I know I said the last post was going to be my last but it occurred to me that the majority of the blogs talked about sweatshops taking place overseas. Yet, I have failed to mention the sweatshops that occur in the United States. An informative video called Made In L.A. that follows three Latina garment workers. One of the key brands targeted in the movie is Forever 21. The workers in the video protest for better pay and better working conditions. http://www.laweekly.com/2012-07-26/news/sweatshops-los-angeles-fashion-industry/3/ is an informative website that also talks about sweatshops in L.A.

Although the United States has labor laws and child labor laws, some manufacturing companies int he United States continue to be over looked.

I guess this means that not only do I have to be aware of brands made overseas I must look into American made clothing as well

Thank you for reading my blog and participating in the survey along with answering the questions asked in the weekly blog.

After weeks of blogging and looking into sweatshops I have come to the conclusion that avoiding stores that use sweatshops is very difficult and takes a lot of will power to research stores before one shops. After learning about sweatshops and the painful experiences workers go through I am finally okay with not shopping at Walmart. I feel the availability of the clothing is not worth the injustice people have to endure to make the clothing.

After looking at some of the Websites that Grace suggested, I found that after the Bangladesh firer this past fall, GAP Inc. is implementing a better safety plan along with a chief firer safety inspector (http://www.gapinc.com/content/gapinc/html/csr/bangladesh.html). This is a good step towards better work environment

Since this is my final blog, the question is , from what you have learned and videos that have been posted, are you willing to take a sand against sweatshops? Are you going to stop shopping at Walmart and Nike?

Join http://usas.org/ to get  emails from students against sweatshops and take a stand on sweatshops

This weeks blog is on where participants in the survey shop. I thought I would share some of the responses I got! H&M, Urban Outfitters, Old Navy, Walmart, TJ Maxx, JC Penny. Target, Forever 21, Kohls, J Crew, Banana Republic, Marshalls, American Eagle, and the Limited. I was not surprised that many people shopped at the same store.

I personally shop at Old Navy, TJ Maxx and Target. I use to shop a lot at the Gap and Walmart but living in New Jersey and having expenses I haven't done much shopping. I still have the gift card to Old Navy and although there was a suggestion to buy something and give it to a good cause I think I am just going to spend it on a pair of pants I have been eyeing.


http://www.pbs.org/itvs/storewars/sweatshops.html

http://www.greenamerica.org/programs/sweatshops/scorecard.cfm

JC Penny's response to sweatshops
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZjkrRLdHgQ

Powerful Pictures

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/29/fighting-hopelessness-amid-ashes/

 

I decided to combine questions 6 and 7 into one blog.

6. On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate your concern of sweatshops? (10 being very concerned)

7. On a scale of 1 to 10 how much do you currently know about sweatshops.

The average of the 28 respondents was 5.8 on their concerns of sweatshops and 3.9 was the average of what individuals currently knew about sweatshops. It was interesting to see individuals’ responses to their concerns about sweatshops and their knowledge of sweatshops before reading this blog.

Personally, before starting graduate school I did not know much about sweatshops and they were not high on my list of concerns. As someone who liked going to Wal Mart when I was bored and at camp weekly shopping trips to Wal Mart was a must. I did not know my impact of factory workers was nor did I understand the conditions workers endured to make the products I use and wear.

Now that I have started my blog and reading about sweatshops I still have a hard time not going to shops known for sweatshops but I try and make a more conscious effort. I was able to go home on Friday and went out grocery shopping with my mom who asked if I wanted to go to Wal Mart and then quickly took back the question. I think I have rubbed off on my parent! My sister still loves Wal Mart and Old Navy even though I go on and on about them being a sweatshop. I feel that doing this blog has helped me and others become more aware of sweatshops and more apt to think before we shop.

Interesting links:

https://sites.google.com/site/antisweatshopleague/maps-and-statistics

Sweatshop workers story

http://www.waronwant.org/component/content/article/15697

This weeks question was do you shop at the Gap? The majority of those that responded to the survey stated that they do shop at the Gap. What most individuals do not realize is that Old Navy and Banana Republic are branches of the Gap and also fall in the category of sweatshop.

The primary Gap factory is in New Delhi, India. Workers are paid way less than minimum wage, often work longer hours that permitted and work seven days a week. Gap workers make 25p an hour which is not enough to support a family. According to the Guardian (2010), workers who told their employers they did/ could not work over time were told they either work over time or find another job. Currently there are little safety regulation in placed within the factories.

I am a big fan of Old Navy jeans! It is hard for me to find the perfect jeans and I have found Old Navy jeans to fit well. The majority of my friends that shop at the Gap feel that they have the best fitting jeans. I personally like the Gaps sweaters and sales. The idea of not shopping at the Gap or Old Navy will be very difficult for me to do. I currently have a gift card for Old Navy and the decision to use or not to use the gift card is a difficult one to make.

My question for viewers is if you do shop at the Gap, Old Navy , or Banana Republic because there jeans fit  the best is, are you willing to find a perfect pair of jeans at another store?



Interesting Websites


http://www.greenamerica.org/programs/responsibleshopper/company.cfm?id=229
http://www.globalexchange.org/blogs/peopletopeople/2012/10/24/gap-and-death-trap-factories/