Les étiquettes de la mode : sous-traitance et travail forcé dans l’industrie de la confection

Abstract

Incidents of slave-like labor in the clothing industry in São Paulo, involving immigrant workers and some internationally recognized brands, attracted considerable attention over the last decade. This article discusses the recent transformations in the apparel industry and the dynamics of labor in outsourced sewing workshops. It also assesses the connection between the restructured, outsourced labor of the sewing workshops and the inspection regime that monitors it, demonstrating how employment bonds are reconfigured based on audits and the relationship between the employer and service provider. The article’s aim is to problematize the normative field emerging around the category of slave labor as well as the practices and actors involved. To that end, the author analyzes inspections carried out by ministerial or judicial officers and their impact on the proceedings of labor conflicts related to outsourcing.

Keywords

• slave labor
• outsourcing
• garment industry
• transnational migration
• sewing workshop
• Brazil