Labour, Inequality and the Human Lives Behind Global Fashion with Dr Rebecca Prentice

In this episode of Fieldnotes: The Sussex Anthropology Podcast, Dr Syeda Sana Batool speaks with Dr Rebecca Prentice, Associate Professor of Anthropology and International Development at the University of Sussex, about labour, inequality and the global garment industry.Drawing on her research in Bangladesh, Dr Prentice discusses what anthropology reveals about garment work that is often missed in economics, policy and media coverage: the everyday lives, voices and political agency of workers. The conversation explores the long aftermath of the Rana Plaza factory collapse, the limits of compensation and transnational labour regulation, and why justice for workers cannot be separated from worker power on the ground.The episode also turns to Dr Prentice’s recent work on climate change and “just transition” in the garment sector, asking who is included — and who is left out — when industries move towards greener futures. Through questions of embodiment, precarity and radical empathy, the conversation shows why anthropology remains vital for understanding global supply chains, labour injustice and the human experiences behind the clothes we wear every day.