ABSTRACT
This chapter describes ethics in global production chains of fashion garments from the perspective of economic sociology. It explores how ethics is cultivated in the production chain of garment markets. The chapter discusses how ethics underpins markets. It also discusses two different effects caused by final consumers' demand. Though consumers' demands are considered when a codes of conduct (COC) is developed, retailers do not just adopt the consumer organizations' COC. There are two reasons for this that need to be stressed: retailers' interests do not always coincide with the interests of this group of consumers; ethics must be translated into rules so that it is easy to judge when vendors breach ethical codes. The chapter argues that ethical demand in the global garment industry has taken two routes, into different markets. One is the incorporation of ethics in traditional segments of the industry. The other consists of emergence of an alternative production chain, demanding an ethical commitment of its members.
