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Abstract
This article reviews the overall issue of sweatshop labour practices, with a particular focus on the apparel industry. Although sweatshop labour exists in the United States, the media focus in recent years has centred mainly on overseas manufacture.
This article will review individual companies and the practices of which they have been accused. The issue of labour compensation will also be explored, as low wages is the target reason for many apparel manufacturers to source their production overseas. Appendices to this article include Foreign Labour Statistics, outlining foreign labour compensation as compared to that of the United States. This article will also review the focus of the White House Industry Partnership and United Students Against Sweatshops.
Lastly, there is a detailed recommendation for suggested required information on all apparel products labelling, which would summarise the manufacturer's quality of labour practices on the garment label; thus providing the consumer with immediate information on the environment under which the item was manufactured.
Introduction
Sweatshops: "According to a working definition developed by the US General Accounting Office, a sweatshop is 'an employer that violates more than one federal or state labour, industrial housework, occupational safety and health, workers' compensation, or industry regulation" (Hemphill, 1999, p.21; Encyclopedia Brittanica.com, 2001).
Although sweatshop labour exists across many markets of manufacturer, the problem seems to be most prevalent in the apparel industry. We are all familiar with the headlines that have been highlighted in the media over the last few years. Many companies, including K-Mart, Phillips-Van Heusen, the Gap, Nike, and Reebok, are among the various companies accused of producing products in factories utilising sweatshop labour practices.
As a result of these disturbing stories, many groups have formed and voiced their public outcry in an effort to stop the public's acceptance of these practices. Two major groups heard throughout the Nation were, The White House Apparel Industry Partnership and United States Against Sweatshops. These groups have forced companies to take a hard look at their labour practices and initiate some type of monitoring or auditing system.
One must ask if the pressure from these organisations and the monitoring procedures in place are powerful enough to stop the sweatshop labour practices in force around the world. Is...