Jude Khashman
Fashion is something most of us teenagers are obsessed about, whether it helps us express ourselves with the different styles, or inspires us to design and create. We get excited during the summer and winter sales, we nag for shopping trips to the mall, and we, undoubtedly, love showing off the season’s new accessories and clothes. Of course, that would mean that we all know where the hottest trends are sold, which include: Forever21, Zara, Gap, Nike, and many more.
BUT! Are you aware that these shops, particularly, are employing children and women as slaves? The women and kids are being exploited by factories in South America and in Southeast Asia , because they can’t have a better job and are forced to work in hazardous and unhealthy conditions. They work for more than 12 hours a day, and for much less than the minimum wage, as they might receive just a piece of bread for the hard work they do. Not to mention, many workers are being subjected to physical abuse (being beaten up, raped and so on...), in such factories if they don’t achieve what’s expected from them. Furthermore, workers are not able to go to the bathrooms whenever they want, and when they can, they go to filthy and unhealthy toilets, where soaps and toilet paper aren’t even provided.
Forever21 has fired workers who had the nerve to complain to an investigator about the circumstances they were working under. The shop was also accused of preventing kids to go back to school inUzbekistan
Forever21 has fired workers who had the nerve to complain to an investigator about the circumstances they were working under. The shop was also accused of preventing kids to go back to school in
But many stores are working hard to prevent such acts of cruelty and injustice. Gap has fired an Indian company for employing children, and the President, Marka Hansen, said that she feels “violated and very upset and angry with our vendor and the subcontractor who made this very, very, very unwise decision," since she didn’t even know about it! Also, Nike has spent more than 10 million dollars a year since 1990 for better working conditions, and is trying to help children in Indonesia
Ok, so now that know what’s behind those shiny mannequins and stacked shelves, you might say: “Oh well I can’t really afford anything better.” Or, “These are the only shops I actually find clothes in, so I don’t have a choice really.” But while you’re walking in and out of the huge stores with your friends, swaying with the weight of the many shopping bags you’re carrying around, millions of girls on the other side of the world are forced –literally- to stagger under the weight of the things they have to sew and iron. They also have a responsibility of feeding their families with the little money they earn, whilst most of us don’t give a second thought to how much we’re spending on food and water. Our parents have to handle these issues, while we get to go spend more than 8 hours a day receiving an education, which will be a huge step towards getting a job. Maybe I can’t make a difference by myself, but that’s mostly what this article is for. Not supporting these stores, and thus not supporting the factories that act with such cruelty, you can help the number of children working dramatically, and slowly child labour might be on its way to extinction, resulting in the non-existence of illiteracy, child mortality...Etc.
Ok, so now that know what’s behind those shiny mannequins and stacked shelves, you might say: “Oh well I can’t really afford anything better.” Or, “These are the only shops I actually find clothes in, so I don’t have a choice really.” But while you’re walking in and out of the huge stores with your friends, swaying with the weight of the many shopping bags you’re carrying around, millions of girls on the other side of the world are forced –literally- to stagger under the weight of the things they have to sew and iron. They also have a responsibility of feeding their families with the little money they earn, whilst most of us don’t give a second thought to how much we’re spending on food and water. Our parents have to handle these issues, while we get to go spend more than 8 hours a day receiving an education, which will be a huge step towards getting a job. Maybe I can’t make a difference by myself, but that’s mostly what this article is for. Not supporting these stores, and thus not supporting the factories that act with such cruelty, you can help the number of children working dramatically, and slowly child labour might be on its way to extinction, resulting in the non-existence of illiteracy, child mortality...Etc.
So, is that new T-Shirt from Forever21, or those adorable trousers from Zara, still worth all the pain these children and women have to go through every day? And is it time to stop shopping at these stores, just to buy the “hottest trends”? That’s for you to decide.
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