The+Globalised+Fashion+Industry+or+Globalised+Slavery

Analie Lally N8404747 Tutor: Michelle Newcomb




 * The Artefact**

The image above displays Nike’s clothing company slogan “Just do it”, adding the words “or Else” and using the brand logo as a whip being held by someone in a suit or of power. This Nike propaganda was found on the social media blogging website ‘Tumblr’ under the hashtag of sweatshops, child labour and Nike. The image has been made to portray the ongoing issues of the way Nike produces its goods, using the whip to show the harsh conditions in which people have to endure when working for this globalised clothing company. The link for this image is [] **Public Health Issue**

The globalisation of the fashion industry may have made clothing more available and affordable for people across the globe, but it has come at a great price. With the introduction of globalised capitalism, free trade zones have been created around the world to make trading between countries easier. These free trade zones have also made it easier for large manufacturing companies to move the production of their product to countries with lower economical statuses for the use of cheap labour. As many of these countries in free trade zones are of lower economical statuses they also have few laws or regulations on working conditions. This lack of regulations has created a detrimental effect on the health of the individuals who work for these companies. This wiki will discuss the roles in which the globalisation of the fashion industries plays in public health, why this is an important issue for those effected by it, what theorists have said about these issues and the limitation to their theories. **A Literature Review** The globalisation of the fashion industry is not a new concept in today’s society, as for decades people have been trading products between countries. What is new about fashions globalisation is capitalism and the effects it is having on public health. As capitalism continues to globalise there is an increasing rate of large clothing companies transporting the manufacturing of their products to countries with lower economical statuses for the use of cheaper labour. As companies transfer to different countries they are placing themselves in free trading zones where regulations on working conditions are few, if any (Chan & Peng 2011). In these free trading zones companies hire contractors and sub contractors that run the factories and employ people to work for them temporarily. Many of the workers who gain employment in these factories are young women and children who are of lower economical status and have been forced to work by their families so that they can earn money to send back to them (Aulakh 2013). While working under these contractors and subcontractors, employees are subject to extreme exploitation (Pookulangara, Shephard & Mestres 2011). One of the main forms of exploitation is the poor working conditions that the employees have to endure while working in these factories. Some of these conditions include poor sanitary and toileting areas, workers being subjected to harmful chemicals for extended periods of time and extreme heats. Also as factories require workers to work such long hour’s employees have to live on the work site in dormitories. These dormitories are also often in poor condition and can hold up to 8 workers in one room (PR Newswire 2008). Another form of exploitation is the low wages and longs hours that workers have to suffer while being employed for these companies. It has been reported that the average working week for a factory employee is 40-70hrs with an average day working out to be 12 hours with only one break for lunch. Research has shown that people who work for long hours are more at risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and mental health issues (Bannai & Tamakoshi 2013). While working these longs hour’s employees are sometimes only being paid less than 1 cent an hour. These wages are barely enough to live on for one person let alone supporting a family and receiving adequate health care. Many employees who have questioned these conditions have become subject to further torture and are often fired for speaking up and defending themselves (Daily Mail, 2011). These poor working conditions, long hours and low pay contribute to the breakdown of employee’s health as not only are they working in health hazardous conditions they are unable to afford the health care they need.

As this is the case the issue of sweatshop slavery is an important issue to be addressed as if the trend of having a capitalist economy continues where global companies put profit before humanity there will be detrimental effects on all aspects of human life. This will include the continuing decline of health for people who are of lower social economical status. Economic researchers who have analysed economic growth around the world have stated that as globalised capitalism continues to be the dominant trend in economical systems, there is an uneven distribution of economical benefits in developing countries (Yates 2004). Inequities between the rich and poor are rising and do not seem to be getting any better (Muller 2013).

Social theorist Karl Marx also criticised capitalism saying that higher social classes exploited the working class to benefit only the people who were in these higher classes. He also stated that social economical status was the determinant of all aspects of living and that capitalism hindered the development of human beings ( Kaboub 2004). This is because of the strong focus of a profit driven economy where everything is made to be profited from. Karl Marx observations of the economical systems during his time made him aware of how social classes worked and who benefitted from them. Although many of aspects of Marx’s predictions of society have been proven to be true, there are limitations to his theory. One of these limitations was that he believed that if capitalism was to continue, the lower classes would eventually tire from being exploited by upper classes and there would be a revolution where communism would take over as the dominant economical system ( Butgereit & Carden 2011). When stating this he did not take into consideration the possibility of capitalism ability to change and evolve with time and new circumstances. **Cultural and Social Analysis**

Research shows that the higher a person’s income, education, job security and occupation are the better their health care will be (McLeod, Hall, Siddiqi, & Hertzman 2012).This means for people who have minimal education and skills, who are working in sweatshops that are temporary, unsecure jobs and only provide individuals with less than $35 a month, their health care will not be high. In order for this to change society needs to rethink its views on economics and having a profit driven society, otherwise it will be forever stuck in a cycle where the poor continues to get poorer and rich get richer. Another thing to consider when trying to address this issue of sweatshop slavery is that although sweatshops are bad employment options for workers, for people who are of lower economical status they are sometimes better than the alternative of no job at all (Radin & Calkins, 2006). This makes it hard to just stop the whole issue of sweatshops as many people rely on them to survive. As this is a an issue that has arisen from the globalisation of capitalism in the fashion industry it will be difficult to stop global manufacturing companies from continuing to use and exploits workers for cheap labour. This is because they are constantly in competition with other brands to have the lowest prices. To help the problem there needs to be a change in the way the factories are run and more regulations and laws for working conditions need to be put in place so that workers can have fair pay and increase the quality of the lives (O'Rourke 2005). Those who are most affected by the use of sweatshops are people who are of lower economical status and have poor education and minimum skills. They are also people who live in developing countries where employment is limited if any at all. As this is the case awareness of this issue is important for everyone as if it is not discussed and looked at inequities will continue to increase between the rich and poor. It is also important as many of these people are in situations where their only option of employment is in a sweatshop and because they are uneducated and unable to do anything about it. As capitalism continues to grow around the globe public health services are beginning to become privatised making only those who can afford it to be the only ones to be able to use it. As the main focus of public health is to maintain the health of all of society public health experts should focus on maintaining ways in which people who are victims of sweatshop slavery can access health care (Kass 2001).

**Analysis of the Artefact**

The artefact is a good representation of the way in which the current capitalistic economical system has trapped lower economical sweatshop workers into a cycle of abuse with no other options but to surrender to it. When writing this piece it surprised me to see just how deep the issue of sweatshops are and that there isn’t just a quick fix to resolve the problem. I always thought that in order to help the crisis it was best to just avoid buying clothes that were made from companies that used sweatshops, but with the majority of clothing companies using them these days it is hard to do even that. I was also unaware of how the globalisation capitalism had caused such grief for these people and how it is creating such a wide gap between the rich and poor. Having gained more knowledge about this issue it will make me think more about the choices I make when purchasing clothing and will help determine my choice when making economical and cultural decisions. [|Aulakh], R (2013) //I got hired at a Bangladesh sweatshop. Meet my 9-year-old boss//. Retrieved from http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/10/11/i_got_hired_at_a_bangladesh_sweatshop_meet_my_9yearold_boss.html Bannai, A., & Tamakoshi, A. (2013). The association between long working hours and health: A systematic review of epidemiological evidence. //Scandinavian Journal Of Work, Environment & Health//, Butgereit, Brent (2011). "CAPITALISM, SOCIALISM AND CALCULATION". //Economic affairs// //, 31 (3) ,// 14-45. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-0270.2011.02114.x Chan, C. K., & Peng, Z. Z. (2011). From iron rice bowl to the world's biggest sweatshop: globalization, institutional constraints, and the rights of Chinese workers. //Social Service Review//, //85//(3), 421-445. Daily Mail. (2013) //My life as a sweatshop worker: Undercover reporter tells of crushing hours and terrible pay in Bangladeshi clothes factory where she worked for girl boss aged just NINE//. Retrieved from [] Kass, N. (2001). An ethics framework for public health. //American Journal of Public Health,// //1776–1782.// doi: 10.2105/AJPH.91.11.1776 McLeod, C. B., Hall, P. A., Siddiqi, A., & Hertzman, C. (2012). How society shapes the health gradient: Work-related health inequalities in a comparative perspective. //Annual Review Of Public Health//, //33//59-73. doi:10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031811-124603 Muller, J .(2013). //The hard truth about economic inequality that both the left and right ignore .// retrieved from [] O'Rourke, D. (2005). Market Movements: Nongovernmental Organization Startegies to Influence Global Production and Consumption. //Journal of Industrial Ecology //(9(1/2)), 115-128. doi:10.1162/1088198054084608 Pookulangara, S., Shephard, A., & Mestres, J. (2011). University community's perception of sweatshops: a mixed method data collection. //International Journal Of Consumer Studies//, //35//(4), 476-483. doi:10.1111/j.1470-6431.2010.00950.x PR Newswire. (2013) //Sesame Street Toy Made in Chinese Sweatshop By Teenage Worker.s// Retrieved from http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/sesame-street-toy-made-in-chinese-sweatshop-by-teenage-workers-152885995.html Radin, T. J., & Calkins, M. (2006). The struggle against sweatshops: Moving toward responsible global business. //Journal of Business Ethics, 66//(2-3), 261-272. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-005-5597-8 Yates, M. D. (2004). Poverty and inequality in the global economy. //Monthly Review, 55//(9), 37-48. Retrieved from [] **Reflections Pages** Page One http://healthcultureandsociety2013.wikispaces.com/share/view/64696248 Page Two http://healthcultureandsociety2013.wikispaces.com/share/view/64697086