A Necessary Evil: Sweatshop apparel

Some of us mean well and truly care about individual rights, freedom and being humane. However, to be globally conscious, "good intentions" is not enough. 

Good intention + logical thinking = win


One such issue which the writer has recently discovered is our contribution to slave labour or "sweatshops". To give a basic overview:

Sweatshops are factories or work-places which grossly "underpay" their workers to do exceptionally long hours of work in undesirable conditions. These are typically found in developing countries producing urban market demands such as apparel.

Like US and the Iraq war, too much "goodwill" may work against the Utopian ideal of a completely humane, ethical world. Before US became this developed today, they too, went through their own fair share of "slave labour".

Economists in fact, recommend more sweatshops to promote growth. Besides, a large percentage of workers willingly work at sweatshops with no complaint. Makes sense, since this job is way more desirable than say, trash-picking, prostitution and starving to death.

This makes the writer (and human rights activists) REALLY SAD

By simply boycotting, one is completely depriving choice in job market for the poor workers.

An example: Child laborers working in Bangladeshi sweatshops were victims of mass boycott in the US. As a result, more than 60% turned to child prostitution and the rest either starved or begged.


So it's subjective. Companies from various developing countries suffer from different plight. But for those who enjoy big brands, you might want to delve deeper into the production pipeline of your warez. It can be easily done by a quick Google. 

eg: F21

What we can do is EDUCATE the masses about this plight, know the background of our favourite brands and continue fighting evil bosses (such as Nike, F21,Walmart, GAP etc) from ill-treating their workers.


Fight responsibly, don't just boycott.