DUK...Sweatshops?

I haven't done a DUK post in a while, sorry about that! I decided that this DUK post would be about sweatshops since I posted up that picture here.

The term sweatshop is defined as: A factory or workshop, esp. in the clothing industry, where manual workers are employed at very low wages for long hours and under poor conditions.

The history of sweatshops in a nutshell?

It begins between the 1830-1850s in England. The concept of sweatshops was very appealing, cheap labor for very little cost. Often, the people who worked at sweatshops were immigrants or those who come from a background of being poorly educated. There are reports of several beatings of the workers if, for instance, they didn't maintain their quota of how many garments or products they must produce. Sweatshops started to exist wherever there was an industry for clothing in all countries. This was during a time when labor laws didn't exist to govern minimum wage and maximum hours. Eventually, government came to recognize the poor conditions and passed several laws. Later, companies moved their production factories overseas, to avoid these laws which required them to pay certain wages and limit hours in order to maximize profits. Nike, whom has the poorest record of sweatshop history, sell their shoes for an average price of $116 while the cost of actually making that shoe is under $5.

What you can do to help?

Be active. I'm not saying you have to start riots or write petitions, but what you can do is look at the labels you find in your garments. You know those labels that tell you what materials are in the garment and how to wash them? They also say where they're made from. The ever present "Made in China" and other countries give you a big clue that there was sweatshop labor involved. Try to buy "Made in USA" items, they will be more expensive. Since I, myself, am on a college budget, I won't always have the money to shell out for a simple T shirt that may cost up to $20 because it's made in the US. What I do instead is thrift. Logically, since I'm not buying items from the mainstream market, I personally am not creating a demand for such garments to be made. Items that exist in thrift are second hand and not only am I preventing them from going to landfills, I'm also avoiding sweatshops. So try these things! =D






Note: I keep DUK posts short and simple because they're supposed to be fast. They're meant to get you to think and research on your own. Solutions are from what I personally think and may or may not work.