What are sweatshops?
A sweatshop is a place of employment with dangerous working conditions. It is a factory that is usually cramped, containing poor workers from young ages, working hard for very low wages. Most workers have little to no rights or respect. In most workshops children from ages about 5-14 are also put to work.
LEDC’s and MEDC’s
A LEDC is a poor developing country and a MEDC is a rich developed country. Factories that work for the fashion industry are usually found in LEDC’s. This is because in poor countries the workers will not have to be paid a large amount of money and since they will need as much as they can get, they will take the job because they know that they can be easily replaced and won’t be given a second chance if they turn down the job. Whereas in richer countries, the workers will expect to be treated better because they know that it is easier for them to find a new job.
People in richer countries will buy items even though they have been made by struggling workers in sweatshops, because they believe that the item is worth the money the buyer is spending on it.
Also, the person from the MEDC can buy the clothing off the LEDC for much cheaper, and then sell the clothes for a lot more money, making more of a profit.
Clothing that is sold in cheap shops like Primark, is more likely to be bad quality, as they are made by kids who are ill, tired, or too young to know what they are doing and usually made using bad equipment.
Working conditions in sweatshops
Sweatshop workers worldwide are treated very badly. They are forced to work for extremely long hours, yet receive very little pay in return. The workers are also threatened and abused by factory supervisors. Sweatshops are usually cramped, hot, with very poor ventilation and lighting in some rooms. They are dangerous, filthy and cramped. They are crammed with hungry people young and old, working ridiculously hard just to earn a bit of money...