increased media scrutiny, and concerned about their reputation, multinational companies headquartered in the north began to set up voluntary codes of conduct, or other similar private initiatives (such as multi-stakeholder initiatives), to address poor labour standards in their global supply chains (Locke 2013). The response of firms was accompanied, perhaps propelled, by increased consumer awareness of sweatshops, and a consumer demand for goods produced under decent conditions of work (Elliott and Freeman 2003, Heinmueller and Hiscox 2012).

The evolution of labour clauses in trade agreements

In recent research, we try to disentangle whether the introduction of labour clauses in trade agreements led to more or less trade (Carrère et al. 2017). Because all arguments reviewed above focus on exports from low-income countries with weaker labour standards to high-income countries thattestified at the bankruptcy trial
that, while Mr. Kitson was working at Illectronics, Mr. Alleman began to suspect that he
was stealing products from the company’s inventory and selling them via the Internet. One
day, Mr. Alleman saw an Internet auction listing for a JVC television, the serial number of
which was a match to one of the televisions in Illectronics’ inventory. Mr. Alleman then
decided to set up a “sting” operation in an attempt to catch the thief. First, he “marked”
the television by drawing a red “X” on the side of the box holding it. He then had a friend
place the winning bid in the auction. The Internet seller collected payment and shipped the
television; when it arrived, the carton bore the same red “X” and the serial number
matched the television from Illectronics’