Introduction to the Intersection of Global Value Chains and Climate Change

This introductory chapter sets the stage for the edited volume on Global Value Chains (GVCs) and Climate Change in the Garment and Textile Industries, highlighting the critical and underexplored nexus between climate dynamics and global production networks. It introduces the book's central research question—how garment and textile value chains are being reconfigured in response to climate change—and six sub-questions that guide the volume's empirical contributions. Three core analytical themes are outlined: (1) how GVC structures and governance both contribute to and help mitigate climate change; (2) how national and sub-national producer contexts shape emissions and responses; and (3) how diverse actors—lead firms, suppliers, and workers—perceive and act upon climate-related challenges. The chapter concludes with an overview of the book's structure and its regional focus on South Asia, particularly Bangladesh, setting the scene for the detailed theoretical and empirical contributions that follow.