Sweatshops Research Paper

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.

     As companies grow larger and more competitive, they are looking for cheaper ways to produce their wares and increase their profit. That is, after all, how companies are able to succeed, by giving their customers a comparable product for a cheaper price. This increases sales and the overall bottom line. Which seems to be a beneficial plan for both the companies and the consumers. That is, as long as the consumers don’t know how the product is being produced. The places that produce these products for an extremely cheap cost are called “Sweatshops”. A sweatshop is a small manufacturing establishment in which employees work long hours under substandard conditions for low wages. Sweatshops came about

Taking jobs away from child laborers is an unsuccessful way to make their lives better because this solution leaves them without money to buy food and other essentials. If child labor regulations were put into place, children would be treated appropriately in addition to being able afford necessities to survive. There are only specific jobs that children should be able to fill. Jobs involving machinery made for adults should not be used by children since it causes a safety hazard. Employers must be given restrictions when dealing with workers’ punishments. A maximum set of hours per that children should be allowed to work should be set in place, as well a minimum age of employment. Additionally, A decent minimum wage needs to be approved. Completely abolishing child labor can cause more damage than benefits, which is why regulations on child labor is a more suitable and superior

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.

There are two sides to the issue of using cheaper labor in other countries. Some can argue that using cheap labor in developing countries constitutes exploitation. In some extreme cases, this is potentially true. For example, by making empty promises time after time, diamond cartel De Beers has repeatedly taken advantage of the lack of governmental regulations and communication in African nations. It could be argued that the developing countries house factories that not only use cheap (though market rate for the area) labor, but unfairly exploit employees. Examples of this exploitation could include using physical force to detain workers to make them product more product, or promising them a certain pay, but reneging come

In “Where Sweatshops Are A Dream” by Nicholas D. Kristof, Kristof uses his experience living in East Asia to argue his positive outlook on sweatshops. He also uses Phnom Penh as an example to show why working in the sweatshops would be a dream for the families living there. Kristof wants to persuade his readers that the best way to help people in poor countries is to promote manufacturing there, not campaign against them. Kristof begins his essay by painting the picture of how his village looks outside of the sweatshop. The problem he identifies is even though Americans want to “fight back” for “exploiting too many people” but really these people look at sweatshops as dream jobs. Kristof assumes that the readers are Americans he refers to in the essay. He also assumes that the readers are people who

In conclusion, children are being put at risk by working in large factories and people should not buy products made by them because of the horrible and dangerous working conditions, the decreased pay, and being deprived from their childhood. Having a child work a such a young age would put their whole life at risk. It is not a good idea at all to make children work so that another child in the United States can have

Sweatshops have always been a problem in the Unites States, especially during the past century. Unfair working conditions and pay prompted the formation of the Garment Worker

“Sweatshops are work environments that possess three major characteristics: long hours, low pay, and unsafe or unhealthy working conditions” (Childress, 2014). Sweatshops have been scrutinized around the world and have been around for a very long time. For a period of time it was called slavery because even some skilled slaves earned some money. Sweatshops are still thriving, even in today’s global economy. It is the corporations, stakeholders, and a global responsibility to ensure sweatshops go away forever, but is it possible? Toyota was accused of such practices back in 2002 and today claim that they no longer practice voluntary overtime.

Developed nations can help those Asian people who are caught in the “horrors” of Asian sweatshops is by buying more items from sweatshops. These Asian people are working is sweatshops because they don’t have a choice. These people aren’t educated, productive, and don’t have access to better technology. Even though they are paid little by Western standards, in the Eastern world two dollars per hour is pretty good. For example, in 1933, child workers were found producing clothing for Wal-Mart. These imports made by the children were banned forcing the children into worse jobs, on the streets, and a significant number were forced into prostitution. Overall, the best way to help Asian people in sweatshops is the buy more items from the sweatshops.

Printed on clothing tags or the back of most packaging are the commonly found words: “Made in China”. Large corporations such as Apple or Microsoft continue to outsource more of their production overseas to subcontractors in China. There have been various stories and rumors of Chinese workers being exploited by their wealthy factory owners and supervisors. Working conditions may appear to be improving in China, but most people are not able to view what is happening overseas. There are hazardous conditions as well as death and suicide in sweatshops that produce goods for these large corporations, particularly Apple, Microsoft, Dell, and Nike. These multinational corporations are motivated to obtain large profits by taking advantage of

What should Americans do about sweatshops? A question many of us ask ourselves on a daily basis. The goods made in sweatshops are cheap and easy to buy for American consumers but they come at a cost. Women and children work 17 hours a day in harsh working conditions where they are exposed to many hazards. The best thing the average American can do is boycott the companies using sweatshops.

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     Scanning the conforming, ephemeral trendy masses, a large percent of the attire donned by the populace is made by cheap labor under horrible conditions. Many of the stores that fill malls and line streets are stocked with morally tainted products. Various popular brand names and stores use sweat shops as a means of production to maintain a low manufacturing cost, and reap a higher profit. Not only do these socially irresponsible conglomerates exist, they thrive on the blinded, and complacent materialistic society. Outfitting popular sports teams, and celebrities, these businesses have immense control, and take a big part in not only the fashion industry, but foreign affairs, as well. Although providing labor

By definition a sweatshop is a “negatively connoted term for any working environment considered to be unacceptably difficult or dangerous. Sweatshop workers often work long hours for very low pay in horrible conditions, regardless of laws mandating overtime pay and or minimum wage”. Many corporations in the United States use sweatshop labor in countries over seas such as China to produce their products at a lower cost. As entailed in the letter from a man born in China, many citizens on these countries resort to factory labor to support themselves to escape other sources on income such as prostitution. Without these corporations usage of oversea sweatshops these employees would be forced to return to self-demeaning jobs such as these.