COVID-19 and global clothing retailers' responsibility to vulnerable workers: NGO counter-rhetoric

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.

Citation

Ahmad, N., Haque, S. and Islam, M.A. (2022), "COVID-19 and global clothing retailers' responsibility to vulnerable workers: NGO counter-rhetoric", Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 35 No. 1, pp. 216-228. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-08-2020-4794