Slaves sewing your clothes? Garment workers in Buenos Aires

MONTERO, JERÓNIMO

Human Geography

Sage

Lugar: Bolton, Massachusetts; Año: 2008 vol. 1 p. 84 - 89

1942-7786

On 30 March , 2006, two migrant workers and four of their children died in a fire in a sweatshop in Buenos Aires. The tragedy unveiled a large system of about 5,000 sweatshops that produce as subcontractors for local and international retailers and brands. In these, people work for up to 18 hours a day, toiling and without serious consideration of health and safety issues. Many of them live in the sweatshops with doors locked, in what may be understood as a case of modern slavery. In the midst of an ?economic recovery? at an 8 percent annual growth, thousands of sweatshops employ mainly Bolivian workers, brought from their country under false promises of proper jobs (i.e. through mechanisms of human trafficking). In this paper I analyse the origins of this ?sweating system? and the reasons why modern slavery and human trafficking are a main way of doing business in the fashion industry during a period of strong economic growth. Furthermore, in seeking to contribute to the broad experiences of anti-sweatshop struggles world-wide, I point at the emergence of an anti-sweatshop movement, its victories so far and its innovative strategies.