Negative Effects Of Sweatshops

A majority of the clothing worn and purchased today in the United States has been manufactured overseas in sweatshops. Since the beginning of factories and businesses, owners have always looked for a way to cut production costs while still managing to produce large quantities of their product. It was found that the best way to cut costs was to utilize cheap labor in factories known as sweatshops. According to the US General Account Office, sweatshops are defined as a “business that regularly violates both wage or child labor and safety or health laws”. These sweatshops exploit their workers in various ways: making them work long hours in dangerous working conditions for little to no pay. Personally, I believe that the come up and employment of these sweatshops is unethical, but through my research I plan to find out if these shops produce more positive than negatives by giving these people in need a job despite the rough conditions.

     Fortunately, companies can afford to pay workers higher wages. If this were not true they would not have been able to become so successful with production in the United States. It is a shame that any company would see themselves as being morally or ethically correct allowing it’s employees to work in a hazardous environment. Companies should want their employees to enjoy the place they work in. This would increase satisfaction in the work place, which would in turn increase production and decrease employee turnover.

Cambridge dictionary defines sweatshop as a small factory where workers are paid very little and work many hours under bad conditions. People working there are deprived of any kind of worker’s benefit. Child labor is very common in sweatshops. Workers in sweatshops are often missing key pieces of safety equipment such as face masks to ensure safe breathing or work in environments with insufficient means of emergency exit since employers may lock the doors and windows to prevent theft during working hours (Hartman ). The workers are abused, beaten, kicked, and shoved, even if they are sick or pregnant. Sweatshop is nothing but a modern form of slavery, because the workers are forced to work in harsh condition for a little wage, and they are denied any fundamental human rights .

Thesis statement: Sweatshops, when left to operate without government intervention, are the most efficient way of out poverty.

Imagine a world where trade was not allowed. If someone wanted an apple, then they would have to wander until they found an apple seed, plant and grow the tree using the rain they gathered from hand-made cups or barrels, and wait for years until the tree brought forth fruit. In order to build a house, this person would have to cut down trees with an axe that they forged and built themselves, then they would have to make mud to hold the lumber together so that they could build the house. Forget about electricity, cars, cell phones, most modern technology, because none of these things would be possible without trade. Fortunately, we live in a time when trade is widely accepted across the world. Charles Wheelan, an international economist, notes

There are many views with the problem of utilizing sweatshops in developing economies. Many insist that utilizing sweatshops in developing economies composes exploitation. In certain circumstances, this may be true, but not all. It is an ongoing controversy of demolishing sweatshops and changing the laws of labor. Many anti-sweatshop activist supports the idea of demolishing sweatshops. Activist commonly focus on work conditions and low wages causing them to be ill – formed of the economy as a whole. Taking a deeper look into these developing countries, it is with out of doubt that these countries benefit from sweatshops. Sweatshops should not be demolished because the employees are benefited with income, their economy receives growth and

Some companies have acceded to public pressure to reduce or end their use of sweatshops. Such firms often publicize the fact that their products are not made with Anti-globalization activists and environmentalists also deplore transfer of heavy industrial manufacturing (such as chemical production) to the developing world. Although chemical factories have little in common with sweatshops in the original sense, detractors describe them as such and claim that there are negative environmental and health impacts (such as pollution and birth defects, respectively) on workers and the local community.

Modern sweat shops are problems. After researching the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in Manhattan ,New York and the 2013 Rana Plaza building collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Both industrial suburb, I notice very little change in the business practice, morals, and ethics that fuel the sweatshop motif of cheap labor to keep profits high and costs low. Both incidents involved garment factory who’s employed mainly young working 12 to 14 hours days in an unsafe building. In both incident the dangerous working condition and safety violations that led to mass casualties. In the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, workers

The workers are subjected to terrible conditions almost to a ridiculous point. Many of these people are immigrants, unable to get a better job, similar to immigrants in The Jungle. These people are desperate to get any job they can and will accept a job that puts them at risk. Workers on the line are given chain mail to prevent lacerations, but the “knives somehow manage to get passed it”. Other workers are forced to “stand in a river of blood” cutting steers’ necks “every ten seconds” (169). No average person would want to work like this on a daily basis and companies are taking advantage of these immigrants some of which are in America

Sweatshops are factories that are used around the world that major brand companies use to make products. These factories have gained media attention and controversy for the long hours and low pay given to the workers. Many people say to boycott these factories because of the latter reasons, but consumers shouldn’t boycott companies that make sweatshop products. The first reason consumers shouldn’t boycott these products would be people actually deliberately take these jobs because in developing countries most jobs don’t pay that much. The second reason consumers shouldn’t boycott sweatshop products would be that it allows a lot of people in the developing worlds to rise out of poverty.

Sweatshop is defined as a factory or workshop, especially in the clothing industry, where manual workers are employed at very low wages for long hours and under poor conditions. Sweatshops also referred to as the “sweat factory”, creates a hazardous and unhealthy working environment for employees such as the exposure to harmful materials, dangerous situations, extreme temperatures and abuse from employers. Sweatshop workers work for long hours, sometimes without taking any breaks, and these workers are not paid for any overtime hours or the minimum wage, although it is mandatory by law. These conditions are considered risky for any person, but the worst part is that in many countries, children are being forced to work in these sweatshops.

Within developing countries, it’s estimated that over 250 million children aged 5-14 are forced to work in sweatshop working conditions (Gaille, 2017). Sweatshops are working environments that are characterized by three major negative flaws: long hours, low pay, and most importantly, unsafe or unhealthy working conditions. Additionally, sweatshops have strict policies in place that restrict workers’ rights, such as limitations on conversation between employees and shortened break times that are usually enforced through violence. According to Gaille (2017), the Department of Labor indicates that 50% of garment factories in the U.S. violate two or more basic labor laws, establishing themselves as sweatshops. This type of labor condition is not limited to the United States, as many Multinational Companies (MNCs) have globalized their supply chain to take advantage of lower labor costs abroad. The existence of sweatshop working conditions has received increased attention from the media, as well as the United States government, with specific emphasis on the apparel industry. Companies such as Nike, Apple, and recently, Forever 21, have come under fire from consumers when the press revealed poor working conditions present in their suppliers’ warehouses overseas. The Apparel Industry Partnership, Fair Labor Association (FLA), and Social Accountability International Advisory Board (SAI) were efforts created by governments in order to mitigate the negative effects of MCN globalizing and utilizing sweatshop type labor. Companies interested in globalization are increasingly pressured to to extend their quality control to not only their company, but also the companies that they do business with, in order to remain strong in the public eye. That being said, research has been done to understand the positive impact of sweatshops on developing country populations. Studies have shown that sweatshops, although looked down upon in developed countries, are the best option for individuals in developing nations. Although poor working conditions are present, it’s been shown that sweatshops help to increase gender equality and unemployment rates. As unfavorable press has surrounded companies that source from low-quality

Sweatshops can be defined in many different ways. Sweatshops are factories that don’t follow U.S. fundamental labor laws. This includes; if the workers are getting paid enough; or if they are getting taken advantage of because of age. Sweatshops are factories that mostly make clothing, and have workers that work long hours at low costs in terrible conditions. In fact, this happens mostly in underdeveloped or developing countries. According to the website, “dosomething.org” in the article “11 Facts About Sweatshops” it states, “In developing countries an estimated 168 million children ages 5 to 14 are forced to work.” Sweatshops also make products such as cotton, brisks, and coffee among many others. In the same article it says, “The majority of child laborers are found in Asia and the Pacific, Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest prevalence, with one in five children in child labor.” The main question is should the United States of America support the sweatshops in undeveloped countries to help the international problem or not?

Americans love to shop. With malls everywhere you go, shopping just might be America's favorite past time! When you are out shopping though, do you ever stop to think where all of those clothes and shoes come from? When I was younger, well, actually until recently, I always thought they were all made by machines. Shirt machines, pants machines…you get the picture. I have learned, however, that for the most part, clothes are still made on sewing machines, by people, and often under circumstances that we can only imagine.

Recently many people have been losing lives to to working conditions. On one occasion there has been about 675 laborers killed in work-related injuries.Th enviroment in which all of these wortkers are kept is very unsanitary. Some work for 12 hours, 7 days a week. Most aren’t allowed vacation or anytime off during work durations. Even in the case of labor injuries. Many kids are working also. Most sweatshops often time pay as little as 27 cents for a child’s 14 hour day of labor. In 1908, Lewis Hine quit his job and dedicated himself to revealing horrible working conditions. Not only is the work place unsanitary, but it is also very dangerous in cases. For example at meat packing industries there is acid pits. This is where workers discarded