Social Protection and the Gendered Impacts of COVID-19 in Cambodia: Longitudinal Research to 'Build Back Better' in the Global Garment Industry
Lead Research Organisation:
Royal Holloway University of London
Department Name: Geography
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic is having significant repercussions on the global garment industry, of huge importance not only to Cambodia's economy, but also to its 1 million workers, 80% of whom are women. Many garment factories are interrupting production with the effect that 1/4 of workers have been dismissed or temporarily suspended. Formal social protection in the sector, though improving due to multi-stakeholder efforts, is weak and fragile. Mixed-method longitudinal research will track and amplify the experiences and coping mechanisms of 200 women workers as they navigate the financial repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. The project's interdisciplinary team from human geography, political economy, and organisation studies will generate new knowledge on underlying and differentiating determinants of risk and resilience arising from formal and informal social protections.
The ambitious study will focus its policy attention on learning to 'Build Back Better' social protection to prevent and mitigate longer-term impacts of the pandemic and future risk events. Our approach centres women's representation in planning and decision-making as critical to 'stitching back better' just and resilient garment supply chains to make progress towards gender equality (SDG5), inclusive economic growth and decent work (SDG8). The project's impact, within its 18-month lifetime, will be compelled by its partnerships with, and pro-active convening together, of government (Cambodian Ministry of Labor, British Embassy), regulators (ILO, Better Factories Cambodia), industry (Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, H&M), think tanks (ODI), workers' organisations (CATU, the only female-led union in Cambodia), and women's media (Women's Media Center and the Messenger Band).
The ambitious study will focus its policy attention on learning to 'Build Back Better' social protection to prevent and mitigate longer-term impacts of the pandemic and future risk events. Our approach centres women's representation in planning and decision-making as critical to 'stitching back better' just and resilient garment supply chains to make progress towards gender equality (SDG5), inclusive economic growth and decent work (SDG8). The project's impact, within its 18-month lifetime, will be compelled by its partnerships with, and pro-active convening together, of government (Cambodian Ministry of Labor, British Embassy), regulators (ILO, Better Factories Cambodia), industry (Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, H&M), think tanks (ODI), workers' organisations (CATU, the only female-led union in Cambodia), and women's media (Women's Media Center and the Messenger Band).
Organisations
- Royal Holloway University of London (Lead Research Organisation)
- British Embassy Cambodia (Project Partner)
- International Labour Organisation (ILO) (Project Partner)
- Better Factories Cambodia (Project Partner)
- Hennes and Mauritz (Project Partner)
- Cambodian Ministry of Labor (Project Partner)
- Women's Media Center (Project Partner)
- Graduate Management Admission Council (Project Partner)
- Overseas Development Administration (ODA (Project Partner)
- Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions (Project Partner)
Publications
Brickell K
(2022)
'Worn out': debt discipline, hunger, and the gendered contingencies of the COVID-19 pandemic amongst Cambodian garment workers
in Social & Cultural Geography
Brickell K
(2022)
Reduced 'fates of the body' and 'production of value for others' in the global garment industry: Thinking with Berlant on eating and hunger during the COVID-19 pandemic.
in The Geographical journal
Brickell K
(2022)
COVID-19 in Southeast Asia: Insights for a post-pandemic world
Brickell K
(2023)
Slow violence, over-indebtedness, and the politics of (in)visibility: Stories and creative practices in pandemic times
in Political Geography
Natarajan N
(2021)
Challenging the financial inclusion-decent work nexus: evidence from Cambodia's over-indebted internal migrants
in Global Public Policy and Governance
| Title | Radio Shows |
| Description | ReFashion radio talk shows hosted with Women's Media Centre of Cambodia. A series were broadcast across 2021-2022, each highlighting different themes. |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | The shows form part of the 'action research' that the ReFashion team is undertaking to advocate for an economic recovery that prioritises workers' interests, bringing workers into direct conversation with public authorities and policymakers in Cambodia, and building public awareness among our listeners. |
| URL | https://www.refashionstudy.org/blog/radio-talk-show-launch |
| Title | The Haul |
| Description | The Haul is the second of two films made as part of the ReFashion Study - following the lives of 200 women garment workers in Cambodia for two years, since the onset of the pandemic. The film connects the lives of two Cambodian garment workers with a fashion vlogger and influencer based in the United Kingdom. The workers face worsening labour conditions in new sub-contracting or shadow factories which increased in number as the pandemic progressed into its second year. Credits: Thomas Cristofoletti, Robin Narciso |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | Garment workers have asked us to make another film |
| URL | https://www.refashionstudy.org/films |
| Title | The Wedding Ring |
| Description | The Wedding Ring is the first of two films made as part of the ReFashion Study - following the lives of 200 women garment workers in Cambodia for two years, since the onset of the pandemic. The film focuses on the experiences of one worker and her family as they battle the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Credits: Thomas Cristofoletti, Robin Narciso |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | Garment workers have asked us to make another |
| URL | https://www.refashionstudy.org/films |
| Description | The COVID-19 pandemic has caused severe disruption throughout the global garment and footwear supply chain. From early 2020, manufac- turing shutdowns and consumer lockdowns around the world led global brands and retailers to cancel orders with their suppliers, forcing frequent halts to production. The effects of this disruption were devastating for the workers who usually cut and stitch the world's supply of clothing and shoes, triggering global alerts of widespread unemployment, debt, hunger, desperation, and destitution1. The plight of garment workers worldwide during these early phases of the pandemic was heralded as "a wake-up call"2 for the fashion industry and rallied lofty commitments from stakeholders to "Build Back Better"3 in the wake of COVID-19, for equitable and resilient forms of Decent Work in sustainable global supply chains. In this report, we interrogate the progress made towards these commitments. More than two years into the pandemic, we find that these promises have yet to be realised. Instead, the challenges faced by workers have deepened, as COVID-19's own crises have intersected with and exacerbated routine social, economic, and health challenges faced by women working worldwide in garments and footwear production. Drawing on original longitudinal research following 200 female garment workers over a period of 24 months from January 2020, we evidence these conclusions in the context of Cambodia, where the garment sector employs nearly 1 million people, 80% of whom are women. Tracing their efforts to navigate the financial repercussions of COVID-19 on home lives and livelihoods across different phases of the pandemic, we show how instead of building back better, the industry has built forward worse. We foreground two key findings: Bearing the costs of the crisis at work First, the COVID-19 crisis has accelerated an existing "race to the bottom" within the industry itself, as the behaviour of global brands has incentivised factory suppliers to leverage further marginal gains at the expense of women workers' economic security and resilience. This has exacerbated existing trends towards increased flexibilization and intensification of work as factory owners and managers seek to recoup lost profits by extracting higher output at lower cost, undermining existing employment conditions, rights, and protections. Work in the post-pandemic global garment industry is now more precarious, lower paid, and further pressured than before. As such, not only have women workers have overwhelmingly shouldered the costs of the COVID-19 crash but they are now being made to bear the burdens of economic recovery in the sector. Wearing the costs of cutbacks at home Second, the economic burdens of the COVID-19 crisis for garment workers have generat- ed compounding, spillover impacts across women's home and family lives. As household assets and savings have been depleted amid declining incomes, women's coping strategies have included cutbacks in vital areas of family food and education budgets, compelling intergenerational transfer of disadvantage. The consequences of these compromises have manifest in overlapping physical and mental health crises, as women workers and their families wear the costs of these cutbacks in their day-to-day lives. |
| Exploitation Route | International governments must hold businesses to account for how they treat suppliers and workers in their global supply chains. Global brands and retailers must revise purchasing practices to ensure proper social and environmental sustainability. The Cambodian government and local stakeholders must cooperate to promote standards of Decent Work in the Cambodian garment industry. The ILO have commissioned a Working Paper based on the study. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Financial Services, and Management Consultancy,Government, Democracy and Justice,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
| URL | https://www.refashionstudy.org |
| Description | ReFashion contributed to Fashion Supply Chain (Code and Adjudicator) Bill proceeding to its second reading. Two ReFashion events for MPs in UK parliament were co-organised with Transform Trade and co-sponsered by Liz Twist MP, Sir Stephen Timms MP, and Peter Aldous MP. The first event was in June 2022 and was attended by a range of MPs across the political spectrum ahead of the First Reading of the Bill. This passed subsequently to the Second Reading stage. Since this, we were re-invited to parliament. The November 2022 event was titled "Fashion Watchdog: Tackling Unethical Practices by UK Businesses in the Global Garment Industry: Experience from Cambodia". Together in-person with the Cambodian researchers we discussed the published report "Building Forward Worse: How COVID-19 has accelerated the race to the bottom in the global garment industry" to MPs. The UKRI GCRF-funded research shows the urgent need for a Fashion Watchdog and this was discussed with MPs in-person on a one-to-one basis. Our UKRI data shows that the COVID-19 crisis has exposed deep inequities and injustices in the global fashion industry, with UK brands and retailers cancelling orders with suppliers in developing countries, putting millions of women out of work worldwide. In Cambodia, where many of the UK's clothes and shoes are made, garment workers who have now returned to factories are still facing rising debt, malnutrition, ill-health and stress, as a result. The Fashion Watchdog would help stop the exploitation of workers in the garment industry and enable suppliers and workers to hold brands and retailers to account. The Fashion Supply Chain (Code and Adjudicator) Bill will have its second reading in the UK Parliament in Spring 2023. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Government, Democracy and Justice,Retail |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic,Policy & public services |
| Description | ReFashion contributed to Fashion Supply Chain (Code and Adjudicator) Bill |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3320 |
| Description | Follow on sub-contracting factory survey in Cambodia (GNCA/Other ODA Research Award) |
| Amount | £44,650 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Nottingham |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2022 |
| End | 03/2023 |
| Description | Invisible Women, Invisible Workers: Focusing a gendered lens on health and safety in the global garment industry |
| Amount | £1,315,572 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | MR/W013797/1 |
| Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2022 |
| End | 07/2026 |
| Description | "Covid capitalism in Cambodia's garment industry: Production, reproduction and resistance." |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Human Geography Seminar Series, School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | "Covid-19 in Global Precarity Chains: Crises of (Re)Production in Cambodia's Garment Industry" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Operations Management and Information Systems Seminar Series, School of Business, University of Nottingham. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | "Resisting Covid capitalism in the global garment industry: Women's workplace struggle in authoritarian neoliberal Cambodia" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation at: A World in Revolution: feminist politics in times of social uprisings, London School of Economic and Political Science. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.lse.ac.uk/gender/events/2020-21/a-world-in-revolution/a-world-in-revolution-feminist-pol... |
| Description | "Worn out: Debt discipline, hunger and the gendered contingencies of the COVID-19 pandemic" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Royal Geographical Society Conference |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Business school student talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Discussed findings of the ReFashion study with Bayes Business school undergraduate and postgraduate students as part of the United Nations Sustainable Goals week. Sparked conversation about personal responsibility and consumption as well as importance of engagement with political opportunies to push for industry change. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.city.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/707309/GlobalGoalWeek.pdf |
| Description | Contribution to 'Knowledge, Engaged' podcast discussing gender, business and human rights with focus on ReFashion findings |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Invited to talk on a panel of international academic specialists in the area of business, gender and human rights, on an academic/practice focused podcast which seeks to translate academic research for the general public. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://open.spotify.com/episode/25NddOGmuV82PTTn7uECEt |
| Description | Der Spiegel article "Fast Fashion ist nur möglich, wenn Frauen in Kambodscha weiter so arbeiten wie bisher" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | German audience understand more the importance of regulation of the fashion industry. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/modeindustrie-in-kambodscha-in-der-pandemie-schlechter-bezahlt-wenige... |
| Description | Geography Directions magazine "Who wears the costs of the UK's Black Friday bonanza?" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | widely shared magazine article https://doi.org/10.55203/PZHC9493 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://blog.geographydirections.com/2022/11/22/who-wears-the-costs-of-the-uks-black-friday-bonanza/ |
| Description | Invited contribution to academic panel at the European Group of Organisation Studies Annual Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Invited to contribute to panel on Organisations and Crisis: The Role of Sustainability. Discussed ReFashion study findings which generated more interest in final findings report and films for teaching purposes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | ReFashion film screening for garment worker participants, CineHub, Phnom Penh, Cambodia |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Garment worker feedback informing further research analysis and commissioning of a new film. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | ReFashion report and film screening night, CineHub, Phnom Penh, Cambodia |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | ReFashion study UKRI report and film launch, Phnom Penh, Cambodia |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Research Seminar at ETHOS, The Centre for Responsible Enterprise, at Bayes Business School |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Discussed academic journal article in progress with academic audience, which uses ReFashion study findings. The audience were mainly from business schools from across the UK. Our Cambodian research partners also joined to experience how a paper can be discussed and theorised within an academic setting. The seminar helped develop our theoretical approach to the paper for eventual submission to a business-focused journal. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |