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  5. Impact of Covid-19 on management to eradicate modern slavery from global supply chains: A case study of Indian fashion supply chains

Research project

Impact of Covid-19 on management to eradicate modern slavery from global supply chains: A case study of Indian fashion supply chains

  • Start date: 1 November 2020
  • End date: 30 April 2021
  • Funder: Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
  • Principal investigator: Dr Mark Sumner (School of Design);
  • Co-investigators: Dr Matthew Davis (Leeds University Business School, Socio-Technical Centre); Professor Hinrich Voss (HEC, Montreal); Professor Divya Singhal (Goa Institute of Management).

Description

The Walk Free Foundation estimated in 2018 that more than 25 million people are working under modern slavery-like conditions. The Covid-19 pandemic is likely to increase this number as globally-sourcing businesses have cancelled or postponed orders from overseas suppliers. This has in particular hit hard economies that are dependent on export of labour intensive goods.  

Research overview

In this research project we investigate the impact that COVID-19, the actions of international fashion brands and wider market changes have had on fashion supply chains. 

In India we examine the impact of COVID-19 related changes on supply chain dynamics and the risk of modern slavery for workers. The research is unique in looking at all tiers of supply chains, from the cotton farm all the way to the stitching of the final garment.  

In the UK we explore the challenges faced by UK fashion brands as a result of COVID-19 and their ability to manage the risks of modern slavery across their supply chains.

The project will explore the extent to which the lessons learned about the Indian fashion and textile sector are relevant to other sectors and industries through a multi-industry roundtable.

This project was commissioned by the Policy and Evidence Centre and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. (project AH/V009206/1).

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Publications and outputs

<iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1015359037&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true"></iframe><div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/leedsunibschool" title="Leeds University Business School" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Leeds University Business School</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/leedsunibschool/responding-to-the-impact-of-covid-19-on-the-textiles-industry-with-communication-and-collaboration" title="Responding to the impact of COVID-19 on the textiles industry with communication and collaboration" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Responding to the impact of COVID-19 on the textiles industry with communication and collaboration</a></div>

<iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/959665237&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true"></iframe><div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/leedsunibschool" title="Leeds University Business School" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Leeds University Business School</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/leedsunibschool/what-impact-has-the-covid-19-pandemic-had-on-human-rights-within-the-garment-industry-in-india" title="What impact has the COVID-19 pandemic had on human rights within the garment industry in India?" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">What impact has the COVID-19 pandemic had on human rights within the garment industry in India?</a></div>

<iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/973380385&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true"></iframe><div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/leedsunibschool" title="Leeds University Business School" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Leeds University Business School</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/leedsunibschool/complexity-fashion-industry" title="How COVID-19 has increased the complexity of the fashion industry and its supply chains" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">How COVID-19 has increased the complexity of the fashion industry and its supply chains</a></div>

Project website

https://modernslaverypec.org/research-projects/impact-of-covid-19-on-indian-fashion-supply-chains