Trade and inequality: Australia's textile, clothing, and footwear industries, 1986-1996

Abstract

Beginning in the mid 1980s, the Australian government cut protection of the Australian textile, clothing, and footwear sector, while the global TCF industry was embracing a new form of organization, the commodity chain. Some Australian TCF producers were forced out of business, but others followed a variety of strategies, thereby restructuring the TCF labour force. In a process structured by age, gender, and ethnicity, skilled and semi-skilled production jobs have been lost, partially replaced by jobs in design, marketing, and management. Factory jobs in Australia have been replaced by outwork in Australia and factory jobs in the Pacific Rim. These restructurings have contributed to increase..