3.11.2010

The Thing about Sweatshops

Years after activists accused Nike and other Western brands of running Third World sweatshops, the issue has taken a surprising turn.

The path of discovery winds from coastal factory floors far into China's interior, past women knee-deep in streams pounding laundry. It continues down a dusty village lane to a startling sight: arrays of gleaming three-story houses with balconies, balustrades and even Greek columns rising from rice paddies.

It turns out that factory workers -- not the activists labeled "preachy" by one expert, and not the Nike executives so wounded by criticism -- get the last laugh. Villagers who "went out," as Chinese say, for what critics described as dead-end manufacturing jobs are sending money back and returning with savings, building houses and starting businesses.
Check out the whole story here.

3 comments:

Michael said...

So are you denying that sweatsops exist, or are you, like Blackadder, one of those sweatshop defenders?

Zach said...

Why am I necessarily doing either of those things? I thought it was an interesting story.

I certainly don't deny they exist, and I think the conditions that some people work in are utterly deplorable.

Michael said...

Good to hear.