Problems and Solutions
Problems
- Employees of sweatshops endure long hours and harsh conditions for a very low wage. In Bangladesh more than 80% of people work for less than $2 per hour and about 3.5 million of them work in textile sweatshops.
- Sweatshops undercut and compete with local businesses in developed countries
- Because of cheap labor that can be found in sweatshops, millions of jobs are outsourced from developed countries and leave many people unemployed.
"Lecture Hall." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 09 June 2015.
Solution #2: Raise Money
By collecting donations from individuals and governments alike, we could be able to fund large movements (and indeed our first solution) and rallies to help our cause against sweatshops. This may not be an effective solution because of the uncertainty businesses and people might have in the success of an anti-sweatshop movement. Ironically, perhaps even people whose jobs have already been ruined by sweatshops might be hesitant to donate in the face of their already low wages. Instead, they must treat it as all the more reason they must help this movement. Of course, the question comes up; how do we persuade people of all this? The next solution answers us. "CorpWatch : Forever 21 Fails to Comply With Federal Sweatshop Investigation." CorpWatch : Forever 21 Fails to Comply With Federal Sweatshop Investigation. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 June 2015.
Solution #4: Buying Products Not Made in Sweat Shops
For people reluctant to take an active role or give up time or money, there is a passive solution detour. By only buying products and goods that were made in unionized factories cooperatives, we place pressure on sweatshop owned companies. Some of the downsides to this solution is that it may not always be clear as to which product was made in a sweatshop or not. To help, Green America has compiled a list of companies that do not use sweatshop labor in making their products: http://www.greenamerica.org/programs/sweatshops/sweatfreeproducts.cfm "Sweatshops." Green America's Ending Program: Sweat-Free Products. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 June 2015. |
Solution #1: Raise Awareness
One of the first and foremost problems we, as a group, have to address is the lack of awareness of the horror of sweatshops in the general public. By educating people about sweatshops and the horrible conditions, long hours, and low wages that workers have to go through, more people will begin to speak out against the issue. We have to gain support before fighting the war. This solution could be difficult because it may require a lot of money to fund an educational movement but if people are more educated about sweatshops then they will want to act on it independently. They will realize how inhumane sweatshops are to workers and how big of a negative impact they have on hard-working businessmen and laborers. So, spread the word! Speak to your family, friends, and co-workers about the negative impacts of sweatshops. "Donations." Donations. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 June 2015.
Solution #3: Protests, Rallies, Speeches, etc.
Protests and rallies are not only important in educating people about sweatshops, but also what the movement is doing to help. These will help to spread our message to the world that the usage of sweatshops needs to come to an end as well as incline them toward helping the movement either by giving time or money. This solution might be difficult because organizing the protests and rallies could be difficult and protest and speeches tend to have a limited effect. Although we have full intentions of hosting peaceful protests, it is always possible that persons might get injured if it is carried too far. |