ABSTRACT
This chapter presents two case studies of small garment factories – a story of their rise, growth, struggle, and demise. The first company that started up in 1990 was different from other Bangladeshi garment companies. The company believed that the basic rights of workers for a safe and healthy work environment are as important as corporate productivity and profitability. The closure of the company in 2005 leads me to study this case to evaluate the consequences of depending on external forces in the light of what became the company’s fatal vulnerability after almost a decade of prosperous growth. The second case study is about the struggles of a subcontracting firm. Most of the time we talk about the sufferings of the garment workers mainly in small garment factories, but we don’t know much about the people who are behind these sufferings. What triggers them to behave in a way that is not ethical is the aim of this chapter. It presents the story of a small garment company that has been struggling for a long time to be sustainable in the global market. This story focusses on the journey of a small businessman, the relationship between the workers and the management of a subcontracting firm, and challenges to sustain the business.
