Do you think that child labor is wrong? Do you think that children should be in school as compared to a factory making clothes that people wear? If you answered yes, to both of these questions, you are not alone. There are many educational institutions nationwide within our country that has a PERFORMANCE FABRIC “Sweat free Policy” with their curriculum materials and modest clothing. These institutions adapted a “Code of Conduct for the Manufacturer of Apparel”. The apparel industry has been exposed to vigorous worker abuse. A man by the name of Andrew Ross reported previously in 1997 the following, “The textile and apparel industries are a showcase of horrors for the labor abuses sanctioned by the global free trade economy, where child labor, wage slavery, and employer cruelty are legion.” ~ NO SWEAT: Fashion, free trade, and the rights of garment workers, Andrew Ross, editor, 1997.
The following is some examples of garments made in sweatshops: Sports uniforms (This includes gym uniforms); school uniforms; shoes, athletic shoes or sneakers; sweatshirts, caps, and other imprinted clothing with school’s logos; academic regalia; lab coats and staff uniforms.
What is a sweatshop? A sweatshop is a workplace that suffers from systematic violations of one or more key workers’ rights have been violated according to international law and site-of-production laws and regulations.
The rights include:
Workers receiving a decent wage and benefits; Children not being subjected to working conditions that could hurt them physically, psychologically, or mental development; Freedom from unreasonable work hours and forced labor, freedom from physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, and protection of workplace health and safety hazards.
A code of conduct is utilized to hold companies accountable. Most companies of today have adapted their own “Code of Conduct”; unfortunately, organization codes are often inadequate to protect workers.