11 Things You Didn T Know About Sweatshops

11 Things You Didn’t Know About Sweatshops

1. A "sweatshop" is defined by the US Department of Labor as a factory that violates 2 or more labor laws.

The U.S. Department of Labor defines a sweatshop as a factory that violates two or more of the U.S. labor laws, such as paying minimum wage, paying overtime, paying on time, and maintaining time cards.

2. In developing countries, an estimated 250 million children ages 5 to 14 are forced to work. On top of that, children worldwide below the age of 18 years represent between 40 to 50 percent of all forced labor victims.

3. America has stronger labor laws than most undeveloped countries, but it is not free of sweatshops. Many slip under the radar of the US Department of Labor.

The Department of Labor indicates that 50% of garment factories in the U.S. violate two or more basic labor laws, establishing them as sweatshops.

4. A study showed that doubling the salary of sweatshop workers would only increase the consumer cost of an item by 1.8%, while consumers would be willing to pay 15% more to know a product did not come from a sweatshop. Most workers in sweatshops are often only paid $.10 to $.20 per hour.

5. Sweatshops do not alleviate poverty. The people who are forced to work must spend the majority of their paycheck on food for their families to survive. Sweatshop workers can make as little as one dollar a day.

6. According to the National Labor Committee, sweatshop workers sewing Nike shoes make 24 cents per pair that will eventually sell for $140 Nike denied allegations of abuses in its factories for years, but finally in May of 1998 Nike announced its pledge to follow U.S. occupational health and safety standards, end child labor, and allow external monitoring of its facilities (Corporate Watch, 2000).

7. Men and women alike are subjected to verbal, physical, and sexual abuse in factories from their managers and supervisors. They are sometimes trapped in the factory and forced to work overnight or across multiple shifts.

Female sweatshop employees are forced to endure numerous instances of sexual harassment. Additionally, managers often make false promises for better jobs in return for sexual favors.

8. In 2000, more than 11,000 sweatshops in the US violated the minimum wage and overtime laws, while over 16,000 had broken health and safety laws. In 1999, several U.S. retailers were named in a lawsuit claiming that they had used false advertising and unfair business practices regarding the sale of products manufactured under sweatshop conditions in Saipan.

9. Because women make up 85 to 90% of sweatshop workers, employers force them to take birth control and routine pregnancy tests to avoid supporting maternity leave or providing appropriate health benefits. A 20/20 investigation in Saipan sweatshops discovered that pregnant employees were forced to have abortions in order to keep their jobs (20/20 special investigation, 2000).

10. Nike, Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch, Gymboree, Hanes, Ikea, Kohl’s, LL Bean, Pier 1 Imports, Propper International, Walmart, and many other factories use sweatshops

Many U.S. retailers have ties to sweatshops, which are usually foreign owned and operated. Companies like Gap, Liz Claiborne, Kathie Lee Gifford, Nike, and Wal-Mart all came under criticism for marketing goods produced in sweatshops.