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In Burkina Faso, where child labor is endemic, paying premiums for organic and fair-trade cotton has created fresh incentives for exploitation. A program there has attracted subsistence farmers who say they can't grow "ethically sourced'' cotton without forcing children into their fields.
..... the plight of Clarisse Kambire, a 13 year old who is kept of out of school, malnourished and beaten. This is her story.
It is worthwhile for end consumers to be aware, from whence and how their goods come to market. Change can be forced onto disreputable industries by voting with your money.
Several examples spring to mind.
The Pakistani carpet industry. Perhaps you all remember all the bad press about child labor in the asian carpet industry about 15 years ago. Much change was brought about by the publicity surrounding Iqbal Masih, a Pakistani boy who had been sold into indentured servitude in the carpet industry at the age of 4.
Iqbal Masih (b. 1982 - April 16, 1995)
"At the age of 10, he escaped the brutal slavery and later joined the BLLF (Bonded Labor Liberation Front of Pakistan) to help stop child labor around the world. Iqbal helped over 3,000 Pakistani children that were in bonded labour escape to freedom, and made speeches about child labour all around the world. Iqbal's story later became a book.
He was fatally shot in the back with a twelve gaugeshotgun on Easter Sunday 1995 in Muridke in the middle of a busy road on his way back from church. Some locals were accused of the crime but it is assumed by many that he was assassinated by members of the "Carpet Mafia" because of his famous fight against the child labour industry (Wikipedia)
And the Blood Diamond industry in Africa.
~~it is YOUR MONEY. Spend it where it does not exploit child labor~~
Make Victoria's Secret accountable for their raw materials. $8.50 for a pair of panties exploited from children in Burkina Faso cotton fields? Buy your skivvies from somewhere else till Victoria's Secret stops participating in child labor.
I used to be a VS girl - mostly because the quality and longevity of their clothing was second to none. Buy 5 pairs of VS panties for $25 that would last 4 years and keep their color and shape, or buy the $.99 cent panties that wouldn't last 3 months? No brainer.
Last year I sent a box of their stuff back and demanded my $$ back - the quality was literally dime-store; the bra straps ripped in half in less than a month (not at the seams) and everything was such poor quality that I could get better at Wal-Mart. They tried to tell me it was my fault! They were very arrogant and supercilious.
Guess now I know why... juxtapose their diamond-encrusted bra and panty sets, worn by heavily-made-up prancing models, against these poor children, and you can see where their true inclinations and priorities lie.
I'm more concerned that their products are made in China than anything else. The quality of their clothing sucks. I'm tired of everything being made in China. It's time for a change.
Most clothes manufacturers employ child labour or have appalling working and pay conditions for their employees. Which is why it is up to us the customers to try and be a little more discerning and also lobby those companies to stop exploiting those people. The mark up on a pair of sneakers or a pair of pants is obscene , especially when you consider that the factory workers are paid peanuts.
Sadly, this isnt uncommon in a lot of clothing manufacturers. I saw a special once where Walmart is a huge buyer of one of those places, and thats why I dont get my clothes from there. As far as Victoria Secret, I havent shopped there in years and they just lost any potential buying from me too. So overpriced anyway.
Yea, well, if they weren't making clothes in a third world sweat shop I am sure they would not be riding the rides at Disneyworld. Instead they would be starving. A starving child is a child who can't sew. Be thankful for the sweatshops.
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