Purpose

This paper argues that the closures will cause regressive rather than progressive modern slavery shifts as the necessity of survival prevails over addressing modern slavery risks within supply chains.

Design/methodology/approach

In the spring of 2020, global clothing retailers were advised or ordered to close physical stores due to lockdown measures of the COVID-19 pandemic and many supply chains temporarily halted production. This paper explains how pre-pandemic modern slavery advancements will be detrimentally affected as a result of societal lockdowns and apparel retail closures around the world.

Findings

Two consequences of lockdowns are highlighted, which will have negative implications on modern slavery progress. These are the exploitation of vulnerable people, which includes higher exploitation of those already involved in modern slavery and increased risk of exploitation for those susceptible to being drawn (back) into modern slavery and; the need for repetition of previous work completed by external stakeholders or in some cases, a better alternative.

Practical implications

The pandemic itself causes friction between immediate response solutions and long-term modern slavery goals.

Social implications

In response to modern slavery drivers, governments may need to fill governance gaps, to control the power of corporations and to reconsider migration regulation.

Originality/value

The COVID-19 lockdowns and subsequent supply chain disruptions were unforeseen. This paper argues that there are significant negative effects on the developments in modern slavery eradication made in the past 10 years. As businesses struggled for basic survival, the apparel manufacturing sector has been detrimentally affected as upstream labourers are now at higher risk from the increased likelihood of modern slavery violations.

中文翻译：

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锁定后经济​​中服装行业现代奴隶制的前景

目的

本文认为，关闭将导致倒退而不是进步的现代奴隶制转变，因为在供应链中生存的必要性胜过解决现代奴隶制风险。

设计/方法/方法

2020 年春季，由于 COVID-19 大流行的封锁措施以及许多供应链暂时停止生产，全球服装零售商被建议或责令关闭实体店。本文解释了大流行前现代奴隶制的进步将如何因世界各地的社会封锁和服装零售业关闭而受到不利影响。

发现

强调了封锁的两个后果，这将对现代奴隶制的进步产生负面影响。这些是对弱势群体的剥削，其中包括对已经参与现代奴隶制的人进行更高程度的剥削，以及对那些容易被（回到）现代奴隶制的人的剥削风险增加；需要重复外部利益相关者完成的先前工作，或者在某些情况下是更好的替代方案。

实际影响

大流行本身会导致即时响应解决方案与长期现代奴隶制目标之间产生摩擦。

社会影响

为应对现代奴隶制驱动因素，政府可能需要填补治理空白、控制公司权力并重新考虑移民监管。

原创性/价值

COVID-19 封锁和随后的供应链中断是无法预料的。本文认为，过去 10 年来现代奴隶制根除的发展对现代奴隶制的发展产生了显着的负面影响。由于企业为基本生存而苦苦挣扎，服装制造业受到了不利影响，因为上游劳动力现在面临着更高的现代奴隶制侵犯可能性。