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Ethical Fashion: How Singular Narratives of Worker-Management Relations Fail Us
If we’re serious about making the fashion industry more just, we must stop relying on a one-size-fits all explanation for why manager-worker relations can become contentious.
As a former garment factory manager, it’s my conviction that stories about management-worker relations desperately need some diversifying. Often, this relationship is talked about in terms of a singular narrative: exploited workers and exploitative management. But this narrative doesn’t help us to understand a multi-dimensional and highly contextual relationship. Most likely, it isn’t in the best interest of workers either.
If we’re serious about making the fashion industry more just, we must stop relying on a one-size-fits all explanation for why manager-worker relations can become contentious.
Relying on a singular narrative might help us make sense of a messy and disorderly world, but it also makes it nearly impossible to notice the alternative, more complex, and less binary narratives that not only co-exist, but also leave more room for possibility.
The Limits of a Singular Narrative