KarinaDeGracia

ProfessorVoltz
UWRT1102
February20,2016
EIPproposal
Memotomyreaders:Doyouthinkmytopicistoobroad?Ifso,howandwherecan
Inarrowit?Doyouthinkthisisaninterestingtopic?Ifanything,whatshouldIaddtomy
argument?
Sweatshopshavebecomearecentcuriosityofmine.Afterwatchingaheartbreaking
documentaryonsweatshopsandthemistreatmentoftheirworkers,Ihaventbeenabletoshake
it.ShoppinghasbecomeincreasinglymoredifficultwhenIthinkofthelittlehandsthatmademy
$30AmericanEagletop.SometimesIwishIcouldgobacktoaplaceofblissfulignorance,
whereIwasntawareoftheawfulinjusticestakingplacesoverseasforthesakeofmyoutfit.But
Icant,ingoodconscience,tryanddisconnecttheveryrealissuehappeningintodaysfashion
industry.
DanielSoyer,writerofGarmentSweatshops,ThenandNow,definesa

sweatshopas,asmallshopinwhichpoorlypaidworkersputinlonghours,working
underbadconditionsforacontractororsubcontractorwhoexploitsthemruthlesslyin
ordertomaintainhisownprecariouspositionintheindustry.Sweatshopsarebecoming
increasinglyprevalent,notjustexclusivelyinthirdworldcountries,butalsohereinthe
UnitedStates.Menandwomenarebeingoverworkedindangerous,sometimeslife
threateningworkingconditions.Butitdoesntstopthere,evenchildrenasyoungasfive
yearsoldareforcedtoworklonghours.Duetothelackofregulationsandlaborlaws

overseas,theappealtocompaniesisgreat:theyareabletoproducetheirproductforlittle
tonothing,andsellittoconsumersforoftentripletheprice.Sweatshopsareunethical,
andposeaseriousthreattothewellbeingofthepeopleinvolved.However,ifyoulook
closer,sweatshopsarereallytheresultofadeeperissue.
Ultimately,sweatshopsaretheresultofpoverty.Menandwomanareforced,in
anactofdesperation,tofindwork.Theirhealthandoverallwellbeingtakestheback
burner,andnaturally,theykickintosurvivalmode.Asaresult,familiesoftentimes
recruittheiryoungchildrentobringinanadditionalincome.Dothesefactorsmake
sweatshops ok? After all, jobs are limited, and their standards of work are significantly
lower than the United States. Some argue it does, that a job regardless of the
circumstances and quality is better than no job. But I disagree, I think American
companies should be held to a high standard; the use of sweatshops is unethical,
cowardice, and ultimately a ticking time bomb. Now, I am fully aware this is a broad
topic; sweatshops are a worldwide issue, not limited to just the United States, or third
world countries. In addition, I recognize my knowledge on sweatshops is limited. I
mostly know what I have researched from a few high school papers, and a couple
documentaries. My goal in this EIP is to narrow my focus of sweatshops to a specific
country, or potentially even one city. In my research I will search for the most prevalent
cities American companies target for their product manufacturing. As of right now, Im
focusing my research to Asia; this is where I have heard the most talk about sweatshop
scandals. Here are some following questions I am planning on answering to guide my
research:
Wherearesweatshopsmostprevalent?

Whatisthestateoftheenvironment?
Howaretheworkersbeingtreated?
Whatistheaverageincomefortheworkers?
Arechildreninvolved?
Whatarethedifferencesintreatmentbetweenwomenandmen?
Wherehavefactoryincidentsbeenreported?
Whatdocompaniesaccusedofusingsweatshopssayinresponse?Whatis
theevidence?
Whatcanwedotostopsweatshops?
Arethefamiliesbetteroffbeingleftalone?
Inconclusion,Ihopetouncovertheanswerstothesequestions,andlearnmoreinthe
process.Mygoalisnotnecessarilytodrawasingleconclusion,butraiseawarenesson
thiscontroversialtopicsomyaudiencecandecideforthemselvestheirownstance.