Covid-19 and global clothing retailers’ responsibility to vulnerable workers : NGO counter-rhetoric

Authors: Ahmad, Nglaa Ahmad;

Haque, Shamima;

Islam, Muhammad

Source: Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal

Full text

: https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-08-2020-4794

Abstract

Purpose

This article aims to examine how non-governmental organisations (NGOs)' narratives portray the vulnerability of workers in global clothing supply chains during the COVID-19 crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

The research analyses the rhetoric in global clothing retailers' and NGOs' counter-rhetoric during the first seven months of 2020.

Findings

During this period, retailers employed rhetorical strategies to legitimise irresponsible actions (corporate hegemony prevailed), while NGOs embraced forms of counter-rhetoric trying to delegitimise the retailers' logic, stressing the role of neoliberalism in worsening the situation.

Originality/value

The authors contribute to the literature by providing new insight into the consequences of COVID-19 for retailers' neoliberal practices and the livelihood of workers in global supply chains. Findings of this study extend authors’ knowledge about retailers' COVID-19 measures: These have contributed to the plights of workers working for their supply factories in the global South.

Rights

This author accepted manuscript is deposited under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC) licence. This means that anyone may distribute, adapt, and build upon the work for non-commercial purposes, subject to full attribution. If you wish to use this manuscript for commercial purposes, please contact permissions@emerald.com.Version of record at https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-08-2020-4794. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

Cite as

Ahmad, N., Haque, S. & Islam, M. 2021, 'Covid-19 and global clothing retailers’ responsibility to vulnerable workers : NGO counter-rhetoric', Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 35(1). https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-08-2020-4794

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Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-08-2020-4794

Repository URI: https://hdl.handle.net/2164/17604