Sweatshop Research

The Merriam - Webster Dictionary defines a sweatshop as:

"a shop or factory in which workers are employed for long hours at low wages and under unhealthy conditions"

People who work in sweatshops almost always receive paychecks that fall short of the standard minimum wage in the country in which they work. Very often the amount is also less than the subsistence wage. The subsistence wage is the minimum amount of money that an average person would require to purchase enough basic food, clothing and hygiene items to survive in a somewhat healthy manner.

The sweatshop work-day may last as little as 8-10 hours, but more often employees work 12-14 hour shifts. Some sweatshops force workers to come in seven days a week, and some enforce 24 hour shifts once a week.

Laborers in sweatshops may also be subject to verbal or physical abuse. There are accounts of women being publicly ridiculed, slandered, and beaten by their employers. Some are made to pull down their pants before leaving work so that the guards can check to see that they are not smuggling any clothes outside the factory. Women are often forced to take birth control pills or abort their babies, and in extreme cases are forbidden to marry or even fall in love!

Sweatshop Conditions Often Include:

12-14 hour workdays, 6-7 days a week

Below-minimum-wage paychecks

Beating or other physical abuse

Yelling, ridiculing or other verbal abuse

Forced birth-control/abortions

Unsanitary conditions

Unofficial prohibition of unions

Sexual harrassment

Often workers receive only one or two bathroom breaks each day they work. Employees will wait in lines during these short breaks to access the door-less, and often toilet-paper-less stalls. If they cannot make it to the bathroom before it is time to start work again, they must wait for the next break to use the restroom.

Unions are usually not present in sweatshops. There are countless stories of workers attempting to band together to form a union.. Most often the factory retaliates by firing its workers, or by temporarily shutting down and re-hiring new ones after-the-fact. Union leaders are also sometimes threatened into submission by beating, stabbing, or torture.

Sweatshops have existed for centuries, but they don't need to. Human suffering is not a required ingredient for producing a product. As consumers, we can make a difference by letting companies know that we will not stand by while people are abused as they make the products we purchase.

What can I do?
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As a consumer, you have a powerful voice for opposing sweatshops. Many companies purchase from sweatshops because the cost is much less. They will continue to do so until their customers (or potential customers) protest. There are many ways (with varying levels of time comittment and involvment) in which you can make a difference. Please click the link below to access the Action Against Sweatshops page.

Take Action!