The Global Labor Institute is leading research and new conversations about work in global supply chains. We use data and quantitative analysis to identify what works to improve working conditions and advance labor rights.
GLI Climate Work
Sourcing Journal: 'As US Tariff Pressure Grows, Can Bangladesh Still Manifest a Just Transition?'
Sourcing Journal
Jason Judd and New GLI Visiting Fellow Sarah Krasley are quoted heavily in this piece on Bangladesh, US tariff policy, and a just transition. Krasley: "Automation and reskilling pathways are critical components of just transition strategies."
Nike Repeatedly Raised Concerns About Repression in Cambodia. It Expanded Its Factory Workforce There Anyway.
Pro Publica
Brands increasing their orders from Cambodia while raising concerns about labor rights are “obviously mixed messages,” Jason Judd said. “And one message, the purchase order, has a lot more weight than the other. Until those are credibly threatened, the government has no reason to act.”
CBS News: 'Forget tariffs — this U.S. shoe company vows not to hike its prices'
CBS News
Jason Judd, describing the impacts of tariffs on consumers: "That pain will lessen as terms and sourcing patterns change, but the longer-term costs per family will still be around a $425 increase per year."
Nike says its factory workers earn nearly double the minimum wage. At this Cambodian factory, 1% made that much.
Pro Publica
“Companies have enormous leeway in what they report. It’s enormously difficult to compare within firms across years. Between firms, impossible. Companies are able to pick and choose how they tell their story,” says Jason Judd, executive director of the Global Labor Institute.
ESG News: 'Schroders and Cornell Launch Framework to Drive Climate Risk Resilience in Vulnerable Sectors'
"Extreme weather and physical climate risk represent serious health hazards for garment workers which result in material risks for brands," says Jason Judd, in this breakdown of our climate risk framework done with Schroders
Pensions Age: 'Schroders and Cornell University publish framework on climate risk'
Executive Director Jason Judd, talking about the need for this framework on climate risk: "Adaptation investments that protect workers and supply chains are urgently needed and must go hand-in-hand with social protection mechanisms."
Context: 'Q&A: How can fashion workers adapt to climate change?'
Context
Executive Director Jason Judd is in Thomson Reuters’ Context, with a Q&A on how to help apparel workers as climate change accelerates. His three recommendations: set workplace temperature standards, annual wage adjustments and pay workers more money. As he puts it, “Arguably the most important adaptation technology is cash.”
Sourcing Journal: 'The EU Omnibus is Here. Where Does It Leave Supply Chain Due Diligence?'
Visiting Fellow Samira Rafaela, quoted in the article: "I hope the European Parliament rejects the omnibus proposal and stands firm in defending the original CSDDD and CSRD. The omnibus proposal has not only weakened the results of democratic negotiations but also undermined the credibility of EU decision-making."
Apparel Resources: 'GLI calls for annual review of RMG workers’ wages in Bangladesh'
Our recent Waiting Game policy brief is highlighted by Apparel Resources, where they discuss our recommendations for a shift to an annual wage-setting process in Bangladesh.
Cornell researchers call for annual review of Bangladesh RMG wages
The Business Standard
"There is a clear need and room — both political and economic — for an annual wage-setting process in Bangladesh. It's long overdue," says Jason Judd, executive director of ILR's Global Labor Institute.
Financial Times: 'Letter: A climate challenge for Britain’s fashion buyers'
Financial Times
Executive Director Jason Judd has a letter in the Financial Times, where he discusses our recent Hot Air and Higher Ground research, and challenges the UK to step up and hold apparel brands and retailers accountable for harms to workers along their supply chains.
Why Fashion’s Business As Usual ‘Won’t Cut It Anymore’ in Age of Climate Breakdown
Yahoo News
This article summarizes work by Jason Judd, co-author of a policy brief that follows up a pair of reports that provided a brutally honest, if conservative tally of climate change’s potential damage on export earnings, employment and worker health.
Extreme heat puts garment factory workers at risk, study shows
Reuters
Jason Judd, executive director at the Global Labor Institute, says “If a brand or retailer knows that temperatures in a production area are excessively high or doing damage to worker health, then they're obligated under this new set of rules to do something about it.”
Sourcing Journal: 'Heat Check: Searing Temps Lead to Unsafe Working Conditions in the Global South'
Sourcing Journal
“[I]n Cambodia, the law says the temperature should not be such that it affects workers’ health. That’s worse than useless because the government can point to a standard and say, ‘Well, of course, we have a legal standard'...But of course, the standard’s meaningless.”
GLI Executive Director Jason Judd Guests on the ‘Frankly Speaking’ Podcast
GLI Executive Director Jason Judd is on the ‘Frankly Speaking’ podcast from Frank Bold, where he discusses the just transition, GLI’s labor outcome metrics, and sheep, goats, foxes, and hedgehogs.
The Responsible Investor Podcast Discusses Our “Higher Ground?” Report
Our "Higher Ground?" report and Schroders’ Katie Frame are talked about by Responsible Investor in this podcast episode about fast fashion and investors.
The Policy Ask with Jason Judd: “The UK’s Modern Slavery Act is not fit for purpose”
The New Statesman
Q&A featuring Jason Judd, the executive director of the Cornell’s Global Labor Institute, discussing international workers' rights, President Lula, and being "less fox, more hedgehog."
Podcast: Inside The Factory - Articles of Interest with Sarosh Kuruvilla
Apple Podcasts
Sarosh Kuruvilla featured in the Articles of Interest Podcast. On the ten year anniversary of a horrible manufacturing disaster- a look at what has changed, what hasn’t, and the massive secret industry behind it all.
Fashion is ‘Sleepwalking’ into a Climate Catastrophe. Bangladesh is in the Bullseye.
Sourcing Journal
“One thing that we want to stress is that our assumptions here are conservative,” said Jason Judd, director of the Global Labor Institute. “ Every time we had to make a choice in terms of in terms of our estimates, we chose a middle-of-the-road climate scenario.”
Sourcing Journal: 'Who Do Audits Really Serve? Labor and Denim Experts Have Lots to Say'
Sourcing Journal
“The [audit] system is not a system,” said Jason Judd, executive director of the ILR Global Labor Institute. “It’s a confusion of programs. It is program-rich and system-poor.”