The Struggle In Child Labor In The Fashion Industry

Child labor is a serious problem that affects children from third-world countries all over the world. These children are exploited by multinational corporations ,for their cheap labor all over the world. People, then buy products that come at a cheaper price, from these multinational corporations.These children are often overworked and treated unfairly. People need to stop buying items from countries that endorse child labor.

“The main cause for children doing work is poverty,” says Nadira Faulmuller in “This Company is Employing Children”. People should buy products made with child labor. Buying these products will support the many families of the working children, since the reason children are working is poverty. Not buying the products can create more problems for the children working. Even though some say that working children are robbed of their education, individuals should buy products made with the use of child labor because hard labor has the ability to motivate children to get an education.

Child labour is an issue that is very real but is it recognized that it is happening in large corporations we buy our goods from like Nike, Hanes and J. C. Penney? Children are being abused in factories that are making the clothes you are wearing, but our governments are letting them get away with it only for them to do it again. What should we be doing to help stop the issue of child labour? The purpose of this essay is to find an answer to this question. First this issue will be defined and explained in depth, as to the examples of companies that have had child labour in their factories and how they were treated, also companies that have had child labour, gotten away with it and done it again. Then a solution will be found as to what

The next time when you are out on your shopping trip, chances you may have support a business that exploits children. It is very disturbing and heartbreaking to learn many children are chained to looms for 12 hours a day because families need to have their child bringing home a small amount of moneys. Child labor has always been a difficult subject to address, the topic have become much more complicated and prolific.

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

The year to year increase in consumer demand for cheaper products have led major corporations to outsource labor in foreign countries with little to no laws preventing child labor and the building of sweatshops. Many parents here in America would be disgusted by the idea of forcing their young children to work long hard hours in factory but the truth is because of our desire for cheap products, “As many as a million children ranging in age from 5 to 15 work as debt-bonded laborers in the loom sheds of India, Nepal and Pakistan, according to the U.S. Department of Labor and the ILO” (Razzi 46). Many of the products we enjoy today such as soccer balls are made by child labor, “Eighty percent of the soccer balls sold in the U.S. are produced in a small region of eastern Pakistan, where about 20% of the work force is between 5 and 14 years old, according to the International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF)” (Razzi 46). Child labor does not just exist in third world countries, “The International Labour Organization (ILO), an agency of the United Nations that is based in Geneva, estimates that about 13% of the world's children between the ages of 10 and 14 work, along with untold numbers of younger children” (Razzi 46). Even more surprising is the that sweatshops also exists here in America, “More than a quarter of a million people work in U.S. sweatshops, according to the Labor Department” (Razzi

Just like many manufacturers in the counterfeit industry, many people in high-end fashion utilize factories across the world to make their items in a fast and inexpensive way. Many of the factories being used to produce these luxury items are based in China, where child labor is quite popular. Many of the employees work over 8 hours a day for 7 days a week and on average make around USD $2 per hour (Kavoussi). The more demanding the fashion industry becomes, the higher the need for factory workers goes, this could lead to an increase of child labor and human trafficking in order to meet the needs for the amount of work that must be done at the factory. Because many families are only allowed one child in many parts of China, girls will often be sold or abandoned by their own families, and will be forced to work in these factories in order to support

The conditions in industrial factories for child laborers are cruel and unjust. The factories that supply us all with the clothing we wear are mistreating the children of England with harsh work environments. I have was given the privilege to witness the children of our textile factories first hand and noticed some very urgent health deformities and illnesses.

All over the world the utilization of child labor robs young children from their desires and aspirations. Meet 12 year old Pakistani Aziz. Instead of living a normal childhood by attending school and playing with others, he is employed at a brick kiln. Each day Aziz works from the first light of day until midnight, while his boss harshly beats him with a cane. Aziz put in these long hours in order to help his impoverished family survive and pay off his dead father’s debts. For example, employers all across the world are hiring children between the ages of 5 and 16 and working them in the same situation as Aziz to work long hours in hazardous conditions. By doing this, employers are depriving children of a healthy childhood stocked with oodles

         Many societies face the much overlooked problem of child labor and sweatshops in the fashion industry. Recently, Americans were stunned to learn that their apple pie sweetheart, Kathie Lee Gifford was associated with the exploitation of underage workers in Honduras. Gifford's story began the resurgence of knowledge of the growing problem of sweatshops in today's society. Contrary to popular belief, sweatshops still exist across the world in both third world countries and super powers such as America. Sweatshops incorporate the inhumane exploitation of workers, many of whom are underage, by providing extremely low wages as well as expecting unrealistic

Before I began researching how child labor runs in the common fashion business, I wanted to know if child labor

200 million children are forced to work in hazardous conditions for different product companies. Children are abused and denied the right to live the healthy life of a normal child. There is controversy if people should be allowed to buy items from a company involved in child labor. Some most recognizable companies are: Nestle, H&M, Walmart, Victoria’s Secret, GAP, Apple, and Disney. Child labor rids children of their education, provides them with little money, and puts the child in dangerous conditions where it can get deadly.

Ninety-eight percent of clothes carried in U.S stores are manufactured in other countries. An abundant amount of the clothes produced around the world were made using child labor. Child labor is when children work long hours in unsafe conditions. This is often illegal and even inhumane. Child labor is an extremely significant issue that is still happening today.

The authors and articles that I will be relaying on the most to refer to all the different points of view regarding child labour are: Jeffrey Tucker, the editorial vice president of the think tank Ludwig von Mises Institute; Pauline Overeem, a senior researcher that studies the issue of corporate liability in supply chains; Dr. Frank Wijen, a professor at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University; “Child Labour in the Fashion Supply Chain”, an article sponsored by UNICEF. Many argue that child labor impacts children in a negative way, not only physical but mentally. Others believe it gives children a scent of responsibility. More importantly, it gives children the skills they will need to succeed in their adulthood.

In the United States, child labor and sweatshops are illegal, and society frowns upon any business that exploits children in the production of goods. Though most would say that they would not support a company that uses child labor to produce its goods, almost everyone has, in fact, knowingly or unknowingly, supported these businesses in one way or another. Children are involved in the production of many of the everyday goods we import from overseas, including the manufacturing of clothes, shoes, toys, and sporting equipment, the farming of cocoa, cotton, sugarcane, and bananas, and the mining of coal, diamonds, and gold (The U.S. Dept. of Labor). Often, we are blinded to this fact.