Several Southern and Eastern African countries, and especially Lesotho and Swaziland, have attracted foreign investment in garments as part of a strategy for economic development. While many donors and institutions, such as the World Bank and the OECD, praise the benefits of foreign investment for development, this paper looks at the impact of foreign direct investment in garments from the perspective of sustainable development and poverty eradication. The findings of research in these countries show how foreign investors in the garment industry can easily leave, and have become footloose. They highlight how the costs to the host country, the workers, communities and the environment need to be taken into account when looking at the costs and benefits of foreign investment.