Introduction

Abstract

The manufacture of apparel is, in many ways, an exemplar of global production. Since the 1970s, multinational brands have increasingly outsourced their manufacturing activities to lower cost production locations in developing countries. The international trading regime then regulated by the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA) contributed to the development of apparel industries in a large number of developing countries. The low entry barriers and minimal investments needed in apparel led to booming employment in apparel factories in regions where formal employment was limited or, in some cases, entirely absent. New opportunities were created especially for young, unskilled women and migrant workers who had access to waged labour for the first time.