Sweatshops vs. Garment Factories
When I was in college there was a blanket consensus that sweatshops were bad. There was little distinction between when a 'sweatshop' and a 'garment factory'. If you look closer though, a garment factory job could stand to change the lives of thousands of young Cambodian women. (IF - and only if - Cambodia can keep its manufacturing and labor standards up.) If it's a choice between farm labor and garment factory work, the factory at least gives them another choice.
However, changing global systems may hand a lot of this cheap labor over to China. We'll see what happens.
Elizabeth Becker in the New York Times:
Loss of jobs to China, PP Post:
Jeez. I never thought I'd be pro-garment factory. What will my dreadlocked and tattooed pals think?
