The collapse of that factory in Bangladesh highlights the cost people in third world countries pay for our cheap products. What can we do to prevent or reduce the hardships experienced by those who make the cheap clothing we buy?
Owners of clothing manufacturing factories frequently underpay their workers and use brutal intimidation to force them to work 13 hours or more per day 6 days a week under dangerous working conditions. This occurs not only in Bandladesh but also in some factories in Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan and other countries. Most of the products are made for major retailers in Western countries. What can you do to make sure this exploitation does not continue? Much of this work is outsourced from the USA or Canada to countries where wages are impossibly low and where there are few protections for workers and no opportunity for them to organize by joining unions. Violent gangs are used to control the workers and local governments are either corrupt or ineffectual.
As consumers in free countries do you feel an obligation to do something to prevent the exploitation of these human beings? What are you thinking you should do?
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Heavy import tariffs that make it unprofitable for companies that want to sell their products inland to produce their shit offshore.
Far more than our fault, I think that more inspectors of construction, less bribery, more honest ownership, holding owners accountable for accidents would be beneficial.
No. As a consumer – one consumer of billions – I have no role or responsibility in how the manufacturer cares for its employees. My boycott of a product has zero effect. It is like one raindrop in an ocean.
Sure, it might make me feel virtuous (think of ‘fair trade coffee’- a scam if ever there was a scam) but it has no effect on the way that the business people in Bangladesh sell themselves.
Furthermore, no one has the right to impute an obligation on me (that I have not agreed to) because of someone else’s bad behavior.
The important point to recognize is that not every economy, not every country, plays by the rules that the US purports to. This is a diverse world, which means that each country acts in its own way.
Trying to push our social/economic values on other countries is imperialism at its worst.
If you are serious about it, take the effort to find out what products are made where and how and do not buy them if you don’t approve.
I do it all the time. Especially when it comes to buying food.
Seems simple to me.
Buy stuff made in your home country. In the U.S. it’s getting more possible, more things are made here that you could not find a couple years ago, or could only find in poor quality previously.
But what else is possible? Tariffs are a good idea to level the playing field for U.S. companies.
I used to advocate that anything imported into the U.S. had to be certified to be made by people with workplace safety and health benefits that are typical in the U.S., but unfortunately that standard of ‘typical in the U.S.’ is declining.
@elbanditoroso
It is not about forcing other countries to comply with western standards.
It is about forcing companies that want to do business in western countries to comply with western standards, even if their factories are offshore.
Big difference.
@ragingloli – you just agreed with me. You wrote “It is about forcing companies…”. The keyword there is “forcing”.
A Bengladeshi corporation runs by (and operates according to) the laws of its country, and by extension, its government. A US corporation (Wal_Mart) may make its desires or standards known, and the foreign factory may choose to modify its practices, but without the support and urging by that government, it won’t happen. (And as we have seen in China and elsewhere, there is constant backsliding. Look at FoxxCon – the factory that makes Apple Iphones, that was criticized, changed practices, and then a year later was repeating the same bad deeds to its employees.
Look, if it makes you feel good to boycott foreign goods in the belief that it’s making a difference, have at it. But realistically , the consumer is a tiny little factor in foreign factory behavior. National policy and practice is far, far more of a factor.
The best way is for the end consumer to find out where their products made and stop buying items made in sweat shops, but that is very difficult and probably never going to happen in a big enough way to make an impact. In America things finally changed for factory workers, because they organized, unionized, and also some people took the fight to the government and labor laws were made. That is one way for things to change, the country it is happening in needs to make a change from the grass roots. Another possibility is for companies to have some fucking integrity and not abuse people. Maybe treat employees as they would want to be treated as an employee and not look at the wage worker like they are subhuman. Hell, I would not even treat animals like that.
@elbanditoroso @ragingloli what if we re-worded it so that it read
“It is not about forcing other countries to comply with western standards.
It is about ALLOWING companies that want to do business in western countries ONLY IF THEY comply with western standards, even if their factories are offshore.”
No forcing involved, only incentive.
@rojo – that’s just semantics. The problem is “ALLOWING….ONLY IF”—which is simply another way of saying FORCING.
I could probably agree with ALLOWING if the ONLY IF clause were dropped.
And whether it is “Allowing” or “forcing” – the key point is that American values are being foisted on another culture with different values. That’s imperialism.
Relevant
Ian Robinson of the University of Michigan and his team ran an experiment at a suburban Detroit department store. They placed identical socks side by side on display. Some were labeled as coming from factories with good working conditions. Half of the customers noticed the choice and bought them. When the researchers started to raise the prices on the ethical socks, however, there were fewer takers.
“As soon as we introduced a small price difference, just 5 percent different, it dropped down to about 33 percent,” Robinson says.
Seems as though consumer concern begins and ends with the pocketbook.
I have to admit, I never look at labels to see where something is made. I’m more concerned with the physical quality as it presents itself to me and the cost (not so much “is this cheap” but more “can I afford this right now”).
@elbanditoroso: A boycott is “imperialism at its worst”? Thanks for the laugh… I’ve been studying different kinds of European imperial history for the past six or seven years…
I’d say that imperialism is the feeling that we have no moral responsibility toward people whose labor improves our lives, because they live somewhere faraway and primitive, they have unpronounceable names and weird religions, and at the end of the day, because they should be grateful for a life of sweatshop labor, since without us, they’d just be rolling around eating mud.
The disaster in Bangladesh is an example of laissez faire capitalism at work. It also happens in the US. The explosion of the ammonium nitrate facility in West, TX was due to violations of US inspection requirements and a violation of storage limitation requirements by the company. There is not much that we can do about it given the political climate. The Texas Governor has indicated that he will “look into it”.
@bookish1 – I will look forward to reading the reviews of your book that redefines imperialism.
@elbanditoroso I disagree. You are not forcing anyone to do anything. They do not have to make the necessary changes if they are happy selling to other less restrictive markets. It is not different than providing seat belts in cars and then ticketing people who choose not to use them. If you would rather pay the fines rather than comply with the regulations, the choice is entirely yours.
It’s really very simple, become informed consumers. Instead of buying the ‘cheaper’ product, buy American. This supports our own country’s economy, puts more Americans to work, and eliminates the atrocities we see happening such as in Bangladesh. Ethical business practices are market driven, and we are the consumers that drive that market. Be informed. I buy only products made in the U.S. and NEVER shop at Walmart.
@sujenk7422 -to be clear, it isn’t just WalMart, although they are one of the more egregious ones.
Even the “high price” stores – Macys, Nordstroms, Von Maur, Dillards, Saks – all have thousands of products imported from all over the world—lots from Viet Nam, Thailand, and so on.
Do each of these stores enforce a manufacturing standard on all the vendors that they work with in each country? It would be nice to think so, but I doubt it.
@sujenk7422 When you say market driven, what exactly do you mean? Back when America did a lot of manufacturing, cars, garments, and more, conditions in many factories were horrible. The consumers for the most part didn’t care from what I can tell, I don’t think much has changed on that front. So, the market encourages abusing workers and paying them nothing, that’s the problem. That’s why we are where we are, with much of manufacturing outsourced in countries outside the US. The free market win’t cure the problem, from what I can tell it never has. But, my history is not perfect on the topic.
One last thing. Imposing tariffs merely means the other side will impose tariffs as a response. The US already has an overall trade deficit. And the economy sucks as well. Bad decision.
@josie From what I understand, our trade with China is unjust, not even, regarding requirements and tariffs, probably other countries also.
@JLeslie
Other trading partners impose tariffs because they can. They know the US is desperate to export manufactured goods, and thus has very little bargaining power. If we impose tariffs, we simply make our problem worse. It is sort of like hearing that you may be laid off, and then going in and demanding a raise. The wrong tactic.
(I keep losing this firgging post!)
It would be wise to remember history. When cheap garments were made in American sweatshops, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in which scores of young women died caused an increase in union organization, public outcry and stricter safety inspection standards. Conditions at that factory and others were similar to those in the Karachi fire – locked doors and not enough exits. I think a combination of worker organization, international outcry and a willingness to pay more for our clothes will cause change. We live in a global village now and we have to accept some of the responsibility for our demand for cheap goods.
Thank all of you for your thoughtfulness in considering this question. Thanks especially to @augustlan for your leadership and fine example.
Not a simple solution.
1) We could try avoiding products made in those countries…but then that would hurt their economy and worsen the conditions of those workers. If we do more business with them then we will aid the idea and more such factories will be created.
2) If we ask the companies to implement safety regulations then the workers may experience pay cuts. Also, corruption may simply mean no inspection with an excuse for lower wages.
A revolutionary idea is needed where safety standards and better working conditions are mandated.
Don’t buy items made in other countries if it can be helped, try buying all of the things that you need from your country. I understand that will be hard, but you need to do this, so you’re not helping the goverments of other countries
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