The Weaving of Legitimacy: NGOs and Labour Regulation in the Global Garment Industry

The garment industry has reached global proportions over the last decades, driven by transnational companies that outsource manufacturing processes to suppliers in the Global South, in an attempt to save costs and maximize their profits. This business model has affected the well-being of workers, since fac-tories maintain their competitive position by engaging in exploitative labour practices. International NGOs based in the Global North have strived to im-prove workers’ conditions through advocacy and support strategies, but their efforts are challenged by disputes over their legitimacy. This research aims at understanding how two of these organizations (Clean Clothes Campaign and Fair Wear Foundation) justify their legitimacy to participate in the regulation of labour in the global apparel business. An analytical framework for the study of NGO legitimacy justification is constructed and applied, employing Critical Discourse Analysis methods and various theoretical approaches to value chain governance, labour improvement and legitimacy. The findings suggest that both organizations promote a rationale of supply chain responsibility for improving labour rights’ respect. However, the tactics and tools that they develop to achieve it differ, given their distinct strategic po-sitions in the industry. FWF seeks compliance with labour standards by pro-moting cooperation and building capacity for self-regulation among actors linked to the production processes. Meanwhile, CCC attempts to generate soli-darity relations in the realm of civil society to push for binding regulations in the sector. This distinction extends to their legitimacy claims, which reveal dif-ferent critical resources available for the organizations to exert influence in the governance of the industry. Their approaches can be interpreted either as con-verging in instituting a new programme of government in the apparel business or as tending towards a divergence, which may hinder further improvements in workers’ rights.