Take in a look in the mirror. What do you see? Nine times out of ten, you see your reflection, wearing the latest shoes, shirts, jeans, jackets, and sweaters.  You do this to follow the crowd, rocking the freshest outfit in efforts to be “hip” and “cool”. Nine times out of ten, your “outfit” is made in china, Bangladesh, Cambodia, or even Vietnam. Nine times out of ten, we never really sit down and think about where our clothes are made.  Now I don’t want to be a hypocrite here. I don’t blame you. I am too, a victim of consumerism, a religion that most Americans follow without realizing. Who doesn’t like spending hard earned money on pretty things? Yes, I do realize that the workers in China are paid poorly. Yes, I do realize that there are usually dangerous working conditions. And sadly, yes, I do realize that there are children as old as my 10 year old cousin working in these exact sweatshops. But due to my ignorance, I never really think about it. I just go on with my day at the mall or browse online stores for things to buy. Like most people, I just put myself first, albeit not as much as before. I’m sorry to say that I am brainwashed by materialistic desires. But hey, if you happen to deviate from the consumerism norm and happen to fall in the one-out-of-ten category, I commend you and you may stop reading as soon as this sentence ends.

          Little do we know, we are paying $100 for a pair of Nikes that “cost less than five dollars to make.” In the eyes of big time CEOs, it only makes sense to continue the use of sweatshops. While we’re buying these shoes from sweatshops, CEOs are cashing in at a rate of over 1900% profit per shoe. As a businessman, only a fool would turn down that kind of profit. At the same time,apparel workers in China are making roughly 0.44 US Dollars in hour.  If this is ridiculous, the next fact is even worse. In Bangladesh, there are people working 10 hour days in the apparel industry earning more than the 36% of the population living on less than $1 per day. By this, supporters of sweatshops say that we are, in fact, giving people in third world countries like Bangladesh an opportunity, an opportunity for a better life. Although it is true that the wages of sweatshop workers are usually higher than the average wage for a citizen in a third world country to live on, there is no evidence that the jobs of sweatshop workers are in fact "better." Just because one job might pay more than another doesn't necessarily make it "better" This regards to extremely long work days and/or unsafe conditions. In survey of 11 countries, 9 reported that “sweatshop wages equaled or exceeded average incomes and in some cases by a large margin.” In Cambodia, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Honduras, “the average wage paid by a firm accused of being a sweatshop is more than double the average income in that country's economy.“ Statistically, the workers are given a great chance to put food on the table for their family. But at what cost? It is unjust to make a worker choose between his or her own health and life over working wages. How is it ethical to take advantage of these people who have so little? Did you know children between the ages of 10 to 16 are working up to 14 hours a day in factories in Shenzhen? By this we can see that like adults, children are working +12 hour days. If it is unethical making adults work dangerous conditions while get poorly paid, what does that mean for children who are getting the same treatment?

          In a sense, it is true that companies are giving citizens of third world countries opportunities to make decent money (in their standards) and put food on the table for their families. But the key concept of my argument is: when is enough, enough? It’s important too see that sweatshops are not necessarily essential for economic growth. Indeed, they keep costs low for consumers and provide jobs where there would otherwise be none but at what cost? The very essence of sweatshops is due to consumerism, corporate greed, and the global market's demand for rapid production and low costs with high profits. Workers should not have to endure unsafe and unfair working conditions so that corporations and corrupt government officials can get rich.

So next time you look in the mirror, Are you happy?

On a side note: I feel terrible for the workers that have to spent their days pushing these thread-like shoelaces into these nike keychains...

Hilarious...