Global Value Chains and Climate Change: Reconfiguring the Garment and Textile Industries(New Horizons in International Business series)

As the global garment and textile industries grapple with the urgent challenge of climate change, their value chains are undergoing a profound transformation. This groundbreaking book brings together interdisciplinary perspectives to examine how climate change is reshaping these industries. The book delves into the key drivers and obstacles influencing climate change mitigation and adaptation, linking these processes to economic, social, and environmental upgrading. With a strong regional focus on South Asia—particularly Bangladesh, one of the world’s largest garment-exporting nations—it explores how global decarbonization efforts intersect with local realities, presenting both challenges and opportunities. The book offers a nuanced analysis of emissions management, regulatory frameworks, and policy responses, integrating diverse viewpoints from brands, suppliers, workers, and policymakers. Blending theoretical insights with rich empirical evidence, Global Value Chains and Climate Change illuminates how climate action is not just a constraint but also a catalyst for economic, social, and environmental transformation in global value chains. This book is an essential read for students and scholars in management, international business, climate policy, environmental science, and development studies. It will also serve as an invaluable resource for policymakers, industry leaders, and practitioners seeking to navigate the evolving landscape of sustainability transitions in the wider context of global trade.

Table of Contents:
Contents Preface xvi 1 Introduction to the intersection of climate change and garment GVCs 1 Peter Lund-Thomsen PART I Theoretical and conceptual foundations 2 Conceptualizing global value chain governance in the era of climate change 18 Peter Lund-Thomsen 3 Taking climate action: measuring carbon emissions in the garment sector in Asia 33 Samantha Sharpe, Elsa Dominish and Cristina Martinez-Fernandez 4 Global value chains and climate change governance: garment producers’ futures 59 Rachel Alexander and Mohammad Harunur Rashid Bhuyan PART II Experiences of climate change in production countries 5 The impact of temperature on productivity and labour supply: evidence from Indian manufacturing 85 E. Somanathan, Rohini Somanathan, Anant Sudarshan and Meenu Tewari PART III Local solutions to global climate challenges 6 Global recycling networks in the context of climate change: ecologically unequal exchange and divergent governance paths 142 Peter Lund-Thomsen, Uzma Rehman and Gary Gereffi PART IV Looking towards the future 7 Garment and textile recycling in Bangladesh 172 Rumi Akter and Rachel Alexander 8 Climate change and slow fashion in Bangladesh 198 Sabrina Nourin, Muntaqa N. B. Hakim, Afshana Choudhury, Rachel Alexander and Peter Lund-Thomsen 9 Global value chains and climate change: findings, research and policy implications 213 Peter Lund-Thomsen

About the Author :
Edited by Peter Lund-Thomsen, Professor of Global Value Chains and Corporate Responsibility, Center for Business and Development Studies, Department of Management, Communication and Society, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark

Review :
‘This book provides critical insights into garment global value chains and climate change. It examines how mitigation and adaptation strategies are shaped by buyer-supplier power imbalances, with trade-offs between economic, environmental and social upgrading. Vulnerable suppliers and workers often experiencing more adverse impacts. This is essential reading for all striving for climate justice in the global South.’ ‘The fast fashion industry both contributes to climate change and is increasingly exposed to its impacts. This collection brings together leading scholars and practitioners to understand the challenges facing the sector and what can be done to address them. In so doing it makes an invaluable theoretical and empirical contribution.’