Fashion & Textile Research Journal (한국의류산업학회지)

The Society of Fashion and Textile Industry (한국의류산업학회)
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A Qualitative Study of Korean Clothing Companies' Perception of Production Environments and Labor Standards in Foreign Contract Manufacturers

해외 생산업체에 대한 국내 의류업체의 생산환경 및 근로기준 인식에 대한 질적 연구

  • Hong, Kyung-Hee (Dept. of Home Economics Education, Korea University) ;
  • Yang, Ji-Nok (Dept. of Home Economics Graduate School, Korea University) ;
  • Lee, Ji-Soo (Dept. of Home Economics Graduate School, Korea University) ;
  • Kim, Young-Mi (Dept. of Home Economics Graduate School, Korea University) ;
  • Lee, Yoon-Jung (Dept. of Home Economics Education, Korea University)
  • 홍경희 (고려대학교 가정교육과) ;
  • 양진옥 (고려대학교 대학원 가정학과) ;
  • 이지수 (고려대학교 대학원 가정학과) ;
  • 김영미 (고려대학교 대학원 가정학과) ;
  • 이윤정 (고려대학교 가정교육과)
  • Received : 2009.08.06
  • Accepted : 2010.04.22
  • Published : 2010.06.30
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Abstract

Today Korean clothing companies are experiencing difficulties in the global market due to unfavorable business conditions including poor production environments, labor shortage, rising costs, the further opening of the domestic distribution market, and increased competition among them. As a result, this has caused many of Korean clothing companies to transfer their production bases abroad in search of relatively inexpensive labor force, instead of using domestic plants. This study attempted to examine how Korean clothing companies perceive production environments and labor standards with regard to their offshore outsourcing. In such an attempt, in-depth interviews were conducted with 24 brand-name clothing firms. Those interviewed firms were the brands for the domestic or foreign market that were found to produce more than 200,000 pieces of clothing per year, and also the group of interviewees included some promotion service providers. The key findings from this study are as follows: First, a large number of the interviewed clothing companies were found to manage their foreign contract manufacturers by "visiting their factories regularly on a seasonal basis" or "stationing their personnel in factory for management purposes." Second, in relation to quality control in their foreign manufacturers, the most frequent response was to "have personnel stationed in those manufacturers." A smaller number of the clothing companies answered that they had "engaged their production management teams in quality control from time to time," or "used their inspectors to inspect products." Third, when asked about labor standards in foreign contract manufacturers, the largest number of the clothing companies responded, "we apply our own standards." The results of this study suggest that most of domestic clothing companies still use offshore sourcing just as a means of reducing their initial labor costs. However, in the continuously changing environment of the global clothing industry, clothing businesses are required to escape from the early phases of their manufacturing environments and set up more globalized standards.

Keywords

References

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