Sweatshop
American Made T-Shirts – How to Support Anti-Sweatshop Production
November 8, 2011 | 
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There are many companies located in the United States that are beginning to manufacture t-shirts made from all natural products in keeping with going ‘green’. The purchase of t-shirts and clothing made in other countries is also an issue now with ‘sweatshops’ being used for cheap labor. There are many reasons for only purchasing American made t-shirts.
Tips for Finding American Made Products
If you want to be sure the products you are purchasing are not produced in sweatshops by workers, who are being exploited, buy USA made t-shirts. Countries overseas that are paying workers very little, denying them the basic rights of humane treatment and seeking reprisal for those who do not conform are not something that should be supported.
Shoppers are often unaware of the origin of the clothes they purchase. All they know is they go to the store, see something they like and make a purchase. If they knew what was really behind the manufacture of the clothing they may change their minds about buying these items.
American made t-shirts may be found by adhering to several tips that will ensure the clothing you are purchasing is not made in a sweat shop. One of the ways of finding USA made t-shirts is to look for clothing made under the Fair Trade system. This means the items you are buying are made by workers who are treated fairly. They are paid an honest wage and are guaranteed breaks and sick leave instead of being treated badly. Workers who are in the Fair Trade system are usually economically disadvantaged so this will be helping them to support themselves and their families.
The UNITE HERE label is another way to find American made t-shirts that are not made in sweatshops. This is a union that was created when the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees and Hotel and Restaurant Employees International Union merged. USA made t-shirts purchased with a Union label is a guarantee that the workers who made your t-shirt are treated fairly. They have a contract with the company they work for that ensures safe and fair working conditions as well as the wages they are being paid and benefits.
Check on the companies that make clothing. You can find cooperatives in the U.S. that are a very good organization to support. American made t-shirts made by cooperatives may be another source of t-shirts made from all natural materials. By helping to protect the environment you are also helping low-income employees to support themselves. The co-ops are often formed by individuals who have an ownership in the company. This allows them to have a steady income and good working conditions. The products made are of a good quality because they take pride in the manufacturing process of a company they own.
If you have a favorite store where you purchase your clothing, you can check them out and see if they have poor labor habits. Are the t-shirts you are purchasing American made t-shirts or is your favorite store using sweatshops for the clothing they bring to you? The Responsible Shopper Website is one way of finding out if the USA made t-shirts are really made in the USA. The company’s profile will have any accusations made against them and information about whether they are lined to abusive sweatshops.
It is hard today to make sure the clothing you are buying is made without the use of labor practices that are unfair to others. We should be concerned with the clothes we wear naturally because we want to look our best. Emphasis is on wearing name brand clothing and if American made t-shirts have the brand, this is all well and good. But if the brand you like is being made by children who are being mistreated and made to sit for hours without breaks, is wearing that brand worth it? Do some investigative work about the brands you like. By taking a stand you can help to stop these unfair practices.
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Say “NO” To Sweatshops And “YES” To Jobs With Dignity
Do you think that child labor is wrong? Do you think that children should be in school as compared to a factory making clothes that people wear? If you answered yes, to both of these questions, you are not alone. There are many educational institutions nationwide within our country that has a “Sweat free Policy” with their curriculum materials and modest clothing. These institutions adapted a “Code of Conduct for the Manufacturer of Apparel”. The apparel industry has been exposed to vigorous worker abuse. A man by the name of Andrew Ross reported previously in 1997 the following, “The textile and apparel industries are a showcase of horrors for the labor abuses sanctioned by the global free trade economy, where child labor, wage slavery, and employer cruelty are legion.” ~ NO SWEAT: Fashion, free trade, and the rights of garment workers, Andrew Ross, editor, 1997.
The following is some examples of garments made in sweatshops: Sports uniforms (This includes gym uniforms); school uniforms; shoes, athletic shoes or sneakers; sweatshirts, caps, and other imprinted clothing with school’s logos; academic regalia; lab coats and staff uniforms.
What is a sweatshop? A sweatshop is a workplace that suffers from systematic violations of one or more key workers’ rights have been violated according to international law and site-of-production laws and regulations.
The rights include:
Workers receiving a decent wage and benefits; Children not being subjected to working conditions that could hurt them physically, psychologically, or mental development; Freedom from unreasonable work hours and forced labor, freedom from physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, and protection of workplace health and safety hazards.
A code of conduct is utilized to hold companies accountable. Most companies of today have adapted their own “Code of Conduct”; unfortunately, organization codes are often inadequate to protect workers.
The following is a list of CEO’s and their compensation for year 1998. These CEO’s are employed by companies who utilize sweat shops.
Millard Drexler, GAP $660 million
Michael Eisner, Disney $177 million
Floyd Hall, Kmart $ 23 million
Phil Knight, Nike $ 3 million
Paul Charron, Liz Clairborne $7 million
David Glass $ 40 million
The following are samples of starvation wages around the world.
Guatemala 37 cents an hour
El Salvador 60 cents an hour
Nicaragua 23 cents an hour
Honduras 43 cents an hour
Haiti 30 cents an hour
Mexico 50 cents an hour
China 28 cents an hour
Indonesia 20 cents an hour
Burma 4 cents an hour
Bangladesh 13-20 cents an hour
These wages are called “starvation wages”. I use to believe that our economy cannot be compared to other countries; I was stating this believing that what US Companies were paying workers within these countries were fair wages within their economies. After viewing the evidence of what the company CEO’s are making and knowing that countries such as El Salvador and others, these families are not making enough to raise their families, I have indeed sustained a change of heart.
I do believe our own economy needs a serious face lift, but why can we not be charitable about it? I believe that consumers have more power than they even know. I think that consumers should keep corporations accountable to respect the rights of workers, but not only as workers, but as human beings and they need to be paid a “living” wage, not a “starvation” wage.
I do not believe we should boycott these corporations, for why should we? We appreciate their products, the reality here is that we love purchasing these items, besides; boycotting these corporations would only hurt jobs in developing countries. I support jobs for developing countries, but I believe that consumers should want the people of those countries to have jobs with dignity and fair wages. I think the CEO’s huge corporations could provide funds to ensure the people whom are actually aiding in their assets can work with dignity and support their families, and if the CEO’s refuse? The consumers should demand fair wages. What if these children were our own children? Our own families? This places a different perspective on things for every child performing these tasks is someone’s son/daughter or someone’s mother/father. This places a practical perspective on this epidemic.
For those of you whom are truly passionate about this issue, I have included some links that will educate you on this issue as well as direct you to organizations that are striving to end “starvation wages”.
Sweatshops And Contracts
In American History, the period of rapid economic and population growth was referred to as the Gilded Age during the Post-War and Post-Reconstruction in the 19th century. It is the period wherein modern industry and the economy grew at the fastest rate in the history. National transportation, communication, corporations, business organizations and business operations became functional. After the Great Depression in 1930s and about 32 cycles of expansions and contractions since 1854, the country was able to bounce back. By the 20th century, the US economy became the most stable and the leader among the world.
It was really difficult to say when the industrial revolution started or when it was finished. During this era, inventions and manufacturing business and garment industry were famous. Sweatshops, where impoverished seamstresses worked as long as 16 hours during peak season, manufactured pre-cut fabric clothing for Southern slaves, Western miners and New England gentlemen. Sweaters, known notoriously for fault finding over the produced garments and withholding payment, were employers who underpay and overwork their employees, especially a contractor for piecework in the tailoring trade. Seamstresses worked under poor working environmental condition and were poorly compensated. Child labor, which was also rampant during that period, was also acceptable because there were no laws prohibiting it. All these happened because there were no contracts to protect each party.
Due to the attention made by critics on child labor and sweatshops, mechanization and standardization, laws were formulated and implemented to benefit not just employers but also the workers. In 1918 and 1922, the Supreme Court regulated the employment of children. In 1910, the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union was founded in an effort to improve the condition of sweatshop workers. As years went by, more laws covering labor and wages were implemented such as the presence of contracts to protect both the consenting parties.
Nowadays, every legitimate businessmen and workers are protected by contracts. When entering into a contract, both the consenting parties agree and place into writing to abide by what was stipulated in the contract. Failure of both or one party to do so may result to litigation. Entering into federal contract involves millions of money and can be very profitable for a company.
If you plan to enter into contracting, you have to be familiar with your responsibilities as a contractor. As a contractor, you have to know how the government buys such that you and your company must deliver the service expected. Next, you have to read the proposed contract and understand its content. Third, you have to know the identity of the government agency you are contracting with. You do not want to enter into an illegal contract, right? Neither you want to serve a sweater, do you?