International Legal and Ethical Issues in the Garment Industry
Are you into fashion? What clothing styles do you love to wear? What do you prefer, ready-to-wear or tailor-made clothing? The garment industry is the one-stop shop solution to our fashion needs––from clothing to accessories.
What we see in the market are garment industries’ finish products. What happens behind-the-scenes of these clothing industries? Every industry has its sets of laws to address legal and ethics issues arising in and out of the industry. There are laws created applicable to consumers, employees, and employers. Consumers are entitled to products of utmost quality; flawless and no defects. Some consumers also want ease in looking for their desired clothing style. So tags with correct clothing description are necessary.
In the garment industry, child labor is a big no, no. It is extremely prohibited to employ children, in fact not only in the garment industry but in any kind of industry. Other ethical issues that should be observed in the garment industry are: no discrimination among employees, employees should receive appropriate wages and benefits, working hours should be according to the standard set by the labor code, overtime work should be voluntary, there should be at least one day off, workplace should be clean and safe, strict laws and sanctions for physical and verbal abuse and harassment, and harmonious working relationship among employees and employers should be established.
For the employers, they should keep on improving their garment industry–related competence, they should also subject their employees to trainings for their personal and professional growth, they should do their responsibilities in the industry in a professional manner, they should pay their employees appropriate and on time, they should be respected, and they should also respect their employees.
Garment companies that have a good relationship between employers and employees and produce products with utmost quality are definitely good market performers.
Reference
Clean Clothes Campaign. (February 1998). Code of Labour Practices for the Apparel Industry Including Sportswear. Retrieved May 21, 2008, from http://www.cleanclothes.org/codes/ccccode.htm.
