Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media

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Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media

Vol. 46, 19 April 2024


Open Access | Article

Sustainable Consumption and Social Justice: Should Countries Take Action to Ban the Sale of Products Made under Sweatshop Conditions?

Ni Zeng * 1
1 Durham University

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media, Vol. 46, 54-59
Published 19 April 2024. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by EWA Publishing
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Citation Ni Zeng. Sustainable Consumption and Social Justice: Should Countries Take Action to Ban the Sale of Products Made under Sweatshop Conditions?. LNEP (2024) Vol. 46: 54-59. DOI: 10.54254/2753-7048/46/20230584.

Abstract

This paper investigates the subject of sweatshop labour and the debate over whether countries should prohibit the sale of products produced under such conditions. The introduction emphasises the importance of better working conditions and minimal standards in sweatshop factories, while also admitting that customers may be ready to pay slightly higher costs to support better working circumstances for sweatshop workers. However, economists say that sweatshop labour is preferable than not working or working for extremely low wages, and that a blanket ban on sweatshop products could result in job losses and other negative repercussions. The literature study explores a range of viewpoints on sweatshop labour, including moral and financial grounds. Additionally, it highlights how consumer movements and market pressure influence businesses to improve working conditions. The paper also emphasises the issue's complexity and the need for a fair policy that considers employees' rights and practical factors. To improve the working circumstances of sweatshop workers, a multi-pronged strategy is recommended. This method includes consumer pressure, government regulation, and voluntary codes of conduct. The importance of striking a compromise that takes into account differing points of view and deals with the complexities of the sweatshop labour issue is emphasised in the conclusion. Overall, the study provides a thorough assessment of the subject, emphasising the necessity for ethical manufacturing processes and improved working conditions while taking into account economic ramifications and unexpected consequences.

Keywords

Sweatshop labor, Improved working conditions, Ethical considerations, Economic justifications

References

1. Pollin, R., Burns, J.C. and Heintz, J., 2003. Global Apparel Production and Sweatshop Labor: Can Raising Retail Prices Finance Living Wages?.

2. Seidman, G.W., 2007. Beyond the boycott: Labor rights, human rights, and transnational activism. Russell Sage Foundation.

3. Arnold, D.G. and Hartman, L.P., 2006. Worker rights and low wage industrialization: How to avoid sweatshops. Human Rights Quarterly, pp.676-700.

4. Meyers, C., 2004. Wrongful beneficence: Exploitation and third world sweatshops. Journal of Social Philosophy, 35(3), pp.319-333.

5. Mayer R. Sweatshops, exploitation, and moral responsibility. Journal of Social Philosophy. 2007 Dec;38(4):605-19.

6. Fung, A., O'Rourke, D. and Sabel, C.F., 2001. Can we put an end to sweatshops?. Beacon Press.

7. Snyder, J.C., 2008. Needs exploitation. Ethical theory and moral practice, 11, pp.389-405.

8. Preiss, J., 2014. Global labor justice and the limits of economic analysis. Business ethics quarterly, 24(1), pp.55-83.

9. Zwolinski, M., 2012. Structural exploitation. Social Philosophy and Policy, 29(1), pp.154-179.

10. Powell, B. and Zwolinski, M., 2012. The ethical and economic case against sweatshop labor: A critical assessment. Journal of business ethics, 107, pp.449-472.

11. Powell, B., 2014. Out of poverty: Sweatshops in the global economy. Cambridge University Press.

12. Powell, B. and Skarbek, D., 2006. Sweatshops and third world living standards: Are the jobs worth the sweat?. Journal of Labor Research, 27(2), pp.263-274.

13. Clark, J.R. and Powell, B., 2013. Sweatshop working conditions and employee welfare: Say it ain’t sew. Comparative Economic Studies, 55, pp.343-357.

Data Availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the International Conference on Global Politics and Socio-Humanities
ISBN (Print)
978-1-83558-361-6
ISBN (Online)
978-1-83558-362-3
Published Date
19 April 2024
Series
Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media
ISSN (Print)
2753-7048
ISSN (Online)
2753-7056
DOI
10.54254/2753-7048/46/20230584
Copyright
19 April 2024
Open Access
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Copyright © 2023 EWA Publishing. Unless Otherwise Stated