Are There Solutions for the Sweatshop Problem?

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2.4 Making people aware

The last solution is making people more aware of the sweatshop problem. The first way to achieve this is by performing ‘sweatshop fashion shows’ in which they protest in a funny way against sweatshops. The only disadvantage of these shows is the small reach. (Bullert, 2000)

A better way to reach a lot of people is using the press in which you target a well-known company or a famous celebrity.

The internet is also a good way to reach a lot of people. You can send out E-mails, promote the problem on social media like Facebook, make petitions, etc.

We can conclude that there are a lot of different ways to make people more aware of the sweatshop problem, but nowadays we still have to focus on finding a solution for the sweatshops itself. (Bullert, 2000)

3. Examples

A good illustration of the fourth solution, in which they try to increase awareness of the sweatshop problem, is the ‘Deadly Fashion’ documentary. In this documentary three fashion bloggers were sent to work in a Cambodian sweatshop. After a day working in the bad circumstances, the fashion bloggers realised that “they are rich because it costs only 10 euros to buy a T-shirt at H&M while somebody else has to starve for it” (Goldberg, 2015).

It’s also important that everyone takes responsibility, especially the government. They have to stimulate multinationals to provide better working conditions. However, The New York Times claims that “the American government doesn’t follow its own advice. The government pushed retailers like Walmart and Gap to demand better working conditions at factories but still buys more than $1.5 billion of clothes from overseas factories” (New York Times, 2013).

4. Conclusion

This paper provides four different solutions on the sweatshop problem but society should come up with more and help win the fight against sweatshops.

The first solution mentioned is that multinationals could sign a code of conduct in which they promise to provide better working conditions and to raise the minimum wages. In the second solution, anti-sweatshop activists try to raise the wages and improve the working conditions. Another solution is to give the consumers the choice to buy social labelled products because the higher price allows companies to improve their labour conditions. The last one is making people more aware of the sweatshop problem by organizing sweatshop fashion shows, making documentaries and spreading these among the internet and press.

Enough possibilities are provided to improve the sweatshops and to develop better working conditions. However, the question remains if they are achievable.

5. References

5.1 Academic sources

Brown, D., Deardorff, A., Stern, R., (2004). The Effects of Multinational Production on Wages and Working Conditions in Developing Countries. University of Chicago Press, February 2004.

Harford, T., (2007). The Undercover Economist. London: Little Brown, 2nd edition.

Harrison A., Scorse J. (2004). Moving up or moving out? Anti-sweatshop activist and labor market outcomes. Retrieved February 18, 2015, from http://www.nber.org/papers/w10492.pdf.

5.2 Web sources

Bullert, B. J. (2000). Strategic Public Relations, Sweatshops and the Making of a Global Movement. Retrieved February 16, 2015, from https://depts.washington.edu/gcp/pdf/strategic_public_relations.pdf.

Hiscox, M. and Smyth, N. (2006). Is There Consumer Demand for Improved Labor Standards? Evidence from Field Experiments in Social Labeling. Retrieved February 14, 2015, from http://dev.wcfia.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/HiscoxSmythND.pdf.

5.3 Popular media sources

Goldberg, Eleanor (2015). Fashion Bloggers Work In Cambodian Sweatshop, Learn 'We're Rich Because They're Poor'. Huffington Post.

The Editorial Board (2013). Uncle Sam’s Sweatshops. New York Times.