ReFashion Study

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused severe disruption throughout the global garment and footwear supply chain. Manufacturing shutdowns and consumer lockdowns around the world have led major brands to cancel orders with their suppliers, forcing a halt to production. The effects have been devastating for the workers who usually cut and stitch the world’s supply of clothing and shoes. From September 2020, the ReFashion Project has been leading original longitudinal research to track and amplify the experiences of over 200 women garment workers in Cambodia through the pandemic. We are documenting and learning from their efforts to navigate the financial repercussions of COVID-19 on their home lives and livelihoods across different phases of the pandemic, from the immediate crisis to its aftermath. Our interdisciplinary team from human geography, political economy, and organisation studies is generating new knowledge on how formal and informal social protection can better empower women in the garment sector to survive and thrive, both during and after the current emergency. Funded by Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).