Sweatshops

How do you start a Sweatshops research paper? Our expert writers suggest like this:

The fashion industry is similar to many industries in the United States in that it must find a way to produce attractive merchandise to consumers at affordable prices. The difficulty arises when companies choose to outsource their production to countries where human rights may be violated by factories. While the public becomes outraged at such atrocities, it stubbornly refuses to pay more for products.

This issue is very apparent in India. Globalization has helped the Indian people tremendously. However, one would guess that the Indian people would rather not rise out of poverty by working in sweatshops. The Indian government seems well-intentioned, proving that sweatshops are the result not merely the product of unscrupulous corporations, but instead result from a complex and painful mix of many factors, including economies, governments, consumers, and workers.

This paper will review the issues of sweatshops and outsourcing as it pertains to the fashion industry. First, the trend of globalization will be discussed. Next, the impact on the fashion industry will be explained. The specific impact of these issues on the industry in India will be studied. Last, implications for the future of the textile industry will be explored.

The idea of globalization is sometimes expressed as a benefit to all countries involved. The exporting country benefits because jobs can be conducted elsewhere for less money, and the savings can be passed on to the consumer. The importing country benefits because the workers can earn a living to raise them out of poverty. In fact, many Asian nations have risen out of poverty, as promised. Manufacturing accounts for 23 percent of the gross domestic product of Indonesia. Vietnam exported 1.33 billion dollars of shoes in 1999, and this rate is growing by 35 percent annually. The garment industry accounts for 90 percent of Cambodia's exports.

Critics warn that while corporations try to sell the benefits of globalization, the reality is that worker exploitation is the cost, and that human rights cannot take a back seat to economic gains. As a leading economic power, the United States simply cannot allow its products to be produced by sweatshops and child labor.

For the most part, the problem of sweatshop labor is recognized by the public. The same people who acknowledge and are horrified by the issue choose to overlook the fact that they are wearing garments that are produced under such conditions. Organized coalitions have worked diligently to educate the public about the problem of sweatshops. Interestingly, this is one issue that cannot be changed through activism and organized labor alone. Only changes in consumption will ultimately affect the industry enough to alter the use of sweatshops. Fortunately, activists continue to fight for the sweatshop worker, and although they may not halt the practice altogether, they can make an impact.