What stories should we be covering? Win a subscription to In These Times by taking our short new survey!
University of Illinois at Chicago Online Certificate in Nonprofit Management

Students vs. Sweatshops, Round III

The Designated Supplier Program targets college clothing companies

By Mischa Gaus

Claudia Ebel is traveling across Thailand this summer, but her itinerary is no vacation. The University of Colorado at Boulder sophomore is meeting with sweatshop workers, promoting a plan to change how college clothes are made—and the lives of the people who make them. This summer, United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) is sending 14 students like Ebel to 12 countries. The… return to article

  • subscribe to print magazine

  • Zoom OutZoom In Reader Comments (2)

    Page 1 of 1 pages

    Sweatshops:

    For about three decades I have been writing congress and labor unions on this topic with nothing to show for it except the usual canned reply form letters.

    We have been complicit in endangering the health and welfare of people to get low-cost labor which saves a few pennies per item at our local stores.
    Individual appeals have little chance of changing these policies and our unions loss of jobs membership shows how little the union leaders have done to protect anyone.

    It is noble of these students to attempt such a huge challenge. Good cause — I wish them good luck.

    United States Posted by whattheheck on Aug 10, 2006 at 1:40 PM

    I find that the student protests against sweat shops are absurd. The sweat shop workers BENEFIT from sweat shops in their area. Without the factories, they would be starving and unemployed.

    I saw a documentary where sweat shop workers who lost their jobs after their factory closed (Due to these protests) cursed off american college students for making them lose their jobs when they have zero idea what they’re talking about.

    United States Posted by Omer Altay on Jul 3, 2009 at 10:19 PM
    Page 1 of 1 pages

  • register a new account »Posting Security

    To participate in our forums, please register for a free account.
     

    Retreive lost password »

Article Appeared in this Issue

Full contents
Past issues

Also by Mischa Gaus
  • Korean Workers get Sirius
    Female factory workers wage three-year strike against satellite radio manufacturer.
  • No Match? No Mas!
    The Department of Homeland Security is trying to force employers to either fire workers whose names and Social Security numbers don't match. Widespread job loss often results when the government dons its immigration-enforcement blinders
  • The Olympic Hustle
    Chicagoans are already beginning to fear what hosting the 2016 Summer Games might do to their city
  • Doing It For Themselves
    The Coalition of Immokalee Workers turns 'corporate social responsibility' from oxymoron into reality
  • Interrogations Behind Barbed Wire
    Who's to blame for America's new torture techniques?
  • Starbucks Gets Wobbly
    Embattled baristas at the coffee giant turn to the Industrial Workers of the World for solidarity unionism
Popular Discussions