Sri Lanka's apparel sector holds an enviable place in the imaginary of its competitors for having a niche position amongst global retailers, given its claims of producing 'garments without guilt'. Exploitative labour conditions are not part of the industry's portfolio – ethicality, eco-friendly production and unblemished conditions of work are. Sri Lanka's transition away from a protracted ethnic war has meant that the industry portrays itself as investing in the former war zone to create jobs without reflection on how its vaunted mantle, the deployment of ethical codes effectively, themselves may be under duress. This book uses an analytical framing informed by labour and feminist perspectives to explore how labour struggles in the post-1977 period in Sri Lanka provided important resistance to capitalist processes and continue to shape the industry both within and outside of the shop floor. It studies contextual moments in the country's recent history to rupture the dominant narrative and record the centrality of labour in the success of the country's apparel industry.

‘In Garments without Guilt? Dr Ruwanpura unpacks the global clothing industry’s complexities as they play out in her home country, shining a nuanced light on ethical clothing initiatives in practice. Drawing on over 10 years of fieldwork, she highlights how Sri Lanka’s better track record complying with health and safety codes compared to its South Asian neighbors is rooted as much in workers’ movements and agency as it is in industry-led initiatives. Dr Ruwanpura also makes a compelling case that freedom of association, living wages, and humane treatment on the shop floor are ethical codes that remain a site of ongoing struggle.’

Annelies Goger - Brookings Institution, Washington DC

‘How could Sri Lanka become a renown ethical sourcing destination in the global garment industry? And how could such reputation coexist with enduring exploitation of the workers, particularly in terms of overtime and low wage? Kanchana Ruwanpura builds on years of field research in Sri Lanka to develop a provocative and convincing answer to such questions, highlighting the role that local labor and social institutions actually played in creating conditions for the apparent success of global ethical governance. The contribution of labor and social development policies goes unacknowledged and is even threatened by the voluntary ethical regime, Ruwanpura argues, a regime which remains highly uneven and unstable in the social gains made by workers on the shop floor. Her book offers a thorough, inspiring reading for scholars concerned with the local developmental outcomes of economic globalization.’

Florence Palpacuer - Montpellier Management Institute

‘Garments without Guilt? is a scholarly tour de force. Ruwanpura has challenged prevailing analyses of voluntary ethical governance codes which foreground global and national level standards while ignoring the central role of the state in investing in human capital. Educated workers are central to the struggles for decent working conditions and wages, on which the Sri Lankan garments industry claims to be a world leading ethical producer. Using rich ethnographic data obtained over more than a decade talking to factory managers and garment workers Ruwanpura has produced a vivid picture of the agency of the workers and the limitations of voluntary industrial and national regulations, as well as the dangers posed by ethnic divisions and conflict which could undermine ethical standards.’

Ruth Pearson - University of Leeds

‘This book comes at a critical moment in the history of global garment production, with the utility of ethical corporate codes under renewed scrutiny in a pandemic ravaged industry. Ruwanpura argues that ethical codes do not simply travel to places, to be either vernacularized or forcibly imposed. Instead, global lexicons of ethicality are given meaning through their interpellation into ‘local’ mores and social/ethnic hierarchies. Outcomes are contingent on always shifting and contentious political terrains, including militarization and ethnic pacification in this instance, and corresponding spaces for contestation. Through fine-grained ethnographic and historical analysis, Ruwanpura argues that Sri Lanka’s ‘success’ in implementing global governance regimes arises from its strong history of labor mobilization – including labor’s ability to negotiate with the state and push back against tropes of sacrificing for factory, family and nation. Garments without Guilt is a significant and valuable addition to the scholarship on the global garment industry.’

Dina M. Siddiqi - New York University

‘This book is the antidote to the frustrating tendency for the garment industry to be treated as an amorphous mass of factories that exist in identical conditions and social frameworks … The years of factory research … are clear in Ruwanpura's authoritative account of the historical context and current conditions that lie behind "Made in Sri Lanka" clothing label. In deciphering the ethical claims … this book does a brilliant job of showing that successes are not due to benevolence … but vital social institutions …’

Tansy Hoskins Source: Resurgence and Ecologist

‘Ruwanpura's Garments Without Guilt? is a fruit of over a decade-long grounded fieldwork with apparel workers which puts in conversation their everyday realities in manufacturing with the industry’s ethical standards. This book makes a significant contribution to scholarship on human geography and labour governance for its focus on the workers and their struggles (and victories) in a system that otherwise obscures the labour’s role in shaping industries and their ethical and economic success. One of its key contributions is towards how the local social, political and economic realities determine the efficacy of globally enacted ethical regimes and how this translates into local industry efforts in devising and implementing their own standards. It is also significant that this book neatly compiles the labour histories of Sri Lanka from scattered sources, filling a gap in literature, while presenting the story of the apparel industry as told by the workers.’

Achalie Kumarage Source: Competition and Change