Recently we ambushed Oxford Street Buyer for a survey of ethical shopping. But as we hit the pavement in central London, we have found many buyers are asking us the same questions. Why should we care about sweatshops? What are they? People should not be for any work they can get to be grateful? If they werent working in a sweatshop wouldnt the workers be worse off? How can we change things? The answers are not always entirely clear, but we hope this guide overview bust a few myths about sweatshop workers, owners and customers.

What is a sweatshop, anyway?

The word “sweatshop-twentieth century, described a system where profits subcontractor of the difference between the prices of their products and the wages they pay to sweat. In the 21st century, the system is still flourishing.
Sweatshops are generally defined as workers in manual work. These are wages that are below the cost of life is threatened, unsafe working conditions and arbitrary discipline, such as physically and verbally. A typical example is the Nike factory in Indonesia, which has paid for the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) to report in March 2002, the workers so little that they can not afford to let their children live with them.
The work refuses to buy clothes for their employees. Ironically, employees who are at the forefront of Nike-of-the-art coaches can lose their own feet, because the plant did not they have good shoes to save them from the heavy machinery with which they work .

Why do people work in sweatshops?

Because they have no other choice. Companies take their factories in areas where wages are low and there is less emphasis on workers’ rights. The cost of life may be in less developed countries, but the minimum wage in this country, not even for that. Countries like China are particularly interesting, not only for their low wages but also because of its repressive apparatus and industrial secrecy, making human rights difficult to monitor. In a Chinese factory contracting for Disney, workers have been threatened or intimidated, to ensure they falsify their papers and are all groups that control the working conditions (CCC report February 2001) arrived. Foreign companies keep their costs without sickness benefit, pension or maternity leave. If a worker is paid more in demand or if demand dries up companies have no trouble packing and left the country leaving people in poverty.

Is it not better than unemployment?

The only answer is, why only two options? Clothing multinationals are spending literally millions of pounds on advertising and paying their CEO each year, surely something should be issued by the money to pay their workers enough to buy basic necessities?

Sweatshops are all in the third world? right?

Sweatshop Watch has reported that 98% of garment workers in Los Angeles have health problems and safety that could result in serious injury or even death. These include poor ventilation, overcrowded factories, which are a fire hazard and unsanitary bathrooms. 63% of factories in New York against the minimum wage and overtime restrictions. The majority of workers in the garment industry of the United States are immigrants, and many have even verbally or physically abused and intimidated when talking to them. You can also threatened with expulsion. In 2002, the GMB, in two weeks at least three sweatshops in the East End of London. Less than minimum wage, violation of health and safety and excessive hours have all been cited.

How deep?

For Nike in Indonesia, a chicken costs more than a day’s salary. Children’s cough syrup cons is 121% of daily wage basis and you could save even 4 days of pay to buy a pair of jeans.
But what can companies do – if they set their prices to pay wages, turnover will decline and if the jobs are?
The Director of the gap in 1999 earned over $ 7,000,000 – yes, seven million dollars a year from Sweatshop Watch, while the average workers in China pay only 23 cents is a half-hour. The answer does not seem difficult to ask the CEO of a small pay cut to take. If this is not fair, perhaps the answer is to cut advertising. Global Exchange said Nike passes U.S. $ 560million on advertising if they gave less than 2% of his salary could make all Vietnamese workers to a living wage, which means by the Vietnamese Labor Watch asked.

Can not we just boycott these companies?

For most of us stop the knee reflex reaction to buy products made by child labor or sweat. But by the NGO and the International Labor Organization (ILO), consumer boycotts do more harm than company employees. If the labor exploitation of children in Bangladesh and Pakistan closed by consumer pressure Save the Children, NGOs in Bangladesh, noted that children are only forms of forced labor bad. Because children are often placed in 30% income families. As a young girl, were only allowed inside sales prostitution or brick-breaking work action, escape the garment industry is not always an improvement.
But the boycott by the workers themselves can be effective mentioned. Workers at Forever 21 in Los Angeles to try this company several million pounds to pay back wages to do. After working 10 to 12 hours per day below the minimum wage and no overtime in appalling conditions, they take their employers to court and try to ensure fair treatment for others.

More

The simplest and most effective way to improve the lives of seamstresses will ensure that the stores to buy from you knowing that you are interested to know how their clothes are manufactured not only look like them.