SWEATSHOPS LINKED TO CHILD LABOUR

Primark linked to UK sweatshops


Factory workers making clothes destined for fashion chain Primark work up to 12 hours a day for £3.50 an hour, an undercover BBC investigation has found.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7824291.stm
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1028449/Exposed-Primarks-sweatshops-pay-children-just-60p-day.html
Which products are made in sweatshops?

  • Shoes
    Many types of shoes are made in sweatshops. However, the biggest problem is found with sneakers and athletic shoes.
    Most athletic shoes are made in sweatshops in Asian countries.
    Child labor is also very common in the shoe industry.
  • Clothing
    Clothing is very often made in sweatshops and with the use of child labor.
    In the U.S. the majority of garment workers are immigrant women that work 60-80 hours a week, usually without minimum wage or overtime pay. Overseas, garment workers routinely make less than a living wage, working under extremely oppressive conditions.
  • Rugs 
    A lot of child labor is used in the rug industry. Nearly one million children are illegally employed making hand-knotted rugs worldwide.
    Approximately 75% of Pakistan's carpet weavers are girls under 14.
  • Toys
    A lot of toys are made in sweatshops and by child labor. Especially toys made in countries like China, Malaysia, Thailand or Vietnam. The average North American toy maker earns $11 an hour. In China, toy workers earn an average of 30 cents an hour.
  • Chocolate
    43% of cocoa beans come from the Ivory Coast where recent investigators have found child slavery. In addition, cocoa workers who are paid, receive wages that leave them at the edge of poverty and starvation.
  • Bananas
    Banana workers are some of the most exploited workers in the world. They have to work long hours, get low pay, are forced overtime and are exposed to dangerous pesticides.
  • Coffee
    Coffee is the second largest US import after oil.
    Many small coffee farmers receive prices for their coffee that are less than the cost of production, forcing them into a cycle of poverty and debt.