Energy Transitions and the Future of Decent Work in Asian Garment Factories Title

Decarbonisation and decent work in Asian garment factories is a zero-sum game. Industrial futures are centred around decarbonisation, and for the garment industry which contributes between 6% and 8% of global emissions ‘green’ garments have become a hot topic. Digitalisation, automation and smart manufacturing are transforming the global garment industry, influencing our perceptions of a cleaner industrial future. Nonetheless, far less appreciated has been the impact of this transition on workers, particularly in the Global South. This impact has often been negative. The tensions between producer and consumer markets to act and, therefore, appear more sustainable are felt at the factory level, and in many garment-producing countries, by the garment worker. As garment manufacturing countries are pressured into investing in renewable energy and upgrading the manufacturing process, it becomes increasingly difficult to remain price-competitive. Subcontracting to informal factories as a strategy for cost relief negatively impacts the lives of garment workers, already invisible to the western consumer, through poor working conditions and precarity. The complex networks of informal subcontractors reduce transparency within the supply chain and allow for the hiding of non-compliance with sustainability standards. This chapter addresses the tension between secure futures of work for garment workers in the Global South and strives for a greener industrial future. This chapter therefore questions, in a future of decarbonisation in the global garment industry, where does the Global South garment worker fit in?