How many stores use underpaid labor from other countries.
I feel guilty every time I buy somethign that says made in Taiwan or malaysia.
I’ve heard Wal Mart and K mart do.
If you’re asking how many stores sell merchandise made by exploited workers, the answer is pretty much all of them. You’ve no doubt heard the continuing charges that Nike uses third-world sweatshops to assemble its sneakers. Many (not all) designer/famous name clothing companies contract out the actual making of their goods, so one style might come from a decent contractor, while another could come from a sweatshop.
Also be careful of the “Made in the USA” trap. A good deal of those clothes are made in the Pacific commonwealths – Saipan, Northern Marianas, etc. While those areas are technically part of the USA, they’re not subject to the same wage and occupational safety restrictions the states are. And while the wages and working conditions may be pretty decent by Pacific Rim standards, you might consider them to be sweatshop.
I suppose you can look for the Union label in the clothes you buy. It’s a question of the price you’re willing to pay, the styles you’ll settle for and possibly having to go out of your way to find the merchandise at all.
Well, first you have to define what is “underpaid labor”. Most stores and US based manufacturing companies define this as a wage that is less than the living wage-what it costs to live in that country. While you or I would not be able to survive on $200/month, in some other countries that is a high wage. In yet other countries, it’s the norm.
Additionally, the large majority of stores have policies regarding the manufacturers and contractors that supply them. This involves inspectors from the companies(Wal-Mart, K-Mart, etc) visiting the factories to ensure that the employees are paid at least the minimum wage for that country, that there is not abuse going on in the factories, that overtime is paid correctly, etc.
I don’t think that your question can reliably be answered without first obtaining your definition of a sweatshop. There has been at least one GD thread on the subject in the past, with definitions of sweatshops in that thread.