Research and lessons

The C&A Foundation commissioned Impactt – a consultancy specialising in ethical trade, human rights, and labour standards – to look at the socio-environmental impact of the dramatic growth of Myanmar's garment industry.

• View research (PDF - 1.55 mb)

New research from Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) has explored the impact of Myanmar's labour dispute resolution system, as the country continues to open its borders to international supply chains. The system was established in 2012 to protect and enforce the rights and obligations of workers and employers across industries, and has been used to good effect in the garment sector. 

Cotton supports around 100 million rural families across the globe; it provides employment and income, and the garment industry depends on it. But cotton has its problems: it has been associated with everything from forced and child labour to pesticide poisoning of farmers and their families and environmental pollution. A number of high profile initiatives are tackling the problems, but there is still much to do and data is sketchy.

• View research (PDF - 3.77 mb)

An estimated 75 million people are now employed by the apparel industry. It's a number that has almost quadrupled in the last 15 years. With this exponential growth, the not-so-hidden costs of fashion too have increased. But while critics say that changing company behaviour simply isn't profitable, social innovators are proving that there are imaginative and practical ways to get factories and brands on board.

• Download the Better Mills Initiative Evaluation (PDF - 4.38 mb)
• Download the Management Response (PDF - 4.38 mb)
• Read Lesson notes

• Download the Final Report Global Humanitarian Partnership Evaluation (PDF - 6 kb)
• Read Lesson notes

• Download the full evaluation report (PDF - 1.49 mb)
• Download the infographic (PDF - 1.49 mb)
• Read Lesson notes

• Download the full evaluation report (PDF - 120 kb)
• Download the inphographic (PDF - 120 kb)
• Read Lesson notes

This combined report is the result of two studies commissioned by C&A Foundation on cotton farming in Madhya Pradesh, India. The American Institutes for Research (AIR) and its partner Outline India designed and conducted a social impact assessment, while Thinkstep India focused on an environmental impact assessment. 

• View research (PDF - 1.97 mb)

• Download the full report (PDF - 2.26 mb)
• Download the annex (PDF - 2.26 mb)
• Read Lesson notes

• Read the full report (PDF - 1.38 mb)
• Read the summary of key findings (PDF - 1.38 mb)
• Read Lesson notes

• Read the full report (PDF - 2.88 mb)
• Read Lesson notes