Sweat Shops Should Be Banned
Did you know that every 15 seconds a worker dies in a sweatshop? Sweatshops should not be allowed in our society. Sweatshops should be banned because the employees live in unfortunate situations and have no other options for work, they have to work in a dangerous environment, and their employers treat them disrespectfully. Research has been conducted to prove that sweatshops are appalling and should be banned.
Sweatshops still exist because the employees have no other option to work anywhere since poverty still exists, companies want cheap labour, and there is a lack of education for the workers, which stops them for getting a better job. Poverty is one of the main reasons behind the existence of sweatshops. Poverty is when people have very little income and cannot meet their basic needs, which leads them to working at sweatshops (Messenger). People work in sweatshops because they have no other way to get money in order to live and meet their needs (Messenger). Another reason why sweatshops still exist is because companies want cheap labour (Locke). These companies want cheap labour because they can make more money selling their products. One major company that uses sweatshops is Nike (Buzz feed). They give their sweatshop workers minimum wage to minimize the cost of their products and maximize profits (Do.something.org Background-on-sweatshops). The owners do not have to pay minimum wage to these workers, which is a great advantage to them (Locke). Due to their lack of education, these low-income workers do not have an understanding of their basic human rights and think that working in sweatshops is just a part of life. Some workers believe that working in sweatshops will help them master their skills and will have a better career in the future. Most of these employees spend their whole life in a sweatshop earning very little income and cannot come above the poverty line, hence are not able to become educated.
The inside environment of a sweatshop is very dangerous. A sweatshop has things such as, hazardous machinery and materials, unsanitary washrooms, improper or little furniture, and fire hazards. Sweatshops deploy dangerous machinery and materials inside of a sweatshop without proper safety standards. There have been incidents where the machinery and the materials have crushed children’s fingers and even worse it has torn off an entire arm of a worker (Woog 44). Unfortunately, sometimes there are also life-threatening materials in sweatshops. Children have to handle dangerous chemicals like KNO3; which is a chemical used in rockets and is flammable when heated (Gale 57). Children are forced to use and touch this chemical with their bare hands (Gale 57) There are also unsanitary washrooms and poor furniture in sweatshops. The toilets are only a hole in the ground and in order to get to them, workers have to walkthrough a hallway of rats (https://www.mtholyoke.edu/nshah/fashioncrimes/Sweatshops.html). Often, the chairs they work on are a bunch of broken pieces of furniture taped together or they have to sit on the concrete floor (Cheung).
Sweatshops offer unfriendly and very harsh conditions. In a sweatshop it is very humid and really hard to work in. In most of the sweatshops the living quarters are crowded and filthy, which can lead to the spread of germs very easily (https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~nshah/fashioncrimes/Sweatshops.html. Another alarming component of sweatshops is there are a lot of fire hazards. All the fire exits are blocked in order to maximize space for working and this has caused serious deaths in the past. If a spark happens in one of the sewing machines, a fire could start because of all the oil in the machine, as oil is known to be highly flammable. One incident was when the Bangladesh building collapsed because of a fire, many people’s lives could have been saved if the fire exits were not blocked (dailymail.co.uk). It is evident employees in sweatshops have to go through such terrifying and unfair conditions everyday.
Sweatshops treat employees very harshly. The owners abuse them, give them low pay, and they have to work in very unhealthy conditions. Employees that work in sweatshops often get abused (Herumin 24-25). If the employees are caught slacking while they are working, they are sent to the backroom (Herumin 24-25). The backroom is a place where employees are physically tortured (Herumin 24-25). The supervisor will either hang them by their knees or hit them with a cane (Herumin 24-25). Furthermore, workers receive very low pay while working in sweatshops. In South Africa people who work in sweatshops get only $36 per week (http://www.policymic.com)That is under the minimum wage of Africa, which is $57 per week (http://www.policymic.com). In a sweatshop workers might only get as low as 10¢ or 20¢ each day, and sometimes women do not get paid for years (https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~nshah/fashioncrimes/Sweatshops.html). Even when employees are sick they are forced to be present at the job, something, which many people in today’s society, would see as a basic right. It is clear in sweatshops the workers are not treated with respect and have to deal with daily abuse and unfavorable conditions.
Sweatshops are a terrible part of human society. Sweatshops force people to work in environments that are unsafe and unsanitary making it easy for workers to increase their risk for injuries and sickness. Not only can they be injured, but also they work in harsh conditions. Employees in sweatshops are treated appallingly by their superiors and are subjected to unfair work environments. People should not have to go through this kind of torture everyday. Today, there is worldwide awareness about sweatshops. Many organizations are trying to stop them from growing, as well as getting rid of ones, which already exist. There are a lot of ways people can help to stop sweatshops such as, donating to companies, which are working to stop the use of sweatshops, buying things locally, and looking at the labels of clothing to find out where it was made, before buying it. Donations can also be sent to companies like World Vision, which is an organization that helps people in need. It is evident people need to become more aware of the negative effects of sweatshops, as well as be willing to stand up against them will to help make a difference in our world. Every little contribution will count and help make world a better place for the sweatshop employees as well as bring us as a society one step closer to eliminating sweatshops for good.
Please visit our bibliography page for the sources we used in our essay.
Did you know that every 15 seconds a worker dies in a sweatshop? Sweatshops should not be allowed in our society. Sweatshops should be banned because the employees live in unfortunate situations and have no other options for work, they have to work in a dangerous environment, and their employers treat them disrespectfully. Research has been conducted to prove that sweatshops are appalling and should be banned.
Sweatshops still exist because the employees have no other option to work anywhere since poverty still exists, companies want cheap labour, and there is a lack of education for the workers, which stops them for getting a better job. Poverty is one of the main reasons behind the existence of sweatshops. Poverty is when people have very little income and cannot meet their basic needs, which leads them to working at sweatshops (Messenger). People work in sweatshops because they have no other way to get money in order to live and meet their needs (Messenger). Another reason why sweatshops still exist is because companies want cheap labour (Locke). These companies want cheap labour because they can make more money selling their products. One major company that uses sweatshops is Nike (Buzz feed). They give their sweatshop workers minimum wage to minimize the cost of their products and maximize profits (Do.something.org Background-on-sweatshops). The owners do not have to pay minimum wage to these workers, which is a great advantage to them (Locke). Due to their lack of education, these low-income workers do not have an understanding of their basic human rights and think that working in sweatshops is just a part of life. Some workers believe that working in sweatshops will help them master their skills and will have a better career in the future. Most of these employees spend their whole life in a sweatshop earning very little income and cannot come above the poverty line, hence are not able to become educated.
The inside environment of a sweatshop is very dangerous. A sweatshop has things such as, hazardous machinery and materials, unsanitary washrooms, improper or little furniture, and fire hazards. Sweatshops deploy dangerous machinery and materials inside of a sweatshop without proper safety standards. There have been incidents where the machinery and the materials have crushed children’s fingers and even worse it has torn off an entire arm of a worker (Woog 44). Unfortunately, sometimes there are also life-threatening materials in sweatshops. Children have to handle dangerous chemicals like KNO3; which is a chemical used in rockets and is flammable when heated (Gale 57). Children are forced to use and touch this chemical with their bare hands (Gale 57) There are also unsanitary washrooms and poor furniture in sweatshops. The toilets are only a hole in the ground and in order to get to them, workers have to walkthrough a hallway of rats (https://www.mtholyoke.edu/nshah/fashioncrimes/Sweatshops.html). Often, the chairs they work on are a bunch of broken pieces of furniture taped together or they have to sit on the concrete floor (Cheung).
Sweatshops offer unfriendly and very harsh conditions. In a sweatshop it is very humid and really hard to work in. In most of the sweatshops the living quarters are crowded and filthy, which can lead to the spread of germs very easily (https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~nshah/fashioncrimes/Sweatshops.html. Another alarming component of sweatshops is there are a lot of fire hazards. All the fire exits are blocked in order to maximize space for working and this has caused serious deaths in the past. If a spark happens in one of the sewing machines, a fire could start because of all the oil in the machine, as oil is known to be highly flammable. One incident was when the Bangladesh building collapsed because of a fire, many people’s lives could have been saved if the fire exits were not blocked (dailymail.co.uk). It is evident employees in sweatshops have to go through such terrifying and unfair conditions everyday.
Sweatshops treat employees very harshly. The owners abuse them, give them low pay, and they have to work in very unhealthy conditions. Employees that work in sweatshops often get abused (Herumin 24-25). If the employees are caught slacking while they are working, they are sent to the backroom (Herumin 24-25). The backroom is a place where employees are physically tortured (Herumin 24-25). The supervisor will either hang them by their knees or hit them with a cane (Herumin 24-25). Furthermore, workers receive very low pay while working in sweatshops. In South Africa people who work in sweatshops get only $36 per week (http://www.policymic.com)That is under the minimum wage of Africa, which is $57 per week (http://www.policymic.com). In a sweatshop workers might only get as low as 10¢ or 20¢ each day, and sometimes women do not get paid for years (https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~nshah/fashioncrimes/Sweatshops.html). Even when employees are sick they are forced to be present at the job, something, which many people in today’s society, would see as a basic right. It is clear in sweatshops the workers are not treated with respect and have to deal with daily abuse and unfavorable conditions.
Sweatshops are a terrible part of human society. Sweatshops force people to work in environments that are unsafe and unsanitary making it easy for workers to increase their risk for injuries and sickness. Not only can they be injured, but also they work in harsh conditions. Employees in sweatshops are treated appallingly by their superiors and are subjected to unfair work environments. People should not have to go through this kind of torture everyday. Today, there is worldwide awareness about sweatshops. Many organizations are trying to stop them from growing, as well as getting rid of ones, which already exist. There are a lot of ways people can help to stop sweatshops such as, donating to companies, which are working to stop the use of sweatshops, buying things locally, and looking at the labels of clothing to find out where it was made, before buying it. Donations can also be sent to companies like World Vision, which is an organization that helps people in need. It is evident people need to become more aware of the negative effects of sweatshops, as well as be willing to stand up against them will to help make a difference in our world. Every little contribution will count and help make world a better place for the sweatshop employees as well as bring us as a society one step closer to eliminating sweatshops for good.
Please visit our bibliography page for the sources we used in our essay.