Regional Challenges to Globalisation: Perspectives from Southern Africa

This article examines the effectiveness of private transnational regulation of labour standards/rights in the clothing industry. It adopts three objectives. First, the study focuses on national states in developing countries, explaining their lack of enforcement of labour law and the suppression of labour rights. Second, the article examines the effectiveness of transnational regulatory networks (TRNs) in raising labour standards/rights in producer countries. We conclude that, in a fragmented and highly competitive global industry, existing TRNs cannot ensure labour decent standards/rights. Third, we investigate the reasons for their limited effectiveness. We empirically investigate the conditions and rights of labour in the clothing industries of China and Turkey. In the case of Turkey, we are able to explain the lack of effectiveness of TRNs by drawing on interviews with a variety of actors in firms and networks.