Research Guides @ Fordham: Fashion Research: Labor, Industry, Sustainability

Searching by Subject Heading

To search for books by subject, go to the library catalog.

Use the Library of Congress Subject Headings below to locate items related to working conditions and labor issues in the fashion industry through searching the catalog by subject:

Clothing trade

Clothing trade--Environmental aspects

Clothing workers

Sweatshops

Textile industry

Textile workers

Selected History Titles

The Ashgate Companion to the History of Textile Workers, 1650-2000 by Els Hiemstra-Kuperus; Lex Heerma van Voss (Editor)
Call Number: (RH) Stacks HD8039.C6 A74 2010
Farnham, Surrey, England ; Burlington, VT : Ashgate, 2010.
All Together Different [electronic resource] : Yiddish Socialists, Garment Workers, and the Labor Roots of Multiculturalism by Daniel Katz
New York University Press, 2011.
Call number [LC Stacks] HD6515.C6 K38 2011
Holding up More Than Half the Sky : Chinese Women Garment Workers in New York City, 1948-92 by Xiaolan Bao
University of Illinois Press, 2001
Call number [RH Stacks] D6073.C6 U533 2001
The Material Atlantic : Clothing, Commerce, and Colonization in the Atlantic World, 1650-1800 by Robert S. DuPlessis
Call Number: (RH) Stacks GT601 .D86 2016
Cambridge, United Kingdom : Cambridge University Press, [2016].

Digital Collections & Archives

Digital Public Library of America
Search across millions of digital materials from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions. Use keywords to find items covering labor organizing in the garment industry and needle trades.
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) Photographs
Digital collection of ILGWU photographs held by Cornell University.

Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000 (scholar's edition) This link opens in a new window
Thousands of documents, images, bibliographies and teaching aids.

Current Labor & Industry Issues

Sweatshop Regime : Labouring Bodies, Exploitation, and Garments Made in India by Alessandra Mezzadri
Cambridge University Press, 2017.
Call number [RH Stacks] HD2339.I4 M49 2017
Labour in the Clothing Industry in the Asia Pacific [electronic resource] by Vicki Crinis; Adrian Vickers (eds.)
Routledge, 2017.
Broken Promises of Globalization [electronic resource] : The Case of the Bangladesh Garment Industry by Shahidur Rahman
Lexington Books, 2014.

Image credit: International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union sign via Missouri State Digital Collections.

Fast Fashion & Sustainability

The Dangers of Fashion [electronic resource] : Towards Ethical and Sustainable Solutions by Sara B. Marcketti
Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2020.
Fashionopolis : The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes by Dana Thomas
Penguin Press, 2019.
Call number [RH Stacks] HD9940.A2 T46 2019
Overdressed : The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion by Elizabeth L. Cline
Call Number: (LC, RH) Stacks HD9940.A2 C54 2012
New York : Portfolio/Penguin, 2012.

Human Rights Watch (HRW)

Labor Rights in the Garment Industry
Topic page for reports, news, and ongoing work by HRW in the area of labor rights and the garment industry.
The Apparel and Footwear Supply Chain Transparency Pledge
Full website with resources and reports from this coalition of human and labor rights organizations with global unions to advocate for transparency in garment and footwear supply chains.

Finding Articles

Use the following resources to find articles about labor issues in the fashion industry. See the Articles & Databases tab for more options.

ABI/INFORM Collection This link opens in a new window
Features thousands of full-text journals, dissertations, working papers, key business and economics periodicals such as the Economist, country-and industry-focused reports, and downloadable data.
Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
Full text for thousands of journals and other sources. Covers business, economics, management, accounting, etc.

Newspaper Collections
See the full listing of newspaper collections available at Fordham.

Government Oversight Resources

U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
Includes general guidance, fact sheets, posters, e-tools, and applicable laws & regulations for garment industry.
How to Identify Garment Sweatshops
Tool from the Department of Labor of New York State for businesses explaining what to look for when seeking contractors.

govinfo This link opens in a new window
Use this portal to search for items published by the Government Printing Office (GPO) relating to labor issues in the fashion industry.

International Labor Organization (ILO)
Brings together governments, employers and workers from UN member states to set labor standards, develop policies and devise programs promoting decent work for all. Link covers the Textile, Clothing, Leather and Footwear (TCLF) sector including reports, tools, projects, upcoming events, and more.

Unions For Garment Workers

UNITE HERE!
Represents members in the U.S. and Canada producing men’s and women’s clothing, shoes, hats, carpets and other soft goods for homes and cars. Page offers links to industry-specific news.
Workers United
An affiliate of SEIU representing members across the United States and Canada manufacturing and distributing a wide array of goods including clothing.
IndustriALL Global Union
Represents 50 million workers in 140 countries in the mining, energy and manufacturing sectors. Link provides reports and news from the section covering the textile and garment industry.
Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh
Website for the legally-binding agreement between global brands, the IndustriALL Global Union, the UNI Global Union, and eight of their Bangladeshi affiliated unions to work towards a safe and healthy garment and textile industry in Bangladesh.

Fashion Research: Labor, Industry, Sustainability

Overview of Labor & Industry Issues