Slaves sewing your clothes?

MONTERO, JERÓNIMO

Durham

Simposio; Ustinov Seminar, Ustinov College, Durham University; 2008

Ustinov College, University of Durham

In this presentation I aim at explaining what is a sweatshop, who do sweatshops work for, and what are the working conditions that we can find in these. In this sense I put forward a differentiation between ‘international sweatshops’ and ‘national sweatshops’. Then we will briefly analyse the rise of sweatshops in Argentina and in Italy in the context of Neoliberal policies. In here I will also address two main myths about sweatshops: 1. branded manufacturers and retailers cannot control working conditions in the whole chain; and 2. working in a sweatshop is bad but still it is a better option than any option these workers could get. Finally, I will briefly put forward a critic to the ethical trade as being the solution to stop sweatshops.