How would you feel if you lived in a third world country and had to work from sun-up until sun down each and everyday in cramped, filthy, and unregulated working conditions just to earn $2? Now let me paint a different picture for you. How would you feel if you lived in the United States and worked two jobs just to live at the poverty line and the only clothing you could afford were cheap clothes that were manufactured in a developing country, which more than likely exploits its workers?
Both scenarios are very common to many people in the United States and other countries around the world. People in underdeveloped countries work for little to no pay just to afford food for their family, which in turn allows for many items sold in America to be significantly cheaper. This situation creates a cycle which affects people here in the United States who are poor but the only clothes they can afford is clothing from companies that may outsource to poorer countries, thus exploiting the indigenous people from those areas. So begins the negative cycle that links poverty and exploitation.
Trade within our world is rapidly expanding each and everyday, but with such an increased rate of expansion and globalization arises the problem of the exploitation of workers in developing countries. In order to expand their markets and become more competitive with the rest of the trading world, “countries may need to dismantle their trade barriers, abolish their legal monopolies, privatize their state-owned enterprises and reduce over- staffing in their bloated bureaucracies” (Rama 2). Such reforms may bring about a large-scale loss of jobs, which in turn would result in more unemployment within developing countries. For instance, the European Union just recently signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Peru and Colombia: a decision that was faced with much opposition. Such a decision was met with wide disapproval because it was rewarding these two governments even though they are known to violate and exploit the rights of their people. Furthermore, an increase in investments may have a negative impact on citizens.
Nevertheless, without globalization many people, including America’s working poor, would be unable to afford simple necessities. That globalization exploits workers allows for items sold in other countries to be cheaper, thus allowing the poor people of the United States to afford items such as clothes. As awful as this scenario may sound, many people who are poor in America are forced to side with the lesser of two evils and purchase items, which further the exploitation of foreign workers.
Ultimately, faced with such a troublesome scenario, what would you choose to do if you were amongst the working poor? What would you propose as a solution or compromise to this crisis?
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=636320
http://www.utne.com/2003-03-01/Jordans-Sweatshops.aspx
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/05/opinion/la-ed-trade5-2010feb05
Lloyd, this is a very interesting topic to write about. Last year, I learned about the unfair working conditions all around the world. Labor is cheaper in other parts of the world, so manufacturers send work to these places. As a result, they can sell the product at a cheaper price so more people can afford to buy it. As you said, this is a corrupt cycle that is nearly impossible to change. If I were amongst the working poor, I would only be able to buy the clothes I could afford. I would not be able to give much thought about the way they were made, or where they were made. Ideally, I would only support clothing companies that treated their workers fairly; however, the clothes from these companies would be out of my price range. I do not think this is an issue that is on people's minds when they go shopping. I think an organization should raise awareness about working conditions around the world. This way, people are more likely to think about where their clothing is coming from.
ReplyDeleteIn our Environmental Science class last year we did a unit on these types of working conditions and the “unseen” costs. The price tag we read may be $2.99 but the actually cost to create that item somewhere in let’s say, China, was much greater. As Lloyd said, some of these workers may only receive $2 a day for their laborious work but it cost them their well-being. The cost that we don’t see on the price tag is the cost of losing a limb while working or losing an education because you need to help your family afford food. If I was amongst the poor and had to decide whether I would buy the sweater for $2.99 or leave it aside and go to another store with a similar sweater and better working conditions for $65, I don’t think I would be able to do so. However morally wrong I would feel, I would also feel morally wrong if I spent $65 on a similar sweater but let my children starve for the night because I couldn’t buy them food too. I think a solution to this problem would be to raise awareness in other countries about labor laws. The United States has very strict laws on child labor and minimum wages; if we were to educate the people in developing countries of these and more, then their economy as a whole could grow. If I was one amongst the poor and I knew that another country had developed stricter laws where each of the workers would make a certain amount an hour and the prices had to be risen from $2.99 to $9.99 I would still be willing to purchase that sweater despite the price increase as long as I could still feed my family and the people in other countries could too.
ReplyDeleteWhen put in a situation like this one, the decision to spend more money on clothes that are made in a more humane way is tough to make. While working amongst the poor, every penny earned counts towards simple things like food for the family. The decision to spend more on the same clothes that you could get for cheaper because workers were not exploited while making them is one that i could not personally make. If i am struggling to feed a family along with myself, the last thing on my mind is worrying about exploited workers over seas. It may sound selfish, but i would be more concerned about the well being of my family than the well being of foreign workers. Now if i was not poor and had some money to spare, then i would definetly purchase the brands of clothes that did not exploit their workers but when put in a situation like this one, i would have to go with the cheaper purchase.
ReplyDeleteWhen I go shopping I never think about how the clothes were made. It's just not something that has ever crossed my mind until now. This is a very interesting topic Lloyd has chosen to write about. Before reading this post, if I went to two stores and they both had the same sweater, I would buy the cheaper one of course. But now, I may chose to buy the more expensive one because of how they were made. If I was amongst the poor and I was struggling to feed and take care of my family I would have to buy the cheaper product, because I would not be able to afford the more expensive even though it was made in a better way. I agree with Leanne that an organization should be made to raise awareness of the working conditions around the world so people know where there clothing is coming from. If this happens, maybe people in third world countries, or even here in America, will receive better working conditions and higher wages.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the exploitation of workers and the idea of globalization all over the world appears to be unfair to those receiving minimal pay for their job, it is simply how the world runs. All over the world there are wealthy individuals, middle class, and unfortunately there are those in poverty who are evidently struggling to make a living off of two dollars an hour. It is very unfair that some workers are exploited but changing the way all these cultures function would be detrimental because if everybody received the equal amount of pay per hour, prices for all products and clothes would hit the roof. If I were living in poverty and had to raise my family I can honestly say that I would not be worried about where my clothes came from or how they were made as long as there was something on my back. As much as I would love to give equal and fair opportunity to all individuals all over the world it just cannot be done because products would be so expensive everywhere. Agreeing with the other posts, I do not believe anybody really takes into consideration how some clothes are manufactured and this issue was extremely eye-opening and controversial to me.
ReplyDeleteI found this topic to be quite an interesting one. I've learned about the working conditions around the world and how unfair the treatment of workers was. In third world countries, the labor is so much cheaper than, let's say, the United States. People in other countries work in unsafe and unsanitary conditions for very little money and the cost of the product they made was so much more than they were paid to do it for. Businesses will then put a cheap price tag on that item so they can sell many of that item for more profit. If I were amongst the working poor, I would be forced to buy cheaper things to be able to afford the necessities, like most people amongst the working poor. This isn't something I normally have in the back of my mind when I go shopping and I'm sure not too many other people do either. I think if there was more education about this issue and more awareness of it, then people would definitely be more appreciative of the clothes they buy when they go shopping.
ReplyDeleteIt is unfair to those who are working in other countries who make next to nothing. I could never see working in these conditions just to make $2 in one day. In this situation, since I am amongst the working poor in America, I would do what I would have to do to support my family first before considering this. If at times I could afford to buy the products made in a more humane way I would otherwise, I would buy the cheaper products. I would try and avoid supporting this crisis as much as I could by getting my clothes from the Salvation Army or other places like this, that way I wouldn't be buying it directly from the companies who participate in exploitation of foreign workers. I would think about my family first and make sure they are all set before buying the more expensive products.
ReplyDeleteIf I were placed in a position of poverty in which I had to work two jobs, the topic of exploitation and globalization would not even cross my mind. Every little penny that I could save for my family I would try to do that whether it takes to buy the cheapest clothing. When it comes to being poor, I would rather spend more money on food rather than clothing. I simply could not afford to buy more expensive clothing and buy food for my family. The topic is going to change my outlook completely when I go to the store to buy clothes. Maybe instead of buying the cheapest clothing, I could spend a little more money because I would know that I would be helping to stop the negative cycle. As others said in their posts, I would agree to construct an organization that would make people more aware of the situation by maybe having a commercial or some billboards around in cities.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to choose between buying more expensive clothes over the many cheaper options out there, but with the knowledge put forth in this post I feel like on a personal level I will be more aware of the clothes I buy and the conditions in which they were manufactured. It is totally unfair that in some parts of the world people make $2 for the work they do, but it also isn't right to deny poor americans the option of buying cheaper clothes for their family especially if thats all they can afford. If I was in that situation most likely the thought of exploiting the labor of other people in other countries wouldn't cross my mind because the only thing i would be thinking about would be keeping my family warm and feed. I agree with the others that we should find a way to make people aware of whats going on around the world through either public service announcements or signs around the big cities.
ReplyDeleteAs you said, the "lesser of two evils" is really the choice here. If I were amongst the working poor, my main concern would be to provide for myself and my family, no matter where the products I am buying were made. It is entirely true that much reform needs to be done to combat this issue, both for the working poor in third world countries as well as the United States. Many people purchase items without even a second thought as to the difficult and corrupt labor it took to make those items. People definitely need to be made aware of these issues through the gateways mentioned. The most difficult thing is, in many of these countries, people are focused on providing for their families as well, and they are willing to work all day in such harsh conditions if it means they will make a couple of dollars to provide food. However, this does not justify their conditions. Clearly, much must be done, and it is possible that countries or the United Nations need to work together to discuss ways to move toward solving this issue.
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