Labor Practices Paper
PHIL/320
Labor Practices Paper
Sweatshops are used by companies to lower the cost of its production. The sweatshops refer to a company or factory which violates labor laws. They are known for employing children, providing below poverty wages, mentally and physically abusing their workers, forcing them to work long hours and punishing with physical force and sometime firing them if they do not comply accordingly. A lot of well-known companies have received backlash for using sweatshops to manufacture their products. Companies will not admit to using sweatshop labor because despite consumers wanting to keep cost down, it is unethical to have people working in horrible conditions. So is it a catch 22 for companies to make a profit and provide horrible working conditions to its employees? Many people do not realize that popular goods are made in sweatshop environments and are unaware that by buying these goods, they are supporting the company’s unethical behavior.
If required to pay a couple of dollars more to purchase products from a company not conducting unethical behaviors are consumers willing to pay the extra buck? “In a recent National Consumers League poll, 59 percent of respondents said it is “very important” (Blumgart, 2013, para. 9). that the products they purchase are not made in dangerous or unfair conditions, while 94 percent said that the way workers are treated is important to them”. A company may say they use factories or companies in countries such as China, Bangladesh and other countries because the production cost is low and the demand is high. The employment of children working in such horrible conditions when they should be earning an education is beyond unethical. As the consumer demands for the products maybe high we are willing to pay more to prevent individuals from working in deplorable conditions. Demand defines the willingness of a consumer to buy a certain product. If goods or...