COVID-19 and global clothing retailers' responsibility to vulnerable workers: NGO counter-rhetoric
研究了2020年前七个月全球服装零售商与非政府组织在新冠疫情中的修辞对抗，揭示零售商如何合法化不负责任行为，而非政府组织如何批判新自由主义加剧工人困境。
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.