'Do you care if goods are made in sweatshops?' poll discussion

Former_MSE_Lawrence

Poll between 13 - 19 July 2010.

Do you care if goods are made in sweatshops?

There’ve been reports this week of seven year olds working 100s of hours in sweatshops (see Mail story), yet what about the wider picture of adults in sweatshops?

Which of the following is closest to your view of sweatshop-sourced foreign goods?

A. It’s price that counts. I don’t consider these issues. - 25% (2405 votes)
B. Prefer not but... would buy if there’s no more ethical viable alternative. - 29% (2804 votes)
C. Ethics counts. I try to be aware of ethical issues & purchase accordingly (see ethicaltrade.org) - 26% (2503 votes)
D. I’d pay more for ethical goods. Happy to pay to ensure fair trade - 21% (2080 votes)

Total Votes: 9792

This vote has now closed, but you can still click 'post reply' to discuss below. Thanks

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MothballsWallet

Got more important things to worry about right now, besides, there's no guarantee the "ethically-sourced" stuff is any good anyway, or actually is as "ethical" as it says as who audits the producers and the overseer organisations?

hardpressed

I don't like to think that what I'm buying is exploiting someone else, but for someone living in a country where there is no welfare system is it better to work for a pittance than starve? That doesn't mean I condone anyone having to work in a sweatshop. We need to campaign for fair working conditions and fair wages for all.

AshleyBones

MothballsWallet wrote: »

Got more important things to worry about right now, besides, there's no guarantee the "ethically-sourced" stuff is any good anyway, or actually is as "ethical" as it says as who audits the producers and the overseer organisations?

Arrogant apathy! Would you care if it was your child?

AshleyBones

It is not the public that force down prices by demanding cheaper products, it is retailers who want to be able to offer the cheapest prices. Retailers force down prices.

ASDA were offering an electric kettle last year for £3 - ridiculous!

Of course people will buy them but no one 'demands' a kettle for £3 and any right minded person would expect to pay three times that for a reasonable quality kettle.

pennypinchUK

The most awkward thing for the end consumer is that we don't know the conditions the people are working under. And even when we believe we're buying off a reputable retailer their manufacturers may well have outsourced some or all of the contract to sweatshops, sometimes without the knowledge of the retailer's buying department.

The Sunday Times this week featured on it's front page a boy of 7 in Delhi working an 18 hour day, 7 days a week, making Christmas decorations for the UK market, and being paid 7p an hour. Poor lad, even in a wretched sweatshop that's exploitation at it's worst. And it's only when newspapers and the like do these investigations that we customers find out about these things.

Company Buyers have a clear responsibility to check on the conditions of the workers and only source from manufacturers that provide reasonable working conditions for the local employees. Rather than source the cheapest possible product from the cheapest possible manufacturer.

Maybe as a rule of thumb we should tell ourselves that if an item appears too cheap it's been made in a sweatshop. Hardly a perfect rule, but without what else as a consumer have we got to go on?

rag31

I wish I could say I was disappointed with the poll results so far, but having been on here a while I'd say that I'm just unsurprised. There are a fair few prats on here (did you look up long enough from the Daily Mail to really consider the question and the moral implications of ticking 'i don't give a sh...')

Becky

minerva_windsong

I think sadly most people aren't going to spend £65 on a People Tree dress from the internet, plus the faff of returning it if they don't like it, when they can buy a Primark dress for £10 and stick it back on the hanger after trying it on in the shop if it doesn't suit. (Although I believe Tesco recently did an 'ethical' range of clothes but am not sure how well it was received.) Admittedly if people buy the ethical stuff at however much it costs that will eventually drive down costs, but it won't happen overnight. Plus as others have said a lot of the time it is difficult to tell based purely on cost - is, say, a £40 Topshop dress likely to have been made by workers who earned more or worked in better conditions than those making the £10 Primark dress? I'm thinking probably not.

Otherwise I agree with hardpressed - better to campaign for fair wages and decent working conditions for all, and trying to keep some money in someone's pocket, even though I don't like the idea that someone's child is earning a pittance so that I can have cheap clothes.

MSMB

I'd just like to point out that there ARE ways of knowing how ethical a product / company actually is. Ethical Consumer display results of their ethical assessments of products for free (and you can subscribe for access to all their most recent research too if you want to). A bit like Which magazine but for ethics!

It's important to note that ethical goods aren't always the most expensive either - cheap stores like New Look and H&M seriously outperformed more expensive options like Karen Millen in their clothing industry survey. Whilst the cheaper stores may not be perfect (M&S and Monsoon were the real strong ethical performers on the High Street for clothing) it shows you don't have to be rich to avoid the worst offenders.

I think this is something everyone should take seriously, and whilst I appreciate those with financial difficulties or low incomes may find this difficult, we can all make choices to at least avoid the very worst offenders at no cost in many circumstances!

BeatrixKiddo

This is a real issue that we need to start addressing now.

I understand and I too, have been ignorant & guilty of buying from Primark and the like - simply because it's (generally) fit for purpose and very cheap. As the MoneySavingExpert ethos so vehemently petitions for, 21st century is expensive and most people are becoming so fed up of being effectively 'screwed over' by faceless corporations, that we are attempting to play them at their own game. But at what cost?

Thankfully, the media are beginning to raise awareness of the poverty and shocking conditions people (including children), are subjected to, to meet deadlines and budget restrictions. From what I understand, large companies simply contract out to whomever can completed the work for the lowest price. These companies, in turn sub-contract, so the parent company may end up unaware of who (ultimately young children being paid pennies) is completing the work for them.

To change the situation, the media need to further raise awareness of the actual individuals who suffer and target the larger corporations to expose the tactics that happen.

It is certainly not straightforward though, as if companies are forced to change their policies, the people at the root of the problem, who really suffer could have their livelihood taken away and end up living in more extreme poverty.

As always, I live in constant hope that the good side of human nature will prevail and this (along with many other) situation(s) will eventually turn around, with a fair outcome for all.

Never give up x

rfburke

To simplify your reasoning by breaking it down to two options, starve or work in a sweatshop, side steps the moral issue and justifies you’re choice.
Raising consumer awareness is a powerful tool in motivating retailers to procure best sourced products.
Free range eggs is a good example of this, where the sale of, now far exceeds the battery variety.
Retailers will continue to use exploitive sourcing measures as long as consumers purchase their products.
Consumer action can be powerful tool of change..
These working conditions were present in 19th century british coal mines, when you read about this at school you were probably shocked that people could exploit children in such a manner, yet it’s happening 200 years later!
Just because it’s no longer on our doorstep does not make it justifiable.
No one could convince me that a child working 12hrs a day 7 days a week for less than a pound a day is acceptable. You wouldn’t let your child do it, so why should someone else’s take their place.