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Disconnecting Labour? The Labour Process in the UK Fast Fashion Value Chain

Author

Listed:
  • Nikolaus Hammer

    (University of Leicester, UK)

  • Réka Plugor

    (University of Leicester, UK)

Abstract

This article focuses on the interlinkages between the labour process and global value chains. It draws on the renewed growth in UK apparel manufacturing, specifically within the fast fashion value chain, and asks how value chain requirements are translated into the labour process as well as how the latter enables quick response manufacturing. The case study shows how buyer-lead firms engender accelerated capital circuits of fast fashion which rely on an increased segmentation of manufacturers and workers, the elimination of unproductive spaces in the labour process, and a further rise in the informalisation and precarity of labour. The article demonstrates a strategic disconnection within the fast fashion value chain: upstream manufacturers are only able to satisfy lead firms’ economic and operational standards if they disconnect – informalise – labour from the latter’s ‘ethical’ standards.

Suggested Citation

  • Nikolaus Hammer & Réka Plugor, 2019. "Disconnecting Labour? The Labour Process in the UK Fast Fashion Value Chain," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 33(6), pages 913-928, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:33:y:2019:i:6:p:913-928
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017019847942
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Colin C Williams, 2014. "Out of the shadows: a classification of economies by the size and character of their informal sector," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 28(5), pages 735-753, October.
    2. Nikolaus Hammer & Réka Plugor, 2016. "Near†sourcing UK apparel: value chain restructuring, productivity and the informal economy," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(5-6), pages 402-416, November.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Ian Clark & James Hunter & Richard Pickford & Huw Fearnall-Williams, 2022. "How do licensing regimes limit worker interests? Evidence from informal employment in Britain," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(1), pages 431-449, February.
    2. Pedro Mendonça & Nadia K. Kougiannou & Ian Clark, 2023. "Informalization in gig food delivery in the UK: The case of hyper‐flexible and precarious work," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(1), pages 60-77, January.
    3. Edward Yates & Ian Clark & William Rossiter, 2021. "Local economic governance strategies in the UK’s post-industrial cities and the challenges of improving local work and employment conditions," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 36(2), pages 115-132, March.
    4. Oya, Carlos & Schaefer, Florian, 2023. "Do Chinese firms in Africa pay lower wages? A comparative analysis of manufacturing and construction firms in Angola and Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    5. Md Shoaib Ahmed & Shahzad Uddin, 2022. "Workplace Bullying and Intensification of Labour Controls in the Clothing Supply Chain: Post-Rana Plaza Disaster," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 36(3), pages 539-556, June.
    6. Nikolaus Hammer, 2023. "Searching for institutions: upgrading, private compliance, and due diligence in European apparel value chains," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 29(3), pages 371-386, August.
    7. Ian Clark & Alan Collins & James Hunter & Richard Pickford & Jack Barratt & Huw Fearnall-Williams, 2023. "Persistently non-compliant employment practice in the informal economy: permissive visibility in a multiple regulator setting," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 47(3), pages 611-632.
    8. Jonathan Morris & Jean Jenkins & Jimmy Donaghey, 2021. "Uneven Development, Uneven Response: The Relentless Search for Meaningful Regulation of GVCs," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(1), pages 3-24, March.

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