{"id":7062,"date":"2011-05-09T04:30:08","date_gmt":"2011-05-09T11:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145696.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=7062"},"modified":"2011-05-09T04:30:08","modified_gmt":"2011-05-09T11:30:08","slug":"sweatshop-labor-used-to-produce-common-brands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/articles\/sweatshop-labor-used-to-produce-common-brands\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweatshop Labor Used to Produce Common Brands"},"content":{"rendered":"
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We talk a lot about the benefits of buying handmade<\/a> and why eco-friendly fabrics<\/a> are better for the environment, but a fashion issue that I think deserves some extra attention is not the why or what, but the who. Who is making all of those clothes that we buy, and under what conditions?<\/p>\n According to a recent report from the International Textile Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation (ITGLWF), many common brands still use sweatshop labor to produce their clothes. Brands like GAP, DKNY, Converse, and Abercrombie & Fitch<\/a> are among the brands that use sweatshops to save on clothing production costs.<\/strong><\/p>\n Sweatshop has become a blanket term for clothing factories, usually in third world countries, were workers have few rights and work under unsafe conditions. Garment workers make far less than a living wage with no holiday or sick time. They work unpaid overtime and often suffer mental and even physical abuse if they don’t meet strict quotas. A Guardian report on this issue explains: <\/p>\n …in one factory, 40 workers were locked in an unventilated room without access to toilet facilities, water and food for over three hours as a punishment.<\/p>\n In Sri Lanka, workers were forced to work up to 130 hours per month in overtime, and anyone asking to leave would be verbally harassed. In the Philippines, 24% of workers said that they did not receive additional pay for their overtime. Typical hours can be 6am to 8pm.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n While some of these conditions are illegal in the countries where they’re occurring, the problem isn’t alsways with the laws but with enforcement and with companies and consumers who turn a blind eye toward inhumane production practices.<\/strong><\/p>\nWhat is a Sweatshop?<\/h3>\n
How to Avoid Sweatshop Clothing<\/h3>\n