What can I do?

     

               Now we have a good idea of why there are sweatshops, what the worker go through and the economics involved. Of course no one wants to contribute to deaths of workers or supporting a business that puts people in poor working environments for little wages. By continuing to be a consumer to the companies that have sweatshop work and not raising awareness of this issue you are essentially supporting the sweatshops.

                Some people believe that the only way to help the sweatshop workers is to completely ban supporting the businesses that utilize them. By using fair trade companies and second hand clothing stores the buyer is no longer supporting the business and therefore reducing the demand of sweatshops. There are many websites encouraging this and one that promotes complete boycotting of sweatshop products is here.

                On the other end of the spectrum people argue that boycotting sweatshop businesses forces them to shut down their sweatshops and leave millions unemployed and in a worse spot than they originally were in. The workers will be unemployed and their economy will take a huge hit, sometimes upwards of billions of dollars. The claims that this is the worst thing that you can do for the workers. See the video below of a supporter of sweatshops explain the negative affects of closing sweatshops.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxBzKkWo0mo

 

 

             After all of my research I've come to the conclusion that I believe in both of these perspectives to a certain degree. We must raise awareness and demand a change, if a company then cannot do that then we as consumers should boycott the brand. I believe the way to truly impact the sweatshops is through education and continuous demand of business ensuring the safety and fair compensation of the workers that produce their product. If a company is constantly in the spotlight and their practices are constantly questioned then they will begin to comply. Public perception is the main focus of businesses and without it they will not be able to thrive. I do believe that sweatshops support economies and the workers that are employed in them. Creating revenue is crucial to their survival. Creating revenue and boosting the economy cannot be an excuse for businesses or consumers to turn a blind eye to the issues at hand. The safety and prosperity of the workers needs to be the responsibility of the businesses creating the demand. Media attention to companies like H&M and Nike need to be ongoing so that they are held accountable. Signing a contract will not suffice in mending their public image. Progress needs to be shown and they need to put their money where their mouth is. 



 

 

 

 

 

 



Protecting the Sweatshop Worker

Protecting the Sweatshop Worker

               Government officials want the business of sweatshops and they will do just about anything to keep the business in their country. Textile exports create 26.5 billion dollars per year for Bangladesh. Ridding this country of this kind of income would be devastating for their economy. The people running these businesses know that it is imperative that they provide cheap labor and save as much money on overhead as possible. When workers fight against this they are faced with brutality from police or hired thugs. If workers received the pay they are requesting or the safe conditions they are requesting then the profit margins would decrease and Bangladesh could see a decline in their exports.

              I found a great website that really encapsulates the current struggles and the strides that are being made with fair wages and working environments. The website is www.LaborRights.org and it explains that there has in fact been slight improvement thanks to the media attention following several factory disasters from 2012-2015. The disasters caught media attention because of the large amount of fatalities and injuries. Putting a spotlight on these factories made people more aware of the situations and encouraged the public to speak out and educate themselves on where their belongings were being made. Since most of this textile work is completely outsourced the big businesses such as Nike are not help responsible for the working conditions, injuries or deaths. Now that people are becoming more aware of these conditions and asking questions the big businesses are forced to do something to maintain a good public image. The International Labor Rights Forum plans to capitalize on the increased media attention and education surrounding sweatshops. The ILRF has created the "Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh," which is a legally-binding agreement that between global organizations and apparel companies that utilize Bangladeshi textile sweatshops. The agreements states that the apparel companies must work with their suppliers to improve or fix current health and safety violations. In addition to this governments agree to enforce labor rights protections in these sweatshops.

                                                 
               
                There has been improvements in the sweatshops and the reason seems to be that consumers are speaking out about the injustice and the businesses are forced to listen. Maintaining a good imagine is imperative to a business' success. There is still much work to be done though. Even when these companies sign contracts and try and mend their image it is not enough. The company H&M for example is the largest producer of garments in Bangladesh and has not improved any safety hazards since signing the Accord document. You can view an article on H&M and their failed promises here.
              I found a great website that didn't seem promising at first, only offering "36 Shocking Sweatshop Statistics." The view the statistics the website provided click here. This website was a great resource because it includes a 17 minute documentary on the working conditions of sweatshops and the living conditions of the workers as well. The video is below. It is powerful not only to hear about these conditions but to be able to see them with our eyes and to make the fact real to us.

Sweatshop Wages

Sweatshop Wages

After researching the working conditions of factory workers my next step was to see the reason why workers would choose to work in a sweatshop. The reason that countries outsource their work is same reason the workers accept work at a sweatshop. It all boils down to money. Businesses are interested in the bottom line. The less it costs to make a garment the more the profit margin is so businesses look for places that have a low cost of living because they will have the lowest wage requirement. Many arguments contest that the pay for sweatshop workers is greater than the alternatives. I have yet to find resources backing up this information. I also find it difficult to find resources showing the average wage of a sweatshop worker versus the average wage in any given country. My assumption is that the average wage is hard to determine since there are so many sweatshops that are unregulated and it is hard to determine what alternative jobs the sweatshop worker would be qualified for. After much research on the pay of sweatshop workers I determined it’d be best to refine my search to a specific country and see what the sweatshop wage allows for quality of life. I decided to focus on the country of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is the second largest exporter of garments and employee roughly 3.5 million workers in their sweatshops. 

After much research I finally came across a website Numbeo.com that shows the cost of living in Bangladesh. This will give my better insight on how far sweatshop wages will go for these workers. Businesses want workers to only be able to pay for the essentials and not have the luxury of saving any of it. Wages saved means an opportunity to further education, take vacation or seek other employment. If workers are afforded these luxuries they are likely to seek other employment and opportunities and that is bad for business.

Another website that was very helpful was WarOnWant.org. This website details that average wages of workers and the hours of work. By knowing what the average wage of a sweatshop worker I can assess how far their money will go in their country.


                                                    WarOnWant.org

The only missing piece of information I have at this point is what the sweatshop workers could be making if the ‘opportunity’ of a sweatshop didn’t exist. Once I find this piece of information I will have a better idea of why a person would willingly accept these working conditions and I will have a better idea of how businesses are exploiting these workers.  

Sweatshop Conditions

What are workers subjected to in sweatshops?

            Low pay is not the only concern for sweatshop workers. Unsafe working conditions, abusive behavior, and child labor are all very common. In deciding whether sweatshop work is ethical I think it is crucial that we educate ourselves on how these workers are being treated.
            Factory fires and buildings collapsing is unfortunately a risk that many factory workers take to have a chance to work in sweatshops. Workers are forced to make the tough decision of going hungry or going to work in death traps. Large corporations are capitalizing on the workers' desperate situations. Bangladesh is the world's second largest clothing exporter after China and it has seen so many tragedy within their clothing factories. On April 25, 2013 a building collapse at a Walmart sweatshop killed over one thousand people in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Since 2006 over five hundred workers have been killed in Bangladesh through factory fires as well, many of which could have been avoided had the necessary precautions been put into place.
           Sweatshop workers are often subjected to verbal, physical and sexual abuse. While doing my research I found that the exploitation of women is especially prevalent since approximately 80-90 percent of sweatshop workers are women. Often times women are required to take pregnancy tests at work and are immediately fired if the test is positive because the businesses do not want to pay for maternity leave. It is common for sweatshop workers to be sexually abused as well. Beverly Bell, an advocate for gender justice, interviewed Haitian women who described having a quid-pro-quo relationship with their managers. They were required to have sex with their managers in order to maintain their jobs and increase their hours. To view the testimonies of Haitian women click here. 
        

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         The majority of sweatshops employ children. Sweatshop workers can be as young as five years old and can work up to 16 hours per day. The children are put to work at dull and repetitious work and get very few breaks. The children are deprived of a childhood, education and any chance at a better life. It is estimated that between 5% and 30% of children in India are economically active, 20% of African children are economically active and 10%-20% of children in Latin America are economically active. Aside from the obvious set backs of a child working in a sweatshop there are serious medical issues that arise. Children can develop chronic lung diseases, bone deformations, diminished eyesight, and death. To read up on children in sweatshops click here.



           As this blog progresses I want the reader to keep all of this in mind. I find there are so many people that argue that without sweatshop these workers are worse off. There is economic gain and necessity for these jobs but none of this matters if these workers are not able to live with dignity, security and respect. If a company chooses to outsource its work they are morally obligated to ensure their employees are taken care of. If the company chooses to ignore the conditions these workers are being put in then people should deny them their business.





           

          

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sweatshop
     [swet,SHap]

              If you've ever purchased cocoa, coffee, bricks, cotton or garments it is safe to say that you have been a consumer to a company that utilizes sweatshop work. Sweatshops are factories or workshops where employees are working very long hours under poor conditions at very low wages. Companies utilize sweatshops to increase their profit margin. Despite these poor working conditions and low wages many people will argue that sweatshops are good for the economy as well as the worker. The relationship between the worker and the company is also described as mutually beneficial by some.

           I started out my research by learning about the big picture. Bangladesh, India is the world's second largest textile exporter and has the most available information on the web. Bangladesh's sweatshops have been reported on heavily after their large number of collapses and fires in recent years.

          Bangladesh workers make 31 cents per hour which equates to approximately 763 dollars per year. This affords the worker enough money for very basic shelter, food and transportations. Their shelters are basics huts and tarps and dirt floors. A copy of wages throughout the world can be found here.  You will find sweatshops in nearly every country in the world but the numbers of sweatshops increase as the cost of living decreases. Businesses are looking for the absolute lowest wage rate to increase their profit margin.

 

 

                                                                      ecouterre.com

 

          The textile export for Bangladesh, India totaled 42.6 billion dollars in 2014. These statistics are so hard to wrap your head around after learning about the hourly wages of their employees. Of course this boosts Bangladesh's economy enormously and without the sweatshops the country would be in even greater distress. Paying the workers a fair wage would decrease the export but it is just a drop in the multi billion dollar bucket. A website showing the export data can be found here.

         The economy, safety, morality and the livelihoods of the poor. There are so many aspects to this controversial issue. I plan to dig deep and uncover the answers to all of my questions. 

             
            

I can't wait to get to blogging!