In late November, a fire broke out in a Bangladeshi
sweatshop. This fire, which was caused by criminal negligence on the part of
the owner, killed 112 people. The
highest-paid workers at the Tazreen Fashion Factory only made
23 to 26 cents an hour and worked in horrific conditions. Contemplating both
this tragedy as well as Robert Pinsky’s “Shirt” has given me a lot to think
about. I have never really paid much attention to where the clothes I wear or
the food I eat comes from. However, since watching the news and reading “Shirt,”
I have been doing a lot of research on the sources of my food and clothing. It
has been shocking. During my investigations, I became very interested in the
concept of fair trade, how it works, and how it can be related to classism.
Fair trade provides certified
products that are not made in sweatshops or grown on a factory farm. The goal
of fair trade is to help workers create safe working conditions and fair wages.
Although fair trade is a great way to assure that the products you are buying
are coming from quality working conditions, it can be very expensive for both
consumers and producers.
Because of the higher costs of fair trade, people who earn high salaries are more likely to buy them. I might buy a Patagonia down jacket for $279 because I appreciate their ethical and environmental policies. Someone struggling to clothe a family would likely opt for the Faded Glory Jacket for $17.99 at Wal-Mart. That jacket is made in Bangladesh. Although Wal-Mart has a no-sweatshop policy, the workers who died at the Tazreen factory were making goods for this retail giant. The person buying the Wal-Mart jacket undoubtedly does not condone sweatshops but must keep a child warm and is left with a dilemma.
Ethically produced goods attract people who are in a higher socioeconomic class because of high prices of these goods. This relationship between ethically produced goods and social class can be characterized as classism.
Because of the higher costs of fair trade, people who earn high salaries are more likely to buy them. I might buy a Patagonia down jacket for $279 because I appreciate their ethical and environmental policies. Someone struggling to clothe a family would likely opt for the Faded Glory Jacket for $17.99 at Wal-Mart. That jacket is made in Bangladesh. Although Wal-Mart has a no-sweatshop policy, the workers who died at the Tazreen factory were making goods for this retail giant. The person buying the Wal-Mart jacket undoubtedly does not condone sweatshops but must keep a child warm and is left with a dilemma.
Ethically produced goods attract people who are in a higher socioeconomic class because of high prices of these goods. This relationship between ethically produced goods and social class can be characterized as classism.
Classism is a discriminatory
attitude based on distinctions made between social or economic classes.
Creating products similar to fair trade that are noticeably more expensive than
other products and are more ethically produced creates a clear distinction in
what types of consumers these products are attracting. Producing goods that
only appeal to certain classes allows classism to perpetuate. How do you think
we can stop classism? Do you think that classism is becoming more common
because of products like fair trade? Do you think the fact that only those with
higher incomes can afford fair trade products will help or hinder the fair
trade movement? Why or why not?
I think that although it would be nice if all Americans could afford the fair trade prices, it is not fair to deny poor people access to cheaper products. I think the best way to end the misery of sweatshops is to strictly enforce human rights laws in all the countries/companies with whom we do business. Doing this will ensure that the workers are getting paid, but this would cause prices in America to rise, which would then deny poor people the products they used to be able to buy. I don't think there is a way to end classism unless we turned into a socialist country where the government decides what you get paid. I think what we are doing now is the best thing we can do in a capitalist society. By advertising fair trade to richer people, those rich people will start buying it, and more and more people will buy the fair trade products. More companies will start to adopt fair trade policies because they want to compete with other companies. The more companies using fair trade policies, the more affordable the products will become. This is already happening with organic products; Walmart now sells Stonyfield, an organic dairy brand. I think the change in classism will happen eventually, but it has to start with the rich.
ReplyDeleteTally, Nice job here linking the tragic news story to our class discussion and to a discussion of class. You might analyze an outside text -- the poem Shirt, or a news article covering fair trade policies. This would take your thoughtful post even farther.
ReplyDelete