Week 4 - Sweatshops

Week 4
Fara Suiza
ASA141

Western consumers enjoy the cheap prices of goods without being aware of the implicit cost that took in order for producers to offer such goods at those prices. A majority of the workers who sew and physically manufacture the goods work in unhealthy, dangerous work environments while being paid roughly only $2/day. However, as time moves on, consumers are beginning to ask questions about the ethics of large corporations/brands such as Levi, Disney, Mattel, Nike and Guess. Change doesn't happen quickly, and as the article "Santa's Sweatshop" mentions, many activists are not asking for the abolition of "sweatshops", but rather for companies to be more involved in the process of production and to improve the working conditions of their employees. It is important to note that this can be a difficult task because the majority companies outsource their production to third-party factories who are only contracted, but not own by the main company. This can make it tricky for the main company to control what goes on in the factories, due to their lack of control and the possible indiscretion of supervisors/managers at the factory who might lie about changes or bettering conditions.



My feelings towards sweatshops are slightly 50/50. While I do believe that workers deserve the right to safe working conditions (whether that is through infrastructure or the treatment they receive from management), I also believe that it is possibly beneficial for the country's economy as a whole. The goal to manufacture goods as intensively and efficiently as possible is not a new, foreign concept taking place in today's global economy. In fact, many industrialized, "first-world" countries today began their journey through a single industry: textiles. For example, the United States' industrial revolution began in the northern colonies through innovations in the textile technology. As the article also mentions, Nike used to produce their shoes in South Korea before Korea became an industrial powerhouse. The same thing happened in Japan. I understand other factors played a role in the advancement of the listed countries in terms of development, but I believe that the textile industry is somewhat of a necessary evil that a lot of developed countries went through. But if this is so, then where does it end? What country is next to be exploited once countries today like Indonesia, China, Bangladesh, Cambodia, etc have all developed passed their industrial revolution? We can put pressure on companies to improve conditions, but where does it all end in the long run?