Sweatshops Simply the Word \"Sweatshop\"

¶ … Sweatshops

Simply the word "sweatshop" is enough to make any thinking, feeling American quiver inside. The idea that someone is wearing a shirt or a pair of pants that costs mere pennies to manufacture because of the enforced labor of another human being is anathema to our concept that a fair wage is necessary for all workers, and all workers have a right to be treated with dignity. However, barring certain brands such as Nike that is able to sell its inexpensively made goods at unusually high prices because of its brand cache, the average consumer often finds him or herself in a double bind. In essence, the poor in America are being 'forced' to facilitate the exploitation of poor in other lands in their buying habits, simply because they cannot afford to purchase ethically produced clothing. A wealthier individual might have the luxury of buying a unique garment, for example, that he or she knows was made by a highly paid and highly trained seamstress. However, someone who desperately needs a nice suit to wear for a job interview and hardly has enough money to pay the bills feels driven to buy clothing manufactured in China.

It could be argued that all nations undergoing the process of industrialization suffer a period where workers are poorly paid, and China is enduring such a period. A utilitarian would argue that to ensure the greatest happiness, for the greatest number, perhaps some suffering in the interim must be endured by the current generation of factory laborers in the developing world, so that industrialization can develop and so capitalism can take hold there. Moreover, the ethical quandaries we experience are not merely relegated to clothing -- what of how we profit off of the labor illegal immigrants, who enable restaurants to produce cheap food by working as dishwashers, for example, for no benefits and sub-minimum wages? Where can we draw the line, it is not practical to live in an entirely 'just' society. Of course, a Kantian would respond that what is wrong, and no rationalization can be right -- would we want others to turn a blind eye to our own exploitation as workers?