Last summer, I found an Old Navy shirt on clearance for $5. Thinking the shirt was darling (especially at that price), I bought three more in different colors. Upon getting home with my wonderful shirts, I noticed the tag: "made in Vietnam." Rationally or not, I instantly thought of sweatshops: people working 15 hour shifts for $1 a day, people working in unsafe environments, people living in squalor who never get a day off. This thought disturbed me so much that I wanted to learn the truth about sweatshops. I wanted to search for American-made goods, and, having heard of Fair Trade, I was also inspired to search for companies who guarantee their overseas workers a fair living wage and decent working conditions.Turns out, Old Navy is the fastest-growing subsidiary of the Gap, a company that includes Banana Republic (greenamericatoday.org). The company has had several shocking worker-rights violations in recent years: in 2007, the management of a Gap factory in India was r esponsible for two deaths. One worker began vomiting at work, and she asked to go to the hospital. She was verbally abused for the request; she was not allowed to leave. When she finally was allowed to leave, she collapsed outside the factory and died. A pregnant woman went into labor at work and was not allowed to leave. Her baby died. Authorities raided another Gap factory in India and found 10-year-olds working there (greenamericatoday.org). Additionally, the Gap has been linked with sweatshop labor in six other countries (greenamericatoday.org).
Gap supplier Western Factory, in Jordan, has also been accused of serious labor-rights violations, including: typical workweeks of 109 hours, routine beatings for production errors, wages below the legal minimum, withholding of wages, and unsanitary working conditions (greenamericatoday.org). I thought of the Vietnemese makers of my shirts, and I shuddered when I considered what they might have endured making them. Companies that exploit workers in other countries make assessing the scope of the "sweatshop problem" difficult, because they routinely move to less-regulated areas.
The Gap is not the only clothing company that reeks of sweatshop-ism. According to a March 10, 2010 press release by United Students Against Sweatshops (usas.org), Wal-Mart, Nike, and other companies owe Indian workers $10.5 million in unpaid wages. The Indian state of Karnataka raised the minimum wage for garment workers over a year ago, but workers for these companies never got the raise (usas.org). The bottom line is that the Gap and Nike are making tons of money on the backs of workers in other countries. It does not have to be that way.
Clothing companies say that, in order to remain competitive, they must keep labor costs as low as possible. But sweatshop expert John Miller found that doubling the pay of garment workers in Mexico would add only $1.80 to the price of a $100 coat, and a recent survey found that Americans would be willing to spend $115 for the same coat if they could be assured that it was not made in sweatshop conditions (greenamericatoday.org). As Green America Today states, "No one should have to work 17-hour shifts so Americans can save a few dollars on clothing."
In the absence of universal strategies for labeling "sweat-free" goods, the AFL-CIO has compiled a list of companies that use unionized labor. Some of the clothing brands listed: Avon, Oshkosh, Union Jeans, Eddie Bauer, Brittania, Kids "R' Us, Outdoor Outfit, and Canyon River Blues (I have a Canyon River Blues shirt--yay!). Some "green" shoe companies are Airstep, Brown Shoes, Naturalizer, Redwing, Stacy Adams, SAS, and Wolverine. "By purchasing products that are fairly produced, cooperatively produced, or produced in unionized factories, you can help end sweatshop and forced child labor (greenamericatoday.org)." An organization called "New American Dream" also maintains a list of "sweat-free" companies, such as Justice Clothing and No Sweat Apparel (/marketplace/clothing.php). "Behind the Label" and "Sweatshop Watch" promote sweat free products as well. You can find them easily online.
Some companies choose to join associations that screen out suppliers and factories that engage in sweatshop abuses; they adopt "codes of conduct" based on International Labor Organization (ILO) guidelines pertaining to worker rights and non-exploitative work environments. Companies belonging to these associations include Land's End, Adidas, and Eileen Fisher (greenamericatoday.org). Also, the Worker's Rights Consortium helps colleges and universities enforce codes of conduct for factories producing clothing and other goods bearing the school name. More than 100 schools are affiliated with the association (greenamericatoday.org).
Workers are also exploited in just about every food category that America imports, including bananas, chocolate, and coffee (greenamericatoday.org). Now there are co-ops who say they guarantee their workers a fair living wage; Fair Trade is the largest and best-known of these. Small coffee farmers who partner with Fair Trade earn more than double the typical price per pound of coffee: usually, the price per pound hovers around .50, but those farmers partnered with Fair Trade earn $1.26 per pound (greenamericatoday.org/programs/fair-trade/products/coffee.cfm.). Alexa Marin Colindres is a Nicaraguan coffee producer with Fair Trade. She says, " With Fair Trade income we have made improvements to our community. Before, we slept on the ground and did not have basic amenities. Now some of us have floors, some furniture, sanitary services, and potable [drinkable] water. If we sold all of our production at Fair Trade prices, our dreams would come true" (greenamericatoday.org/prog rams/fair-trade/products/coffee.cfm). Consumers should pressure stores to stock the ever-growing list of "Fair Trade Certified" goods.
Walmart and its subsidiary Sam's Club carry Fair Trade Certified coffee and chocolate. It is sold under the company's brand, Member's Mark. Walmart brags about its community involvement, and it has made some improvements in recent years in this area. However, because of the company's terrible labor relations in other countries, it has a long way to go before it can be considered "socially responsible." There have been serious abuses in the Dominican Republic: TOS Dominica is a key Wal-Mart supplier; it fired a woman after she began organizing workers to improve the treatment of women and demand better pay and working conditions (/pages/wal_marts-dirty-laundry). Indeed, Wal-Mart is repeatedly accused of union-busting. Also, there are always allegations of Wal-Mart using sweatshop labor in other countries (/pages/wal_marts_dirty_laundry). And a National Labor Committee reports that workers in Honduras who sew clothes for Wal-Mart earn just .43 per hour (greenamericatoday.or g). But, again, the company partners with small coffee growers for its Member's Mark Fair Trade Certified coffee, and it is adding to the list all the time by carrying Fair Trade chocolate, coffee, wine, and bananas (/content/wheretobuy/. The company is trying to "clean up" its image: more pressure from American consumers might make Wal-Mart re-think its overseas practices.
Coffee is the best-known Fair Trade item, and Fair Trade is the fastest-growing segment of the $11 billion coffee industry (/searchresults.asp?Cat=38). Fair Trade Certified coffee can cost more than $10 per 12-oz. bag. By way of comparison, a 12-oz can of Folger's is around $4. However, Target's Archer Farms Organic Certified Fair Trade coffee is about $7, and it is often on sale for $6. In addition to guaranteeing small coffee farmers a fair price for their product, Archer Farms partners with Save the Children, an organization that helps pull children out of the fields and put them into schools. Walmart's Member's Mark Fair Trade Certified coffee is about the same price as Target's. Be vigilant, though: not all Archer Farms or Member's Mark coffees are Fair Trade Certified--look for "Fair Trade Certified" on the package.
In addition to coffee, chocolate is a swifly-growing Fair Trade item. Everyone loves chocolate: it is a $16 billion industry (/searchresults.asp?Cat=38). Now we can buy Fair Trade chocolate brands such as Equal Exchange Chocolate Bars, Sweet Earth Organic Chocolates, and Divine Chocolate. It's a rare store right now that carries Fair Trade chocolate, but, if you want a greater variety than what Wal-Mart carries, you can buy these brands online (/searchresults.asp?Cat=38).
Companies' exploitation of workers in other countries is a critical problem. The solution, I think, is not necessarily demanding more American-made goods, though that would be nice. The outsourcing of textile jobs is an economic reality that is not likely to change, and workers around the world need their jobs. And we need our imports: the only U.S. state that has the right soil to grow coffee is Hawaii, and 100% Hawaiian Kona is more than $40 per pound. Bananas do not grow in Nebraska. Rather, the solution consists of Americans' standing together and demanding fair, living wages for the people around the world who clothe us and make sure we have our morning cup of coffee.
Organizations such as Green America Today, United Students Against Sweatshops, Behind the Label, and Sweatshop Watch are a good, awareness-raising start in solving the problem. You can buy from their lists of "green" products: products that, if they are not American-made, are made by workers in other countries who earn a fair wage. As for me, I would rather have one"clean" Eddie Bauer shirt than four "dirty" Old Navy clearance shirts. And I would rather buy Fair Trade Coffee and just drink less.
Companies spend millions trying to figure out what American college students want so they can sell their products to us. It's time we flexed our huge economic muscle. Workers around the world deserve fair wages and decent working conditions. Now is the time. We are the people to do it.
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