Child labor is something people in the United States might think of as awful, but for families in countries like China it is a way of life. Name brand companies, for example Nike, have their products made overseas often using children to do the work. The use of child labor in other countries for Nike brings up the debate on whether or not the United States should buy products that have been produced by children. The United States should not buy products manufactured with the use of child labor because of the unfair wages they get paid and bad working conditions. Some may argue that by putting children to work it is lowering the unemployment rates in countries, the morals of buying products produced by young teenagers is just flat out wrong. Unfair wages is one reason the U.S. shouldn’t buy products that are produced by children. “...even with the much lower prices in these countries, critics say workers need to make at least $3 a day to achieve adequate living standards,” (Cushman). As John H. Cushman Jr. …show more content…
David Montero explains that in Sialkot, Pakistan there is a business, Saga Sports, that creates the Nike soccer balls by hand, the problem Nike has with the company is that they employ children to work in unjust conditions. “In November, Nike severed its contract with Saga Sports, its chief supplier, saying Saga's poor management exposes Nike to the threat of child labor and other labor violations,” (Montero). The chief executive of Nike is trying to reduce the amount of children that produce their goods in unfair conditions. The executive wants consumers to know that they are buying products that were manufactured the proper way of not having children make these items in appalling conditions that could threaten their health. The evidence suggest that working conditions is another reason that the United States consumers should not buy products that are made by
The article “The Noble Feat of Nike” by Johan Norberg talks about how Nike is gaining numerous benefits because of its location in a Third World communist country, Vietnam. Majority factory workers have endured extreme conditions in life, which is why they do not demand or expect too high, unlike Americans who would not accept such circumstances without increased wages. Nike has been providing factory workers with favorable wages, education, medical aid, and meals, but all this is only possible because Nike has always targeted a poor country. Indirectly, Nike not only obtains money through making quality gym shoes, but also through investing in poor country and earning extra dollars. Furthermore, this article also shows statistics on how Nike has improved, within a decade by saying that $54 a month of income leads to workers buying a bicycle after 2 years; otherwise every individual has to walk several miles a day.
Despite Walmart’s enormous, and beneficial, impact on the economy, people cite that when companies outsource, that includes child labour. In defense of other corporations, child labor has to do with culture, children choose to go to work because of their culture. In defense of Walmart, there has been no case of foreign child labour that was subsidised by Walmart. Child labour is often associated with clothing manufacturers such as H&M and Zara. Next, people cite the extremely low wages in other countries.
Child labor pertains to the exploitation of minors where their childhood is forfeited due to the tasks and responsibilities hindering their attendance in school or imposing physical, mental, and school determinants. Child labor is a form of abuse and it hinders their human rights and freedoms. “During kids' initial phases of development, children are susceptible to injuries despite a potential lack of immediate signs of physical and psychological health issues” (Ried). Some forms of child labor consist of “slavery or similar practices, child trafficking, forced armed conflict, prostitution, pornography, drug production, and hazardous work that can cause injury or moral corruption. ”(Ried)
Slavery seems like an outdated term. Despite international efforts, however, the 21st-century form of slavery exists; child labor. These workers are exploited by the factories that they work for by serious problems such as unregulated working conditions. There are multiple companies that have factories that violate humane working conditions, one of the most prominent culprits being Nike. According to Global Exchange, an international human rights organization, 96% of all Nike shoes are made in three Asian countries -Indonesia, China and Vietnam.
NIKE, Inc is the biggest American corporation that designs and manufactures of sportswear, accessories, equipment and services. This multinational business was founded by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman in 1964, has more 40 offices outside the US, over 600 worldwide store outlets and has become the market leader in sport industry with the most recognized trademark "Just Do It". Through over 50 years, Nike, Inc have been developing and marketing a wide range of brands with US dollar billions revenue per year. However, behind this success, Nike has been strongly criticized as Sweatshops for exploitation of labor force resource in Southeast Asia factories, especially in Indonesia. In this paper, based on "Nike Sweatshops: Behind the Swoosh" video
Not knowing whether the clothing you are wearing, or the food you are eating was made possible by child labor is alarming. I understand the need for children to “help in the household”; however helping and demanding children to work for long periods of time is completely different. Boycotting Hanes for example, is not the real answer to the problem. The root cause of the problem with child labor is poverty. What we need is to find a way to help the families that are so desperate for monetary assistance to survive, they are willing to send their children into the workplace.
“Child labor and poverty are inevitably bound together and if you continue to use the labor of children as the treatment for the social disease of poverty, you will have both poverty and child labor to the end of time” (Grace Abbott). The issue of child labor has been around for centuries. Its standing in our world has been irrevocably stained in our history and unfortunately, our present. Many great minds have assessed this horrific issue and its effect on our homes, societies, and ultimately, our world.
In Where Sweatshops are a dream, Kristof writes, “But take it from 13 year old Neuo Chanthou, who earns less than a dollar a day.” This quote acknowledges that children are working in sweatshops too. Children should be focusing on getting an education, not trying not to slip up and get seriously hurt at a factory. This quote also acknowledges how little the children workers get paid. Child labor shouldn’t even be happening in the first
Nike used to utilize child labor, rock bottom wages, abusive condition, the customers boycotted Nike and now Nike is a place where you look up to it. American companies sometimes do not care about how the others company treats their workers and customers get things cheaper because they pay their workers
For the reason being that America does not regulate overseas production 60 percent of the products we buy are produced by child labors. Another impacting story we saw was the story of one child soldier. The girl was kidnaped from school when a rebel group raided the school and kidnapped many young
This is the unknown question that leads many Australians to blindly support the exploitation of children in under developed countries. Growing pressures on companies to raise their ethical standards have been raised over the past decade, with many companies raising their manufacturing costs to support their workers and abide to standards. Unfortunately many international brands such as H&M remain operating factories in Cambodia where many employees are as young as 12, working 14 hour shifts in overcrowded, horrible conditions. These companies that utilise child workers maximise their profits by severely underpaying the children who are responsible for producing their goods. We as consumers must learn to overlook a sale item and see the true cost of what we are buying.
The United States is not the only country dealing with human right issues. Currently around the world countries are dealing with slavery-like practices, forced labor and debt bondage and in some cases prostitution and pornography. In an effort to bring attention to current world affairs a group of children rescued from mines, sweatshops and servitude met in Geneva recently calling for the International Labor Organization to restrict child labor practices around the world. In the article for the Associated Press Geir Moulson, tells us that "Children are employed simply because they are cheaper and more compliant than adults," said Neal Kearney, general-secretary of the Brussels-based International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation.
The bad financial issue that country face today contribute greatly to the growth in child labor. With the bad economy that the country is facing today, parents are left to send their children to work places. According to research done by Hassaan Bin Nasir post graduate at Medical Center, “Due to unemployment it has become compulsion of parents to make their children to work in factories, shops, even selling items on streets” (Nasir). Here, in America, child labor still exist, it may not be as popular as it is in the developed world, and however, it is still happening. These children mostly work in tobacco farm.
They are also robbed of an education because of their adult responsibilities. Should people buy products that have been manufactured with the use of child labor? There are many reasons consumers should not buy products produced by child labor. To begin, people should not buy products made by children is because of the environment. Factory owners can easily order the children around to do what they want.
But not all work done by children should be accepted as child labor. In other words, if a work doesn’t harm child’s health or personal development (educational issues), it is generally accepted as something positive and useful. Such activities develop children’s skills, provide experience and formulate them to be part of society. The term “Child Labor” is when children do work that damages their health or hamper mental or physical