Levi Strauss 's Decisions Hurt The United States Economy

Sweatshops a big issue in today’s society, even though their existence can sometimes stay hidden from the public’s eye. A famous author named Berry states, “ most of us get all the things we need by buying them and most of us know only vaguely, if at all, where those things came from; and most of us know not at all what damage is involved in their production. We are almost entirely dependent on an economy of which we are almost entirely ignorant.” The majority of people in the US have no idea where the clothes they are purchasing are actually coming from. Most people would not support the exploitation of their own race of people. If they were able to see and come to realization about what is actually happening they would have a much different change of heart.

1. A representative of the American clothing industry recently made the following statement: “Workers in Asia often work in sweatshop conditions earning only pennies an hour. American workers are more productive and as a result earn higher wages. In order to preserve the dignity of the American workplace, the government should enact legislation banning imports of low-wage Asian clothing.” Answer the following: (10 points)

You will use the critical thinking skills you have been developing to identify violations of the Universal Intellectual Standards and Logical Fallacies in the essay, “Sweatshirts from Sweatshops” on pages 406-408 of your textbook.

It is impossible to beat a cheap price. In today’s world, finding a sought after item at a dirt cheap price is one the main motivation American’s get in the car and battle the craziness in the mall. And as the basic American human beings that we are, it is never possible for us to be complacent with the amount of stuff we currently have. Eventually, we will come across a friend that has the next must have item that will cause us to run to our local mall and purchase a similar item at the lowest price possible. With all that said, it is no wonder why the industry of fast fashion has taken off over the past decade. Felipe Caro and Victor Martínez-de-Albéniz, researchers for UCLA’s school of supply chain coordination, define fast fashion as “a business model that combines four elements: (i) fashionable clothes mostly for consumers under 40; (ii) affordable prices in the mid-to-low range; (iii) quick response; and (iv) frequent assortment changes”. Retailers like H&M, Forever 21, Target, and Wal-Mart have been able to take this business model and make a fortune. But while all these quick trends and cheap prices are great for the consumer, its cost on the foreign worker and the environment does not go uncovered. In the book Overdressed by Elizabeth Cline, she presents many arguments supporting the claim that fast fashion is unethical based on

If the government enacted a special tax on imported clothing making the selling price equal to the selling price of clothing made in the United States, shoppers would see imported items with much higher prices in discount stores. If the prices of clothing made in sweatshops and in the United States were comparative, shoppers would consider the trade-offs and opt to buy clothing made in the United States for higher quality, loyalty to United States workers, and the health of our economy (Mankiw, 2011, p. 4). Wal-Mart and “big-box” stores that sell so many imported clothing items would see a decrease in sales. Shoppers would choose to buy clothing at stores that sell clothing made in the United States. These stores would see an increase in sales.

Although globalization allows for most products to be produced at a more efficient rate, it also has the capability to mar the economies of municipalities in first world countries. In Pietra Rivoli’s book The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy, she discusses the different viewpoints of opposing sides of an on-going battle to reduce the amount of tariffs and quotas put on the textile industries of foreign countries. For decades the textile industry in America has been on a noticeable decline, with outsourcing to third-world countries to blame. Although both faction’s viewpoints on the benefits of such outsourcing, both realize that there is only one way to gain the results they seek; which is to petition to the congressmen, including high ranking officials such as the president, in Washington D.C.

On April 24, 2013, NewYorkTimes journalist Jim Yardley reported on the collapse of Rana Plaza, an eight-story factory complex in the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, which claimed the lives of 1,100 people. A 400-page report of the incident places the blame squarely on the shoulders of the building's owner, Sohel Rana, along with the owners of the building's five garment factories, who now face possible charges of murder, along with accusations of “ignoring safety warnings and locking exit doors,” while the Bangladeshi government continues to receive harsh criticism for its lax enforcement of labor safety standards in the country's billion-dollar clothing manufacturing industry (“Sweatshop Labor”). The garment industry in Bangladesh is one of the world's leading exporters of clothing, second only to China, with more than 5,000 garment factories employing an excess of 3 million workers, producing merchandise for top brand retailers in the United States and Europe (Yardley; “Sweatshop Labor”). Workers in these factories endure long hours and unsafe working conditions for wages so low parents must send their children to work instead of school so that they have enough to eat. The tragedy of Rana Plaza brings to the forefront the true cost of things; is it worth 1,100 lives to save a few dollars on a shirt or a pair of jeans?

Often, when we think of a t-shirt, not much consideration goes past throwing it on and walking out the door. We discover in The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy, author Pietra Rivoli conveys the story of a t-shirt she purchased in Florida for just $5.99. Beginning with core element of the t-shirt, she describes the cotton boom in the United States and why we have reigned supreme as the leading cotton producer. She even meets with a Texan farmer who warms your heart from the very beginning of the chapter. Next, the cotton goes on to textile mills and factories, and Rivoli explains the history of the textile industry. With this lesson, she demonstrates how the textile industry boom was a

When explaining the Fairtrade Cotton certified clothing that is emerging in the market, he evokes a sense of happiness and accomplishment as “growing organic cotton is better for the environment, and farmers are no longer exposed to dangerous chemicals” (83). On the other hand, Jeffcott examines how the Fairtrade Cotton label fails to mention the conditions of the workers who turn the cotton into clothing. By doing this, Jeffcott makes the reader feel happy and guilty because while the material for clothes grows in better conditions, the lives and wellbeing of the workers making the clothing remain unknown. He also goes on to discuss the different fires throughout the years that have taken the lives of women workers in the sweatshops. The reader, whether male or female, can draw an emotional connection by putting themselves in the shoes of the female workers and wondering how they would feel if forced to work in the conditions that the current sweatshops

1. A representative of the American clothing industry recently made the following statement: “Workers in Asia often work in sweatshop conditions earning only pennies an hour. American workers are more productive and as a result earn higher wages. In order to preserve the dignity of the American workplace, the government should enact legislation banning imports of low-wage Asian clothing.” Answer the following:

Ravisankar begins his essay by relating to his audience with a connection of being poor college students, who look for the bargain deals. The problem he identifies is that consumerism and the obsession for low priced goods caused the demand for sweatshop labor. He assumes readers have some familiarity with the term sweatshop, but do not fully understand how horrible the conditions and hours in a sweatshop truly are. His purpose is to convince students at Ohio State University to take action against Sweatshop labor. In order to accomplish this purpose, he mainly appeals to readers sense of ethics.

The next part of the story was about globalization, which aims to protect the influence of trade barriers outside the country. Therefore, the metaphorical T-short briefly captured a glimpse of El Salvador, Bolivia, the United States, China, Cambodia, and other countries. Although for the reasons of fairness, the author really just wanted to introduce in more depth the economic and trade realities brought about by the globalization of the textile industry. After all, Rivoli is an economist; data, statistical data, and other large researches that have support the story from paragraph to paragraph, and being some of the most surprising conclusion. Among them, the first and most important point is that, as for as the new clothing industry is concerned, this kind of trade is not as least completely free. However, the most enjoyable thing is the T-shirts have taken a step further, and the story of second-hand clothing was brought to

Although the Chinese apparel manufacturers would lose profitability due to rising cotton prices and competition from emerging countries, they stand to gain the most from the removal of U.S. quotas and tariffs. According to the author, in 2007, 95% of the 20 billion garments Americans made were purchased overseas. Due to U.S. trade barriers, China’s share of the U.S. apparel import was only 30%. Once these barriers were removed, Chinese apparel would flood the American market due to their low cost and dominance in garment manufacturing. Experts predict that China could eventually supply 85% of U.S. apparel. As they increase their market share in the

When economic growth, it creates more jobs opportunities which will cause the labour market to tighten, which in turn will force MNCs to improve working conditions in order to attract workers. Bear in mind, individuals who have no jobs at all are working on alternative jobs which are more hazardous and exploitative than sweatshops. For example, when Child Labor Deterrence Act (US) introduced, there were about 50,000 Bangladeshi children dismissed from garment industry jobs and many of them took up stone-crushing, street hustling or even prostitution. In this sense, the working conditions are far worse than the sweatshops. Jeffrey Sachs also claimed that international trade will, in the long run, make all parties better off. As a result of improving the working conditions, MNCs could have been successfully pursuing ethical branding and shifted out the demand curve for their products which in turn it will bolster the economic expansion and reduce unemployment rate.

Outsourcing manufacturing jobs overseas has the additional benefit of promoting capitalism and free enterprise in many countries that have been run by communism and totalitarianism governments. Many political scientists and economists believe that by increasing economic interdependence with the United States, these foreign nations are more likely to develop into robust democracies and more likely to establish a middle class of their own this fact can be used by corporations such as Nike to justify outsourcing to these countries. [4]