Sweatshops and Child labor

Sweatshops and Child Labor In this book, Where Am I Wearing, Kelsey Timmerman travels around the world in search of the factories and people making his clothes. Through this book Timmerman sheds light on the realities of sweatshops and child labor in developing countries. What Timmerman is trying to say and trying to get us to feel is that sweatshops aren't necessarily a bad thing in some instances they're the best means of survival for some families. Families in these countries would be out on the streets if they didn't have their jobs in the sweatshops and would have to beg and scavenge for food. To us because we live in such a developed country it seems like a terrible thing that these people are getting paid so little for such extensive hours but actually they are getting paid far more than they would at other jobs and through sweatshops these people are able to actually make a life and a future for themselves. Child labor is a similar reality. To us in the United States we see it as such a horrible reality that children lose out on their innocence because they are forced to work. However, the fact that the children in these countries have to work is just the reality and for them having jobs in textile/garment factories is better than other alternatives like begging or working in welding factories. The reason Kelsey Timmerman went on this mission was really to travel and to avoid growing up and starting his life. He always loved traveling and wanted a reason to go somewhere. After digging through his dresser drawers he thought what if I went to all of the places where my clothes were made to find out who actually makes the clothes. He wasn't just looking for the factories somewhere overseas where his clothes were made he wanted to actually meet the men and women who work in the factories that make his clothes. I think in the beginning he set out to avoid reality in a way and to pursue his love of traveling which he accomplished, but he came out with something far greater, an understanding of poverty and third world countries and a greater appreciation for what we have here in the United States. By applying contractarian ethics and the theory of justice sweatshops and child labor are not necessarily bad. Contractarian ethics has a focus on justice and justice means fairness or giving everyone what they deserve. However fairness doesn't necessarily mean equality which I think is key to this issue. Each society comes up with their own laws and structure. We cannot compare ourselves to people in other countries because our country has its own laws and its own structure just as India has its own laws and structure. I think that it is hard to compare a developing country to a developed country because developing countries are still fighting towards being a stable strong society. In some ways the sweatshops are helping developing countries become developed countries. Look at India and China compared to Africa. Right now India and China are much better off than Africa and are closer to being developed than Africa. Sweatshops as bad as it seems are actually helping these countries develop and come out of poverty. In order to resolve the issue of sweatshops and child labor many would say that we should just boycott products made overseas or products made in sweatshops. However this wouldn't benefit the people working in the sweatshops or the children making our clothes. This would only force them to find other factories to work in or worse they would have to resort to begging or prostitution to survive. I think that in order to help people in developing countries we need to be willing to pay more for our clothing. Many people think that child labor and sweatshops are wrong and terrible and they want to do something about them however when it comes to spending money people don't want to spend more of it. I think the main problem is that people in developing countries aren't getting paid enough. If the parents were paid more to work in the sweatshops then they wouldn't have to make their children work, helping to solve the child labor issue. I think selfishness is the root of the problem. Americans don't want to give up more of their money to solve this issue their solution would be to boycott the products made by sweatshops i.e. not spending any money i.e. causing more harm for the workers and children in the sweatshops than if we actually buy the products. Manufacturers and retailers are also at the root of the selfishness issue because they are trying to make the greatest profit. They pay their workers so little to work in the factories and make the clothes but then they hike up the prices tremendously to make a huge profit. A $15 T-shirt might have only been made for a $1 maybe even less. If the manufacturers and retailers swallowed their pride and really wanted to put an end to sweatshops and child labor they would pay their workers more and spend more money to improve the conditions of the factories. Another solution is becoming an engaged consumer like Timmerman. By being an engaged consumer Timmerman is indicating that he is trying to give back and engage in things like Fair Trade. For example Toms gives a pair of shoes to someone in need every time a pair of shoes is bought. This kind of system is something that could really help get those countries out of poverty. It's a great solution to the problem because by doing something we do all the time, shopping, we are giving money, water, and clothing to people in poor areas that have none of those things. This book really made me think about where our clothes come from and who makes them. Not only that though, it also explained the importance of sweatshops. Before reading this book I didn't realize the benefits of sweatshops, I was always on the other side thinking why don't we boycott the companies that use sweatshops and child labor but it's not that simple and this book has made me realize that there is an issue far greater than the sweatshops and that is poverty. Poverty is at the heart of all of this and for Americans it is a harsh reality that we think about but never experience first hand but in these countries it is an everyday struggle. Working in sweatshops is one of the better jobs believe it or not and we need to do something about that to change that reality for them but we can't just start with the sweatshops we have to start with the issue beneath it, poverty.