Table 3 Analytical synthesis of... | Emerald Publishing

Table 3

Analytical synthesis of vignettes

	Vignette 1: When a novice joins	Vignette 2: When “everyone the same”	Vignette 3: When the orders never end
Outcome on factories (Precariousness of context)	Driven by imperatives of extreme efficiency, flexibility and responsiveness, brands enforce cost-reduction through penalty-based supplier management that transfers the consequences (extreme production pressure, irregular and unstable workloads) onto suppliers, cascading further to workers as precarious working conditions. These conditions drive excessive labour turnover and heavy reliance on temporary workers (varied skill levels, many with limited job familiarity), eroding factories' capacity to plan workloads and manage their workforce	Brands' “agile” business model, predicated on small-batch ordering in pursuit of extreme flexibility and responsiveness, imposes structural instability on factories through irregular and unpredictable order sizes. Enforced through penalty-based supplier management, any deviation in order quantity, quality or delivery date would charge the factories economic penalty and a punitive rating	Brands' “agile” business model, predicated on on-demand production in pursuit of maximum efficiency and responsiveness, imposes structural instability on factories through extreme production pressure. Orders placed at short notice with urgent delivery dates erode factories' capacity to plan workloads and manage their workforce. Enforced through penalty-based supplier management, any deviation in volume or delivery date exposes factories to economic penalties and punitive supplier rating reductions
Outcome on labour (Structural precarity)	The temporary nature of the job is tied to system-induced employment precarity, driving workers towards survival-driven labour intensification as a response to structurally imposed income insecurity. Prolonged adverse material exposure to synthetic fibres and material dust further exacerbates the physical toll of the work environment. This precarity is further compounded by social and communal exclusion, reinforced by stigma attached to garment workers (especially trimmers) as uneducated, with limited access to alternative employment, predominantly older and female of rural origin. For many, survival-driven labour is oriented towards funding the next generation's education as a channel to escape the sector
Care practices (Ethical agency)	Practices of other-oriented care expressed through care-giving and care-receiving when a novice enters the collective: how care is extended or conditioned by shared values within a context marked by heavy reliance on temporary workers and excessive labour turnover	Practices of other-oriented care in the form of care-giving and caring with in everyday operation: how workers construct and maintain bottom-up mechanisms of “fairness” in distributing work amid structural precarity induced by brands' supply chain practices	Practice of other-oriented care in the form of caring with, sustained under conditions of extreme production pressure: how workers collectively endure and respond to pressing lead times and excessive workloads induced by brands' supply chain practices
Care practices – Example	- Attentiveness, spontaneous help and guidance towards the novice - Concern towards the novice's livelihood in vocal and agentic forms - Taking care of the little ones in task protection - Generosity as conditional and reciprocal act - Inclusion of the novice as an individual respecting their own motive rather than productive resource	- Consciousness of and responsibility for fairness - Protecting the collective against self-interest-seeking behaviour - Attentiveness and actions in addressing inequity - Informal deliberation between workers and supervisors to sustain fair work distribution	- Solidarity in facing day-to-day production pressure; call in acquaintance to help so as to prevent penalty - Solidarity in voluntary shifts on holidays - Unspoken rule of work distribution between day and evenings - Sustaining joyful moments and emotional support

	Vignette 1: When a novice joins	Vignette 2: When “everyone the same”	Vignette 3: When the orders never end
Outcome on factories (Precariousness of context)	Driven by imperatives of extreme efficiency, flexibility and responsiveness, brands enforce cost-reduction through penalty-based supplier management that transfers the consequences (extreme production pressure, irregular and unstable workloads) onto suppliers, cascading further to workers as precarious working conditions. These conditions drive excessive labour turnover and heavy reliance on temporary workers (varied skill levels, many with limited job familiarity), eroding factories' capacity to plan workloads and manage their workforce	Brands' “agile” business model, predicated on small-batch ordering in pursuit of extreme flexibility and responsiveness, imposes structural instability on factories through irregular and unpredictable order sizes. Enforced through penalty-based supplier management, any deviation in order quantity, quality or delivery date would charge the factories economic penalty and a punitive rating	Brands' “agile” business model, predicated on on-demand production in pursuit of maximum efficiency and responsiveness, imposes structural instability on factories through extreme production pressure. Orders placed at short notice with urgent delivery dates erode factories' capacity to plan workloads and manage their workforce. Enforced through penalty-based supplier management, any deviation in volume or delivery date exposes factories to economic penalties and punitive supplier rating reductions
Outcome on labour (Structural precarity)	The temporary nature of the job is tied to system-induced employment precarity, driving workers towards survival-driven labour intensification as a response to structurally imposed income insecurity. Prolonged adverse material exposure to synthetic fibres and material dust further exacerbates the physical toll of the work environment. This precarity is further compounded by social and communal exclusion, reinforced by stigma attached to garment workers (especially trimmers) as uneducated, with limited access to alternative employment, predominantly older and female of rural origin. For many, survival-driven labour is oriented towards funding the next generation's education as a channel to escape the sector
Care practices (Ethical agency)	Practices of other-oriented care expressed through care-giving and care-receiving when a novice enters the collective: how care is extended or conditioned by shared values within a context marked by heavy reliance on temporary workers and excessive labour turnover	Practices of other-oriented care in the form of care-giving and caring with in everyday operation: how workers construct and maintain bottom-up mechanisms of “fairness” in distributing work amid structural precarity induced by brands' supply chain practices	Practice of other-oriented care in the form of caring with, sustained under conditions of extreme production pressure: how workers collectively endure and respond to pressing lead times and excessive workloads induced by brands' supply chain practices
Care practices – Example	- Attentiveness, spontaneous help and guidance towards the novice - Concern towards the novice's livelihood in vocal and agentic forms - Taking care of the little ones in task protection - Generosity as conditional and reciprocal act - Inclusion of the novice as an individual respecting their own motive rather than productive resource	- Consciousness of and responsibility for fairness - Protecting the collective against self-interest-seeking behaviour - Attentiveness and actions in addressing inequity - Informal deliberation between workers and supervisors to sustain fair work distribution	- Solidarity in facing day-to-day production pressure; call in acquaintance to help so as to prevent penalty - Solidarity in voluntary shifts on holidays - Unspoken rule of work distribution between day and evenings - Sustaining joyful moments and emotional support

Source(s): Authors’ own work