Globalization
Sweatshops in the News
The article "Fixing Apple's 'sweatshop' woes" shows how entrenched sweatshop merchandise has become in American society. Americans want their technology, their clothing, and even the foods they enjoy as cheap as possible, and they do not want to know about the conditions that others have to endure to make those products possible. This article describes how globalizing the manufacture of many goods has caused their prices to fall dramatically, and alleges that Apple's iPod is manufactured in sweatshop conditions by underpaid and overworked employees who make about $50 a month. It seems that Apple contracts out the manufacture of parts to a company in China, who "turned a $1.2 billion profit on $28.4 billion in sales in 2005," to become the world's largest electronics manufacturer, according to the article.
Apple is investigating the allegations, and the article notes they have one of the highest standards for suppliers in the electronics industry. The article also notes that many people are watching the allegations closely, and that Apple's founder, Steve Jobs, is "socially conscious," and so they expect Apple will take action when it finishes its investigation. The article also speculates that Apple could go through public relations problems about their practices, and that it could even create shortages of some Apple items if the sweatshop merchandise is removed from the Chinese company and built elsewhere. Finally, the article suggests that Apple should build their own plant in China, where they can regulate the workers themselves and make sure they do not live and work in such harsh conditions.
It seems hard to believe that these conditions still exist around the world today. It also is hard to understand how companies can take advantage of human beings that way, and that they justify it by making profits. Americans should take more of an interest in understanding just what goes into manufacturing the products they use every day. Perhaps if more people actually took an interest in these global issues, and refused to buy products from companies who employ these sweatshop methods in other countries, the conditions would improve and workers would not be forced to work in sweatshop conditions.
References
Hesseldahl, A. (2006). Fixing Apple's "sweatshop" woes. Retrieved from the Globalexchange.org Website: http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/sweatshops/4010.html6 Jan. 2007.
