Stitching Standards 1.0 Labour & Fashion Industry in UK-India CETA
“Clothes aren't going to change the world. The women who wear them will.”
— Anne Klein.
This powerful assertion resonates beyond fashion runways. In an age of fast fashion and globalized production, the women and men who make our clothes, often under harsh, exploitative conditions, are central to reshaping global trade and labour dynamics. As India and the UK move toward finalising their bilateral trade deal, Chapter 20 of the UK-India Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (hereinafter, “CETA”) devoted entirely to labour rights, is poised to profoundly impact the ethical underpinnings of the fashion sector and here is my take on its relevance to the fashion industry and their legal implications on the fashion sector.
Labour Provisions as Trade Policy: Setting the Context
Chapter 20 of the CETA Agreement is not merely a goodwill gesture; it reflects a conscious shift towards responsible globalization. The chapter affirms both parties’ commitments to the International Labour Organization (hereinafter, “ILO”) conventions, including the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the Decent Work Agenda (1). These commitments address issues such as child labour, forced labour, gender equality, and workplace safety, all critical fault lines in the global fashion supply chain. For countries like India, where fashion manufacturing is a significant contributor to GDP and exports, these provisions could shape the future of textile exports, influence labour reforms, and affect brand accountability.
Ethical Supply Chains and Legal Accountability
One of the most direct implications for the fashion sector lies in Article 20.3, which obligates both nations to not weaken labour standards for the sake of trade or investment. For global brands outsourcing to India, this clause adds legal teeth to previously voluntary ethical commitments. Under this clause, for instance, if a UK brand benefits from deteriorating safety conditions in an Indian garment factory, the Indian government could be held accountable for failing to maintain its labour laws, potentially impacting future trade cooperation.
Moreover, it aligns with a rising global legal trend: mandatory human rights due diligence (mHRDD) laws. For instance, the EU’s proposed Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and France’s Duty of Vigilance Law require corporations to audit supply chains. By echoing similar principles, the UK-India CETA enhances legal harmonization, thereby simplifying compliance for fashion multinationals and protecting workers in the process.
Gender, Garment Work, and Empowerment
Fashion is a gendered industry. In India, women form a significant share of the garment workforce, often enduring wage disparity, unsafe working conditions, and harassment. Article 20.6 of the CETA explicitly promotes non-discrimination and gender equality in workplaces. This clause is potentially transformative. First, it could encourage policy-based interventions like better maternity benefits, safer factory spaces, and the inclusion of women in union negotiations. Second, it pressures brands to monitor not just wage equity but also structural barriers like limited mobility, digital illiteracy, and lack of access to upskilling. These obligations could give rise to contractual clauses in brand-manufacturer agreements, requiring gender audits and periodic reporting, turning ethical aspirations into enforceable norms.
Forced Labour and Traceability in Fashion
The fashion industry has long been haunted by the specter of forced and child labour, particularly in spinning mills and home-based work. Article 20.5 of the agreement squarely addresses this by urging both countries to eliminate all forms of forced labour, including forced child labour.
While India has already enacted laws like the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 (2) and the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016 (3), the trade agreement elevates these from domestic imperatives to international obligations. It also provides a legal lever for UK brands and NGOs to seek redress or reforms if systemic violations are found in Indian supply chains.
Furthermore, this provision supports global efforts to introduce digital traceability platforms, enabling consumers and regulators to trace each stage of a garment’s journey—from raw cotton to finished product thereby discouraging hidden forms of exploitation.
Corporate Social Responsibility: From Aspirational to Actionable
Article 20.7 mandates that both governments encourage enterprises to adopt responsible business conduct, particularly referencing ILO’s Tripartite Declaration concerning Multinational Enterprises. For fashion houses, this reinforces the trend of transitioning from passive CSR statements to auditable action plans. UK-based retailers, for example, may now need to prove alignment with sustainability goals, via third-party audits or certifications like Fair Trade, SA8000, or WRAP. This provision could also drive contractual innovations, such as incorporating labour clauses with penalties for violations or mandating regular impact assessments by suppliers.
A Platform for Dialogue: Fashioning the Future
The agreement does not stop at setting standards. It offers a framework for cooperative action (Article 20.9), such as knowledge-sharing on gender-sensitive policies, skilling initiatives for green jobs, and worker protection programs.
These cooperative activities could inspire initiatives like the formation of binational textile innovation councils or platforms for ethical fashion entrepreneurs to collaborate. With the UK being home to a burgeoning ethical fashion scene and India housing a vast artisanal and industrial textile economy, this chapter could facilitate innovation that balances commercial value with cultural sensitivity and legal compliance.
Dispute Resolution (or the Lack Thereof)
An interesting observation made while scrutinising the Agreement is that Chapter 20 is excluded from the CETA’s formal dispute resolution mechanism (Chapter 29). While this may seem like a weakness, it reflects a deliberate choice to rely on cooperation over coercion. Nonetheless, this doesn’t negate accountability. Through Articles 20.12–20.15, structured consultation mechanisms are in place, enabling either party to raise concerns, initiate dialogues, and push for course corrections without necessarily escalating to litigation. This "soft law" framework, while lacking punitive force, enhances flexibility and may encourage sustained engagement on long-term reforms—something traditional arbitration or WTO-style enforcement often fails to deliver.
Legal Implications for Brands and Policymakers
The UK-India Labour Chapter will have ripple effects across legal domains relevant to fashion, including:
Contract Law: Expect greater incorporation of labour compliance clauses in brand-supplier contracts.
Employment Law: Indian fashion employers may be pressured to improve working conditions to retain access to UK markets.
Trade and Customs: Ethical non-compliance could lead to tariff conditionality, affecting profitability.
Consumer Law: Brands might face growing expectations for labelling transparency, supported by this Chapter’s goals.
Finally, with growing scrutiny from ESG investors and watchdogs, fashion brands cannot afford to treat these commitments as ornamental. They are legal signposts in the shifting sands of fashion capitalism.
"Fashion should never be a form of punishment."
— Vivienne Westwood.
With the UK-India CETA’s Labour Chapter, fashion’s future might just become more just, more equitable, and more lawful. The chapter is not a silver bullet, but it’s a promising stitch in a garment that’s long needed mending. For legal scholars, policy drafters, and fashion stakeholders alike, the chapter offers an evolving blueprint for how ethics can co-exist with economics in global trade.
By Bani Chahal, Prathama RK & Riya Singh
1) UK-India Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement, ch. 20, art. 20.1 (Draft 2024).
2) Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, No. 19 of 1976, Acts of Parliament, 1976 (India).
3) Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016, No. 35 of 2016, Acts of Parliament, 2016 (India).
