security

“IntheaftermathofRanaPlaza,itbecameclearthatnotasinglebrand,retailerorauditschemewasproperlyincorporatingbuildinginspectionsaspartoftheirstandardaudits.”

Labourconditions

Wages“AtthetimeoftheRanaPlazacollapsetheminimumwagewasjustBDT3,000(USD38)permonth”

48


Socialdialogue

“(…)localandinternationaltradeunionsandNGOsdevelopedaformulatocalculatefullandfaircompensationforthevictimsofsuchdisasters.”

Insidelobbystrategy

Socialdialogue

“AlthoughinitiatedbeforetheRanaPlazacollapse,discussionsaroundthedevelopmentofnewlabourlawsdidbenefitfromtheincreasedpressurebroughttobearonthegovernmentfollowingRanaPlaza.”

Outsidelobby&collaboration

Socialdialogue

"TheCCCandtheInternationalLaborRightsForumwillcontinuetopressfordignityandrespectforBangladeshigarmentworkers."

CCC–RanaPlaza3yearson(2016)


Safety/security

“(…)H&MbecamethefirstbrandtosigntheBangladeshAccordonFireandBuildingSafety(…)dozensofotherretailersalsofeltobligedtosignonasaresultofpressurefromconsumerandtradeunioncampaigns.Todateover200garmentbrands,retailersandimportershavesignedup.”


Safety/security

“signatorieswillcontinuetopushforallfactoriestoberepairedassoonaspossibleandforfutureprogrammesforworkplacesafetyandotherworkers’rightstofollowasimilarmodelofaccountabilitythathasnowbeenestablishedundertheAccord.”

Outsidelobbystrategy;socialandpoliticalimpact


“AfterthecollapseoftheRanaPlazabuildinganinitialupsurgeinunionactivismcouldbeseenandpressureontheBangladeshgovernmenttoimprovefreedomofassociationinthecountrywashigh.Nevertheless,threeyearsonwecanseethattheseapparentgainshavelargelybeeneroded,andthatunionrepressionisonceagainthenorm.”

CCC–FiveyearssincetheRanaPlazacollapse(2018)

Labourconditions

Wages“InBangladesh,wageshavenotbeenincreasedsince2013,andtheirvaluehassignificantlydroppedbyinflation.”

Sequence;Socialandpoliticalimpact

Safety/security

“RanaPlazaturnedouttobeonlyashort-livedwakeupcallfortheindustry.”“Itisgenerallyagreedthatthereisoneareawhereprogresshasbeensignificantandmaintained,albeitlimitedtoBangladesh,andthatisintheimprovementstofireandbuildingsafety”

Oxfam–MadeinMyanmar(2015)

Insidelobbystrategy

Safety/security

“Oxfambelievesthattheprivatesectorhasanimportantroletoplayindevelopmentandcancontributetotacklingpovertyandinequalitythroughprovidingdecentworkandupholdingpeople'sbasicrights.”

Sequence;labourconditions

Wages

“BeforeAugust2015,therewasnominimumwageinplaceinMyanmar.(…)workerswereearningaslittleas$0.60adayasabasewage,aswellasfacinglonghoursofovertime,includingforcedovertime.”

Inside&outsidelobbystrategy

Socialdialogue,wages

“Throughout2012,workersinMyanmarheldmassstrikesinprotestatlowwages,unpaidovertimeandpoorconditions.Followingmorethantwoyearsofnegotiations(…)anewminimumwagewasannounced.”

Insidelobby&collaborationstrategy

InAugust2015,Oxfambroughttogetherrepresentativesfrominternationalsourcingcompanies,(…)andotherstakeholdersinYangontopresentanddiscussthepreliminaryfindingsfromthisresearch.

Oxfam–InWorkButTrappedInPoverty(2015)


Safety/security

“InMyanmar,thegarmentindustryisgrowingrapidly,providingjobsforaround300,000workers.Manyinternationalcompaniesarenowstartingtosourcefromthecountry.”

Labourconditions

Wages“Theaveragebasesalarywasfoundtobe$1.50aday,and$40amonth.”

49

Insidelobbystrategy

Wages“UrgentactionisneededtoaddressOxfam’sconcerningfindingsthatsomanywagedworkersareworkinghardbuttrappedinpoverty.”

Oxfam–WhatSheMakes(2017)


Wages“Brandshavethepower—andtheresponsibility—tomakethischange.”“Brandscanchangethewaytheydobusinesstoensureworkersearnalivingwage.”

FWF–PositionPaperonMyanmar(2013)



“FWFwillactivelyinformcompanieswhyproductioninMyanmarcarriesahighrisk.”“FWFwillimplementadditional,countryspecificrequirementsthatmustbefollowedbytheaffiliatesandwillbeverifiedbyFWF.”“UntilNovember2014,FWFcommitstoanumberofstepstotaketosetupactivitiesinMyanmartobeabletoverifyimprovementsinworkingconditionsinfactoriesandtopromotesocialdialogueandeffectivegrievancemechanisms.”

FWF–BangladeshCountryStudy(2015)

Labourconditions;Insidelobbystrategy

Safety/security

FWFauditsin2014showthatunauthorisedsubcontractingremainsacommonissueinBangladesh.Buildingandfiresafety,andthepreventionofviolenceagainstwomenaretwohigh-risktopicsthatarebeingaddressedbyFWF.

FWF–GuidanceAgeVerification(2017)

Insidelobbystrategy

Safety/security

“ThispracticalGuidanceDocumentaimstohelpgarmentfactoriesinMyanmartosetupamorerobustAgeVerificationSystem.”

FWF–EnhancedMonitoringProgrammeMyanmar(2018)

Insidelobbystrategy


“InthisPositionPaper,FWFcommittedtoanumberofstepstosetupactivitiesinMyanmartobeabletoverifyimprovementsinworkingconditionsinfactoriesandtopromotesocialdialogueandeffectivegrievancemechanisms.”

Fair,Green&GlobalAlliance(2014),TheStrengthofLobbyingandAdvocacy


“Knowingwhentoshiftbetweenarangeofactivitiesinavarietyofareas,oftenwithdifferentpartnerorganisations,isthemosteffectivewayofinfluencingpolicy”


“Supplementinganoutsidestrategy(…)withaninsidestrategy(…)isanexampleofaprovencomplementarymethod.”

SOMO,ALR&LRDP–TheMyanmarDilemma:CanthegarmentindustrydeliverjobsforworkersinMyanmar?(2017)


Safety/security

“Workerswhoareboldenoughmayfilecomplaintsorresorttoopenprotests,newsofwhichsometimesfindsitswayintointernationalmedia.Moreoften,workerstoiloninsilence.”



“Independenttradeunionswereprohibitedformorethan50years,strikeswerebannedandanyformofdissentwasviolentlysuppressed.”


Socialdialogue

“actorsinthegarmentindustryandinvolvedgovernmentsurgentlyneedtorethinktheirpoliciesandpracticeswithregardtoMyanmar.”


Socialdialogue

“alltheactorsinvolved(…)haveafundamentalresponsibilitytoprotectandrespecthumanrightsandlabourrights”

Chowdhury(2017),complicitbehaviorofeliteNGOs


Wages“(…)itisclearthatdifferentNGOswereincontrolofthedistributionofcompensationfunds.”


Socialdialogue

“thecollectiveforceofglobalandlocaleliteactorsdominatesovermarginalizedworkersindevelopingcountries.”

Anner(2018),BindingPower:TheSourcingSqueeze,andBuildingSafety

Socialandpoliticalimpact;collaborationstrategy

Socialdialogue

“intheaftermathofRanaPlaza,pressurefromtheEuropeanUnion,theUnitedStates,andinternationalorganizationsresultedinminorpro-unionlabourreforms.(…),resultedinanincreaseinthenumberofrecognizedunions.”

50

inBangladeshSinceRanaPlaza


Safety/security

“Worker’srightscomplianceremainsasignificantissueinBangladesh.Theresponsibilitytoaddresstheseviolationsrestswithsuppliersandthegovernment.”

FashionRevolution(2019),TransparencyIndex


Safety/security

“Wewanttoseebrandspublishingmoredetailedinformationabouttheoutcomesoftheireffortstoimprovehumanrightsandenvironmentalsustainability.Andfinally,wewillbeencouragingmajorbrandstosharefarmoreinformationabouttheirpurchasingpractices,theiractionstoreducewasteandtheireffortstoachievegenderequalityforwomenacrosstheindustry.”

Ahmad(2019),DecentWorkCheck

Labourconditions

Wages

“Theminimumwagemustcoverthelivingexpensesoftheemployeeandhis/herfamilymembers.Moreover,itmustrelatereasonablytothegenerallevelofwagesearnedandthelivingstandardofothersocialgroups.”

Labourconditions

Safety/security,wages

Forcedlabouristheworkonehastoperformunderthreatofpunishment:forfeitofwages,dismissal,harassmentorviolence,evencorporalpunishment.Forcedlabourmeansviolationofhumanrights.

SocialandPoliticalimpact

Socialdialogue

“Freedomofassociationmeansfreedomtojoinatradeunion.Thisispartofthefundamentalhumanrights.Employeesmaynotbeputatadisadvantagewhentheyareactiveinthetradeunionoutsideworkinghours.”

ILO(2017),NORMLEX

SocialandPoliticalimpact

Socialdialogue

“RatificationsoffundamentalConventionsbycountry”

Appendix2–Relationbetweenstrategiesandparameters

ParametersStrategies

Insidelobby Outsidelobby Collaboration

Numberofoccurrencesinthecodingscheme

Wages 3 2 0

Safety/security 7 6 6

Socialdialogue 13 6 5