More on Sweatshops

Last night we talked briefly on sweatshops so I thought I'd expand on it here. Sweatshops are manufacturing facilities where conditions are inhumane and workers are overworked, underpaid and often abused physically or mentally. Most major companies contract out the manufacturing of their products to the lowest bidder. So often times, the cheapest bidder is the one that pays their workers only cents a day and makes them work long, arduous hours.

You can cast your vote against sweatshops by how you spend your money. Knowmore.org is a great online resource that rates major companies based on six categories: Human Rights, Worker's Rights, Business Ethics, Political Influence, Environmental Concern, and Globalization. You can look up the stores you shop at regularly and discover how they rate. Keep in mind, some of those stores may be owned by a larger corperation so you may have to browse around to find out who's their parent company. You can also check out www.behindthelabel.org for more info on sweatshops, stores that use them, and how you can get involved to stop them. If you want to buy some guaranteed sweatshop free merch then check out www.nosweatapparel.com. They can even print your own design on sweatshop free apparel so you can make a statement of your own!

Thanks for your interest in helping make a difference in the fight for worker's rights. I hope these resources can be a help to you in finding alternative stores that use more ethical and humane practices.