Bought a t-shirt today, and just now noticed the label says “Made in Cambodia”. It was a final sale, so I can’t take it back. Still, I’m curious to know how likely it is that the shirt was made by an eight-year-old, or anything along those lines.
why hire 8 year olds when there is a huge underemployed “reserve army of labor” in the 16-40 age bracket? Surely you realize that 8 year olds are not the best workers even in the best of circumstances?
Probably not made by an eight year old, but probably made by someone working in conditions that you’d find a bit harsh- 11 hour workdays, living in an on-site dorm, little attention to job safety etc. Chances are the people manfuacturing these things are young women from the countryside spending some time in a factory and making more money in a few months than they would in a year on the farm. They probably consider it a good deal, and their wages probably give them some indepedence and choices in life that they normally wouldn’t have.
I wouldn’t worry too much about it. While the system probably could be a lot more fair, there really isn’t much you can do about it and there is no practical way to ensure that everything you buy is made in working conditions that you would find tolerable. You can try to buy fair-trade goods, but you can’t do that for everything.
I have to agree. Given Cambodia’s recent history working for a wage in a factory is a huge step toward normal that many there would likely welcome. And while there are many considerations that ought to be considered in the long term like trade, worker rights, wage issues, and the like - this cannot be fairly ignored.
I have a few T-shirts made in Cambodia that I actually bought in Cambodia. I agree the maker of the OP’s shirt is probably glad to have the job. If she’s old enough to remember, she’s probably even very thankful she’s just not employed under the Khmer Rouge anymore.
Economists talk about “next best alternative”. Here’s an article
I saw a short documentary a few years ago (sorry no cite) about life in Cambodia. It suggested that they (all teens to adults) would rather sew clothes, as the alternative was essentially salvage at a landfill.
Supposedly, if something is “Made in USA,” that could mean it’s made in the territory of the Northern Mariana Islands, where labor laws are more lax, and hours are longer. Don’t know if that loophole has been filled yet.
One person’s sweatshop is another person’s employment opportunity and a chance to get out of subsistence farming.
Things are very complicated when you talk about matters like this. Is working a 12 hour day with few breaks exploitive? What if your other choice is to be sold into prostitution, so the rest of your family can have enough money to buy food? And, what if working 12 hour days for low salaries causes your economy to grow and in 20 or so years, vast sections of the population are able to live better lives?
Countries that use to be considered sweatshop countries like Japan, South Korea and Indonesia are now rich countries with well fed and educated populations.
Then again, if you can pay someone a few dollars per day to do a job in circumstances that would be illegal here, why have an American do it? Or, if we think it’s wrong to allow people in the U.S. to work in those circumstances, why is it okay for it in another country?
It’s a complex issue and I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t have an answer. A few years ago, Cambodia produced very few textiles. Now, Cambodia is now starting to industrialize because wages in China are now too high, and they need to find cheaper places to manufacture goods.
Maybe he just doesn’t like Cambodians, or 8 year olds?
While I agree with the your general point I don’t think you can include Indonesia in with South Korea and Japan. Perhaps you meant Singapore or Hong Kong?
Indonesia has an estimated GDP per capita of $4,156 (PPP) or $2,329 (nominal) where South Korea’s figures are $27,978 (PPP) or $17,074 (nominal) and Japan is even higher $32,608 (PPP) or $39,731.
Cambodia’s GDP is much closer to Indonesia’s than is Indonesia’s is to either South Korea or Japan.
So here’s a fun game for those of you with kids: Where Were My Clothes Made? Whenever we get any new clothes, the kids immediately guess what the tag will say to see who can get it right (this isn’t intended to be a lesson in sweatshop labor for them, it’s just something we discovered was fun).
Anyway, the point is that you might be amazed at the locations that make your clothes: sure, Cambodia, China, and Sri Lanka are common; but for a while we could count on Hannah Anderson pajamas inevitably coming from Latvia, and we also came across locations like Jordan or Algeria or Russia.
Well, okay then. Thank you.
Belive it or not, I once bought a cheap shirt (KMART) that was made in Mongolia-do they really have a garment industry?
I thought they herded sheep there.
Here in Thailand, we’re seeing an increasing number of “Made in Vietnam” tags. My newest pair of Nikes were made there. But most Westerners don’t realize Vietnam is becoming a manufacturing powerhouse in Southeast Asia, threatening to usurp Thailand’s position. Westerners will probably continue to think “sweatshop” for a long time to come when they see those Vietnam tags.
Cambodia is not going to become a manufacturing powerhouse anytime soon, but conditions are often better than most Westerners imagine. I distinctly recall some years back a group of foreign protesters descended on a Nike factory – I think it was Nike – somewhere outside of the capital of Phnom Penh, to “help” the oppressed workers who were being paid a fraction of their counterparts in the West. The workers ran the protesters out of town. Sure, Nike was paying them peanuts by Western standards, but by local standards they were making many times more money than their neighbors. They told the protesters in no uncertain terms to piss off and mind their own beeswax.
I can only imagine what would happen if companies did pay Western salaries. The turnover would be enormous. A month’s or two pay, and it’s back to the village a “wealthy man.” I saw this happen in Thailand one time. A Chinese Thai businessman of my acquaintance hired a new security guard at his company, a few weeks before New Year’s. At the annual New Year’s party, he held his usual drawing for 10 prizes of 100,000 baht each, cash. This was before the 1997 economic crash, and the baht was still worth more. 100,000 baht at that time was US$4000. The new security guard won one. That was the last anyone ever saw of him. He went back to his village a “wealthy man.” Probably thought he’d never have to work again.
Of course there is middle ground between “work them into the ground” and “pay an American salary.” Many of my Chinese students had parents who lived on the east coast working in factories to finance their education. Many other students spend their summer months in factories. They do indeed working 11 hour days, with a day off every other week for around US $150 a month. Nobody is proposing raising their salaries into the thousands, but many companies could easily give a weekly day off so that, for example, married couples working in different factories (common since many better-paid factories prefer women) can see each other every week. Ten hour days work give my students an extra hour to keep up with their studies as they work. Very basic work safety measures would mean a lot fewer missing limbs and future cancer cases.
I mean, could you imagine spending years at a time basically working and flopping down in your company dorm before doing it all again? Even a small raise in living conditions can make the difference between having the life of a robot and the life of a human.