Behind Concrete Walls: The Invisible Labour Behind “Made in Jordan” Clothing
Global production increasingly unfolds within enclosed, extra-territorial industrial enclaves—walled zones that are tightly regulated, geographically confined, and socially separated from their surroundings. This is the case of Jordan’s Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZs) for clothing production, including the country’s largest such zone in Al-Hassan (Irbid). Concentrating the nation’s biggest cluster of garment factories exporting primarily to the United States, Al-Hassan today accommodates nearly 30,000 migrant workers—predominantly women recruited from across South Asia—who live in employer-provided dormitories within and around the industrial zone. This presentation looks behind the concrete walls of Al-Hassan to illuminate the hidden labour sustaining the “Made in Jordan” label found on American sports and outdoor apparel.
Many Drops
Many Drops brings together participatory artworks created by female garment workers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Through collective making, storytelling, and shared creative processes, the works reflect lived experiences of labour, resilience, care, and solidarity. Each piece represents a voice, a gesture, a drop, together forming a powerful current of collective expression. Come join the wave.
Counter-Mapping Garment Labour – Launch of Drawing Dreams in the Dust
Join us for an evening of discussion and reflection as we present our counter-mapping project with garment workers in Jordan’s industrial zones. This event marks a collaboration between Invisible Workers and 10 Tooba Applied Research on the Built Environment, bringing together social science researchers and architects, exploring the intersections of labour, migration, and spatial justice.
Fair Work and Supply Chains in the UK Garment Industry
How can we build a thriving, ethical, and sustainable garment industry in the UK - one that works for businesses and for workers?
Join us on 6 November 2025 at Highfields Community Centre, Leicester for an interactive day of research, dialogue, and action on fair work and supply chains in the UK garment industry.
Threads of Life: Counter-Mapping Jordan’s Clothing Production Zones
Go behind the scenes of Jordan’s clothing and footwear industry with a preview presentation and discussion of our findings from counter-mapping activities with the sector’s workers at two of the largest production zones, Al-Hassan (Irbid) and Ad-Dhulayl (Zarqa). The Invisible Workers team presents project findings in collaboration with partners 10 Tooba.
Body mapping as method
The Invisible Workers team invites you to join a creative workshop on Body Mapping as Method.
Call for papers: workshop and special issue
We are seeking contributors for a special issue in the Journal of Economic Geography on the restructuring and resilience of Global Production Networks in the age of polycrisis. We will develop draft papers at a fully-funded workshop in Brighton, UK in June 2024.