Case Study "Sweatshops: Not Only A Global Issue"

Introduction

Sweatshops are common around the world for a variety of reasons. Firstly, companies are constantly pursuing the lowest costs of production. Therefore, cheap labor has always been on a company's bucket list. By using "the race to the bottom" concept, a companies' supply chain that includes retailers, wholesalers, contractors, and subcontractors seek to procure the lowest costs of labor around the world (Weiss, 2014). As a result, they exploit the marginalized members of the community that are economically deprived and need work to meet their daily needs. Apart from that, sweatshops are prevalent across the globe because large retailers are vertically disintegrated and it becomes difficult for the consumers to know the factory of the supplier. With this note, vertical disintegration reduces a company's liability of any wrongdoings in the factory since most brands have not invested in their own factories (Kate, 2018).

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Sweatshops are viewed with disgust and abhorrence because they are characterized by the extreme exploitation of laborers, poor working condition, and abuse. Workers are exposed to dangerous working conditions where they are exposed to toxins and are not provided with protective gear or even trained on safety protocols (Weiss, 2014). Moreover, the deplorable conditions in the workplace are not equipped with fire safety and proper ventilation. Besides, the workers are forced to work for long hours with minimal pay and they are subjected to verbal abuse by the employer. The working environment in sweatshops creates psychological distress among the workers, particularly migrant laborers who are ever stressed. As much as sweatshops are viewed with disgust, they offer some positive benefit to the workers (Weiss, 2014). Sweatshops offer some form of economic relief to workers in poor countries by creating employment and enhancing survival. However, sweatshops do not relieve these workers from poverty because of the low wages.

The problem of sweatshops can be solved through the supply chain. Global retailers should invest in monitoring the production process at all stages and be transparent to reveal the supply chain details to the consumers. For example, the fair trade concept could be implemented across industries by charging the consumers a small premium for all the products that adhere to safe labor standards such as acceptable working environment (Weiss, 2014). On the other hand, there should be competitor collaboration where companies seek to implement acceptable labor and working standards in the supply chain. The working environment performance should be constantly measured to identify problems like stress, injuries, bad management in order to eliminate the root causes. Most importantly, global companies should evaluate new means of auditing the suppliers especially third-party factories that have been found to breach work safety and labor practices.

The Corporate Accountability and Workers Rights initiative has the potential to alleviate the problem of sweatshops if companies follow through with the agenda of implementing global labor standards coupled with factory inspections. The use of global labor standards would ensure that suppliers improve the working conditions for their employer. The factory premises should be inspected for safety to avoid a repeat of the Bangladesh incident that left 1100 workers dead. In addition, the initiative would ensure that the workers are well paid and overtime labor compensated (Weiss, 2014). However, for the initiative to be a success, there should be a corporation between global businesses and the local authority. Government intervention would ensure that there are local policies and regulations in line with the global labor standards, an aspect that could lead to economic growth and development (Kate, 2018).

Conclusion

Moral hypocrisy has a negative impact on the fight to improve the sweatshops working conditions. If consumers cared about the source of their products, they would demand sweatshop-free products. However, consumers are only concerned about their spending power by accessing cheap products and are not willing to incur extra costs. Furthermore, people endorse sweatshops through the argument that they create job opportunities for the poor. As a result, consumers do not disapprove sweatshops because they are guided by economic justification (Kate, 2018).

References

Kates, M. (2018). Sweatshops, Exploitation, and the Case for a Fair Wage. Journal Of Political Philosophy. Doi: 10.1111/jopp.12155

Weiss, J. W. (2014). Business Ethics: A Stakeholder and Issues Management Approach. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.