Sweatshops Are Bad

With the increase of taxes on big businesses that manufacture clothes, electronics, and other items, companies are constantly looking for a way to cut costs and increase profits. Many companies that manufacture clothes use sweatshops, which allow for cheap labor costs and few rules controlling working conditions and overtime regulations. Many clothing and footwear companies have been linked to these sweatshops, where the working conditions are so bad that in some cases the workers will commit suicide at work. Sweatshops will usually exist in countries that have few laws in place that protect the workers or the environment. Businesses can take advantage of both of these factors, as they allow the wages for the workers to be low and plants
to pollute the environment as much as they want. By operating factories at a very low cost, these companies can increase the profits that they make. Many of these sweatshops exist in China, Taiwan, Thailand, and India, where in many cases these governments turn a blind eye towards human rights and environmental protection laws.
While the argument in favor of sweatshops can be made, most people are aware of the horrible conditions that exist in these factories. Proponents of sweatshops like to argue that these positions exist in countries where few other jobs are available, and the workers should consider themselves lucky that they have a job. In many cases these factories offer an alternative to working in a field picking crops, a job that is even worse than working in a sweatshop. The arguments against sweatshops are obvious, and involve low wages, incredibly long hours, no overtime pay, and crowded and dirty working conditions. In countries fighting over the right to have sweatshops in their borders, an economic “Race to the Bottom” occurs. In this situation competing countries constantly bid against each other with lower costs, and the company with the lowest bid is awarded the sweatshop. In turn, the workers must accept lower pay, longer hours, and dangerous working conditions. In many cases these companies employ children as well, as there are no laws which regulate child labor.
As many countries are moving into third world status, the existence of any type of employment is considered a positive event. In these countries, resources are very scarce, and the people living there will do anything they have to in order to survive. It is for these reasons that the citizens of these countries work in the sweatshops and put up with the horrible conditions, as they have no other alternatives for survival. The main issue with sweatshops is human rights. According to Businessweek.com many products form clothing to fruit are produced by workers who receive wages far less than minimum wage, work in horrendous conditions for very long hours, and are basically glorified slaves. Many citizens in other parts of the world are very aware of the conditions and pay these workers receive, and there has been a movement to put sweatshops out of business for good. However, it is not as easy as one might thing. The rising costs of production and manufacturing in American plants is forcing many jobs overseas, where goods can be produced at a much lower cost. These jobs may also receive tax breaks in foreign countries, bringing their costs down even more. Labor Unions in the Unites States are further driving up production costs here at home, and this is only forcing many plants in the U.S. to move overseas or to shut down completely. The high cost of health care for American workers is yet another factor that is forcing plants to move or shut down, as any company in the United States is forced to offer health insurance for any full time employee that retain. In some foreign countries there are no laws that require health insurance to be offered, or the insurance or other related health care costs are much lower. This provides these countries another benefit to operating manufacturing plants within their borders, and also puts the workers at an even greater risk. Although working conditions in factories overseas can be dangerous and violate human rights, closing down the plants is not the answer. Instead these conditions must be improved, as taking the few jobs that exist in a third world country will just make the situation even worse. By performing boycotts of these companies that purchase good from sweatshops, economic pressure can be placed on any company or supplier that is involved in sweatshop labor. For example, when Walmart discovered that it had a line of clothing manufactured by child labor in China, they closed down the factory using these children. While this appeared to be a victory to many people hearing the news, the workers at this plant were outraged as they were now out of a job. Even those workers received very little money for their 80 hour weeks, they still realized that having a little money coming in is better than having no money coming in. Workers have constantly expressed concern over the closing of any sweatshop, no matter how bad the pay or the conditions were. Again the reason for this occurrence is due to the lack of better jobs in these countries. This further allows for any type of working conditions to exist in these factories, as the people are so desperate for money that they will tolerate almost anything. While many people can see the evils of sweatshops, few people can see the need for them to exist.
In a free market, the company that can produce goods at the lowest cost will always win by default. All companies are in business to make money, and the easiest way to increase profits in a capitalist world is to pay the workers less. Whether it be low wages, no health insurance, or dangerous work conditions, the bottom line is to save as much money as possible to drive up profits. Many people fail to understand that will sweatshops are evil, they are also a necessary evil. In a perfect world business would care about its workers more than the profits they bring in. In reality the profits are the reason that the business exists in the first place, and it is also what allows the company to pay its workers. In order for people in one country to be able to afford goods such as clothing and electronics, the cost must be as low as possible. Low costs of good simply results from low production costs, and low production costs often results from low wages to the ones who actually produce the goods. In certain countries there are few laws to protect the people or the environment, and in these places it is most appealing for manufacturing plants to exist. The lack of any type of union in these plants also helps to keep the wages paid down. All of these factors can make manufacturing plants the most amount of money at the expense of the worker. In third world countries, there
are few alternative jobs available, so the workers must take any job they can get. This simple fact allows the companies to treat the employees however they wish, as they know that the workers have no other choice when it comes to work.
Globalization can be blamed for many different problems that exist in the world, but many problems that are blamed on globalization are due to other factors. In a world where resources are limited, there will always be third world countries. While these countries may not be rich in minerals, or other goods that can bring in money, as long as there are people there they can be awarded sweatshops. Globalization is now the main cause of poverty in the world, but instead it tends to take advantage of these people who are in poverty. It can be argued that if globalization never occurred in the first place, these people would have no jobs at all. Not much can be said against this point, as the jobs that are being created do allow for some type of work in these countries to exist.
The main thing we need to focus on is how to improve these conditions that workers are being exposed to.
The first logical step would be to force governments of these countries to enact labor and environmental laws. In many of these countries, the government is very corrupt and they have no interest in doing this. It is almost impossible to force a government to adopt new laws, the best way to try to do this is to sanction them. What results from the sanctions is the impoverished people losing out the most. Trade sanctions will only hurt the people at the bottom, and not the wealthy people in the corrupt government. Unless new laws can be established in these countries, I do not feel the sweatshops will close down any time soon. The fact of the matter is that we all buy many items every day that are made in sweatshops. Our desire or need for these items will not decrease because they are made in horrible conditions. Since we continue to buy these items, the demand does not decrease. Instead, some companies try to cover up their connection to sweatshops. In many cases they will buy the goods off of a “middle man” and they tend not to ask questions about how the goods are produced. In order for capitalism to work, some people in this world must pay the cost. The cost is now being paid by impoverished people who cannot afford to feed their families, and we are taking advantage of them each time we purchase these products. It is as simple as this, if we want to
live in a country that provides us with many goods at a low cost, we must have these goods made for very little money. We can be disgusted with sweatshops and the whole way they operate, but we are also helping to create the need for these sweatshops as well. While people may not like to hear this information, it is a harsh reality that we all must deal with each and every time we shop.