Trade is increasingly being utilized to protect the environment and human rights. This article addresses the use of trade agreements to better labour rights and standards. This is done using two case studies. Firstly, the US – Cambodia Textile Agreement in partnership with the International Labour Organization is examined. Secondly, the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, one of the most recent Free Trade Agreements, which contains interesting labour provisions that set out to better the lives of workers. However, it is interesting to evaluate if such provisions are actually effective and if they impact the lives of the workers in the factories where goods are made.