If you’ve read Davina Rodriguez’s piece on sweatshops in the June issue of Papierdoll, you walk away getting the feeling that this is a problem that won’t go away. I remember when the whole Kathie Lee thing was going on and she had to go on TV explaining that she wasn’t aware that her clothes were being made in sweatshops because it was basically a licensing deal and she wasn’t directly involved. While that didn’t absolve her of her responsibility, I think that people in general were a little too hard on her.
I guess this is my counterpoint to Davina’s article. The question that begs answering is: where would they make the clothes if not in sweatshops?
If you started to manufacture clothes (not just high-end designer items) in the US, the price of clothing would go up dramatically. The public at large would complain at the high cost of goods. Without getting into economics and different ideologies, sweatshops while abhorrent to Americans, may actually benefit workers in other countries. It’s capitalism at work. The workers in these sweatshops are paid above standard wages for their country, some receive benefits that others in comparable industries may not have and are able to put food on the table for their families.
This is a marked difference than the slave labor story just making the rounds last week in China. I can play the devil’s advocate role here and say at least they are getting paid for their work. Things can be much worse in unscrupulous countries with backward working conditions. The designers although playing somewhat of a role in where their clothes get manufactured are capitalists as well. They want the best quality possible for the lowest price possible. They will shop around and as long as the workers are getting paid, they don’t care how it’s done as long as it’s done.
I guess I am falling on the side of those that say while the thought and practice of sweatshops are to put it mildly awful, they are a necessary evil and provide work for those who otherwise would have none.
I await the hate mail.
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