Coming from old fashioned Yankee stock on one side of the family, we kids learned to sew our own clothes at an early age. I also learned to quilt and patchwork and well as crochet, a long family tradition, and I still have some of the things my great-grandfather crocheted before the turn of the 20th century. He was laid up from a farming accident and learned crochet out of boredom, won awards for his work, and his intricate Victorian handbags brought in more money that his dairy cows.
As I got older, I didn't have time for such things anymore, being a 9 to 5 work drone myself, so bought clothes from the shops, looking for bargains. The price was usually right, but I was never was that happy with the quality. Oh well, I thought - you get what you pay for.
And you do. You get clothing made by people so tired they miss the seams, people exploited to work for free so you can have cheaper jeans. So that men like Abramoff and his conscienceless ilk can make money off of you.
This is not a new story, which makes it even more appalling. I'm not that nuts - I'm not so back-to-the-land fervent that I knit my own wellies from homespun organic goat's cheese. But I've been careful about reading labels for many years. So this does seriously piss me off that a 'Made in the USA' label isn't worth the cloth it's written on.
If this isn't corrected, if Saipan workers continue to be exploited in much the same way Irish and Chinese workers were on railroads in the 19th century, then what we will have is 'trickle-down' slavery. Because who do you think is selling you slave-made Saipan tracksuits...?
Wall-Mart wage slaves, that's who.
Nice post, Nate. (Hi Nonners!)You won't catch me in a Wal-Mart for any reason, period. Have you seen the documentary The High Cost of Low Prices? It will boil your blood and will change the way you see the company forever.
This is a very good post. I don't buy from Wal-Mart either. People are going to have to mobilize against the big corporate giants...
Great post, Nate! I've been researching John Doolittle's links to Saipan sweatshops, and just to clarify, its not just Wal-Mart. Its Abercrombie, GAP, Polo Ralph Lauren, JCrew... ALL of these major clothing producers are purchasing these goods from Saipan because they get to put "Made in the USA" right there on every label. Consumers see that label and buy it not even knowing the blood sweat and tears (literally) put into those garments. Keep digging, you're really onto something here...
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