Sweatshops: Shedding Light

I stood in the middle of thousands of local workers in a plastic bag factory in the Democratic Republic of Congo. My initial thoughts reflected sympathetic feelings, “hot, uncomfortable, disappointing.” I could not help but notice the satisfaction on a young boy’s face as he reached for his baguette bread, a little bag of peanuts, and a bottle of Coca Cola — a typical yet satisfying midday snack for a Congolese, a privilege/luxury that many are deprived of when unable to work in factories such as the one in which I stood.

As most would categorize it, the “sweatshop” employs workers at low wages, for long hours, and under poor conditions where health and safety is not regulated. Who, then, could be in favor of a “sweatshop,” you may ask? Despite the unfortunate conditions present in such factories, they have in fact proved beneficial to the individuals and societies in which they are based.

At a Harvard debate in 1997, Jeffrey Sachs claimed that his,“concern is not that there are too many sweatshops but that there are too few.” The very sweatshops located in Third World countries all over the world have been in fact providing poor workers with opportunities. They allow for the country’s least-skilled, uneducated people to earn a living, feed their families, and simply survive. Sure enough, working at a sweatshop is done by choice, and one only chooses to do so when the alternatives are worse off.

In a recent article, reporter Raveena Aulakh visits a sweatshop in Bangladesh where she is able to experience what a young sweatshop worker envisions for the future, first hand. Nine-year-old Meem “showed up early to her 12-hour days, which spanned from 9 AM to 9 PM, so she could prep her threads... And even at her tender young age finding herself in such a situation, she was still hopeful about her career path.” Many young, uneducated workers have been able to acquire and develop skills that they would not have otherwise.

This very concept of a “sweatshop” originated between 1830 and 1850. However, its pattern of labor intensive manufacturing dates further back. Its specialization and division of labor is guided by each country’s comparative advantage. As per Stefan Spath’s theory, it is for the same reasons the Persians bought textiles from the Phoenicians in the sixth century B.C.E, and the same reasons the Venetians bought spices from Arab traders during the Renaissance. It is also the reason about 98 percent of clothing bought in the United States is imported from abroad.

“But it must stop!” you may say as a protestor.

There is no doubt that anti-sweatshop movements wish to help the poorest workers all over the world. However, certain actions would only harm them by pricing them out of the market and taking away the opportunity for them to expand their skills and future economic goals. If people want to help, they shouldn’t be putting in efforts to shut down sweatshops. Rather, they should be putting in efforts to raise money to improve the quality of the workspace.

If you take a look at the bigger picture, you will find that the involvement of Multinational Corporations in less-developed countries benefit its economy more than one would think it does. If MNCs are forced to pay wages comparable to those in the United States, there would be no production-cost savings.

The poor of the less-developed countries would not only lose out on the opportunity to work, but also wouldn’t be able to benefit from foreign direct investment ranging from technology transfers to international trade. In fact, Maquiladora Industrial towns of northern Mexico have benefitted from improved roads, water-purification plants, and the construction of entire school systems around new factories.

In the process of getting MNCs to increase wages, anti-sweatshop movements could very well succeed at making them shut down sweatshops in their chosen developing country. Apart from the necessary safety protocol, action should be taken to encourage them to donate even the smallest percent of their profits to create better working conditions for sweatshops they are affiliated with.

I am not saying that sweatshops are the ideal place to work. But if you were the young boy able to make money and have the chance to eat a baguette bread, bag of peanuts, and drink a Coca Cola, what would you prefer?

Sources

Aulakh, Raveena. "I Got Hired at a Bangladesh Sweatshop." Thestar. Toronto Star Newspapers, 11 Oct. 2013. Web. 10 Dec. 2014. <http://www.thestar.com/news/world/clothesonyourback/2013/10/11/i_got_hired_at_a_bangladesh_sweatshop_meet_my_9yearold_boss.html>.

Blackburn, Bradley. "Clothing 'Made in America.'" ABC News. N.p., 10 Mar. 2011. Web. 10 Dec. 2014. <http://abcnews.go.com/Business/MadeInAmerica/made-america-clothes-clothing-made-usa/story?id=13108258>.

Pugatch, Todd. "Historical Development of the Sweatshop." UNC. N.p., 30 Apr. 1998. Web. 10 Dec. 2014 <http://www.unc.edu/~andrewsr/ints092/sweat.html>.

Spath, Stefan. "The Virtues of Sweatshops." The Freeman. N.p., 1 Mar. 2002. Web. 8 Dec. 2014. <http://fee.org/freeman/detail/the-virtues-of-sweatshops>.