On Sweatshops and Neo-Imperialism

My good friend and I were in a certain Big Box retailer recently. Not to name names, but it is hard to miss (very subtle hint there). Once we crossed the threshold of the double doors we became engulfed by the red and white interior, with its sterile serenity of neatly stacked merchandise. The flow of figures in and through the aisles added a nice contrast with all that merchandise. We then made our way towards the bedding section to get very-high thread count sheets for as few dollars as possible. After poring over several aisles of sheets and things, we finally found exactly what we were looking for: 600 thread-count queen sheets. They were about ONE-FIFTH the price of the same type of sheets in a more upscale store. I took it upon myself to check where the sheets were made. Maybe, just maybe they were not a product of sweat-shop labor. I turned the package over and… “Made in Pakistan.” We bought them anyway.

Of course, it is not certain that just because the sheets were made in Pakistan that they were made with a 14-hour workday in 90-degree temperatures or in other deplorable conditions. But it is probably very likely. Normally, I try to look for items made in U.S.A., Canada, Costa Rica, or Taiwan. The fact is, it is hard to know for sure that you are not supporting a sweatshop when you buy stuff unless you know the labor record of the company or brand in question. For instance, the company New Balance is widely acknowledged as having the best labor record of the major athletic shoemakers. There are resources online to find out more about a particular company. One such site is www.coopamerica.org and another is www.sweatshopwatch.org. Co-op America grades the biggest retailers relative to their labor records — including labor standards of their suppliers. Federated and May Company department stores, for example, each received a ‘C’, while Wal-Mart, not surprisingly, received an ‘F’.

Here is a very brief summary about what causes and perpetuates sweatshops. The global economy has made it easier for nations to exchange and purchase goods and services, including labor. Many companies from wealthier nations move their manufacturing operations to poorer countries to save on the cost of labor and raw materials and to enjoy more lenient environmental regulations. They save a great deal partly because workers in many developing nations are not only desperate for jobs, but they are not well organized as a political force as they are in most developed countries. Because of this, companies do not usually have to face wage or health care demands, or strikes.

Essentially, what happens in the global economy is a form of Imperialism that some call Neo-imperialism. In other words, wealthy nations are still exploiting poorer nations, but now it is not so much political domination as it is economic and cultural. Free trade is usually not fair trade. For instance, the huge subsidy that the U.S. government gives to agriculture (which is run mostly by large corporations — not family farms) is not fair to other nations who can’t afford to give out these subsidies. Our agri-business will frequently flood worldwide markets with their huge surpluses of grain and other products (gained with the aid of their subsidy), which lowers the price. The lower price means that family farms in developing nations cannot as a result afford to make a living from their harvests, and many are forced to work for Nike or other American company. Then, they may spend their diminutive salary on McDonald’s or Coke — shipped to their nation because wealthy companies need worldwide demand for their products to be able to grow in order to please their stockholders — and the result is an extremely destructive cultural Imperialism. The abundance of American products visibly affects the way cultures in developing nations operate.

Seeking God’s wisdom on something as complicated as the global economy can be very challenging. Thankfully, Tom Sine’s book Mustard Seed vs. McWorld sheds a great deal of light on this topic. Sine doesn’t oversimplify the issue. He discusses the complexities of the multi-faceted global economy and what makes it tick. From tariffs to agribusiness subsidies, Sine makes good sense out of a difficult issue that we often dismiss. Why do I care that millions of people in developing nations work like dogs to provide me and my fellow Americans with inexpensive, handy goods like nice, soft 600-thread count bed linens? Simply put, because God cares. Many scriptures reveal that our Lord cares for the poor and desperate and wants to see justice for them. Ezekiel 16:49 tells of the sins of Sodom that God judged in a not-so-pleasant way: “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.”

I also care about this issue because my country is the main beneficiary of the exploitation of labor in poor countries. I have chosen to do whatever I can to reverse this trend. We have a lot of power as American consumers that we forego when we do not think about the ethical impact of our purchases. One of the best ways to make a step toward reducing the burgeoning number of sweatshops worldwide is to know the practices of the companies you purchase from. I know this is a lot to think about and research, but resources such as www.coopamerica.org can help you get information on specific companies. Another important factor is the elimination of the agricultural subsidies that give wealthy nations (especially the U.S.) a very unfair advantage in the global marketplace. Thankfully, the wealthy nations that use these subsidies to tilt the global economic playing field in their favor are considering eliminating those subsidies.

I often wish that our current administration would take the lead on this issue for global justice. Instead, President Bush seems to be fine with letting the status quo of unfair trade practices and sweatshops rule the day. He only seems to care about FREE trade — not FAIR trade. If justice for the world’s poor concerns you as well, the first step is simply to make a decision to do what you can to speak for the poor and vulnerable. Then, pray for justice and provision for them. God has a way of doing amazing things — especially when we bend our hearts and minds towards God through prayer. Here are a few more proactive steps: 1) Educate yourself about companies you typically buy from. Try to find out their labor records and tell them by email or letter what you think of their practices. 2) Buy from companies and stores (like Ten Thousand Villages) that encourage and support FAIR trade. 3) If you aren’t sure about a particular store’s labor practices, use customer comment cards to tell the company that the treatment of workers in their supply line concerns you and that you won’t support companies that knowingly make a profit by exploiting laborers. 4) Educate others about the prevalence of sweatshops — and how much power we have as American consumers to make companies change. 5) Give to organizations that work to end worldwide labor abuses (see the websites above). As a final plug, try to see Robert Greenawald’s film “The High Cost of Low Price” about Wal-Mart’s unethical practices — including exploiting workers in China.

This article was originally posted at ChristianityIsMore.com