Sweatshop Labor Essay

The rise and fall of sweatshop labor in the United States have had major effects on the global garment industry. The effects of sweatshop labor are still debated today because we still struggle over the morality of sweatshops (Ross, 50). It is problematic to think that “Sweatshops aren’t that bad. You can live like a king on those wages in other countries because everything is so cheap and they don’t have the same expenses we do in the United States” (Kelley). We can analyze this statement by applying Catholic Social Thought (CST) to identify, evaluate, and recommend a different course of action that would allow the statement to better align with CST. CST is a set of ethical principles that allow for “reflection to form our conscience, criteria
Section 323 of the Compendium explains that on one hand we must produce material goods for life, but not at the expense of people. This section states “The prophetic tradition condemns fraud, usury, exploitation and gross injustice, especially when directed against the poor” (Compendium, 323). To follow CST, we must acknowledge poverty and share the gifts of God with the poor. However, the goal of the garment factories in chapter 5 of the Rivoli text is to gain enormous profit, regardless of the conditions of the workers it employs. This section of the Compendium explains that we must not exploit the people who work, but unfortunately as seen in most sweatshops, the conditions are poor and the workers are exploited. Rivoli described her visit to the Shanghai Number 36 Cotton Yarn Factory as a sensory assault. “The noise is a metal blanket, a deafening clatter of real machines, rather that the electronic buzzing or beeping emitted by factories in America. The metal noise blanket smothers not only conversation but thinking as well” (Rivoli, 5). This practice could be improved by improving the conditions of the factory workers to better align with CST. Specifically, providing a safe, more quiet, and spacious work environment for the factory
The Compendium states solidarity is a principle that “highlights in a particular way the intrinsic social nature of the human person, the equality of all in dignity and rights and the common path of individuals and peoples towards an ever more committed unity” (Compendium, 192). The principle of solidarity relates to how we are to be in relation to each other, especially the poor and marginalized. This statement contradicts the principle of solidarity because it highlights the division between the individual making the statement and the laborers working in sweat shops. To better align with CST, the individual should be accepting of the poor and marginalized, instead of ostracizing