The Pros and Cons of Sweatshops:
Unfortunately, the are pros for the companies involved in sweatshops. It is efficient for companies because they can produce a lot of clothing/products without paying the workers what they deserve. This saves them money, and the businesses become richer as the workers become poorer. The sweatshop owners have the power to treat the workers how they want, in return for their misery, the owners get rich. There are countless problems (cons) for the workers involved in sweatshops. The workers don’t earn enough money and can’t pay for health care, food, housing, and education. They work long hours and work in horrendous conditions where they can’t even breathe properly. This causes the workers to get sick, but they can’t even pay for the simplest medicines. Mothers that work in sweatshops are often kept there at night and can’t care for their children who are stuck at home. Children are also often hired as employees and don’t have the opportunity to go to school. The employees can be fired at any time for no reason, and therefore lose their income and can’t pay for anything. Companies, and privileged people living in wealthier places benefit from the suffering and pain from employees working in sweatshops. What can government/businesses do to improve quality of life for workers? Note: These things are all easier said than done, and are a lot more complicated in reality.
Free Trade Definition: International trade free from governmental restrictions and protective duties. It is free from tariffs (tax to be paid in imports and exports), duties, and quotas.
Fair Trade Definition: Trade in which fair prices are paid to producers especially in developing countries. Direct Trade: Is a form of trade where buyers interact directly with farmers and producers. There is no middle man. What do they mean and how are they different? These forms of trade are all practiced in the world currently. Instead of underpaying and mistreating producers which could happen a lot through free trade, I think we should strive for supporting fair and direct trade companies where the farmers and producers are treating more fairly. A lot of companies do not deal directly with the farmers and producers of their products, it is all done through import and export. This is not as good as direct trade, because miscommunication is eliminated when producers and buyers are actually interact directly. Fair trade allows the workers/farmers to get payed a fairer amount. Farmers and producers in third world countries often still don't get payed as much as they should through direct and fair trade, however it is better than free trade. How do these apply to the slave survey? The employment of slaves would not be direct or fair trade, this would be free trade. They are not getting payed properly and are properly working in harsh conditions. I think Consuming Kids was a powerful documentary that has a lot of valuable information to be aware of. It focuses on the relationship between product marketing and children and the countless affects it has on society and the next generation.
One of the major points discussed in the video is how the pressures of advertisement changes the way kids think, which in turn affects how they behave. Children are constantly being shown through social media and adverts about the newest products. They believe that they need these products to fit in and to be successful. The relationship between a parent and child is affected because of this, and so is the child's self worth. Suddenly, when a new iPhone comes out and a child doesn't have it, their self worth drops, if and when they buy the phone, they feel more confident and happy about themselves. Products and materials make kids feel happy and confident. Adverts have taught girls that they need to be pretty and sexy which determines that value, and what they need to buy in order to feel this way. Marketers target boys by showing them the ideas and importance of masculinity, aggressiveness, power, and domination. These ideals all come through media and the advertisements of products. Boys are brought up feeling like they need to hide their emotions, and that they somehow are better than girls and need to be in power. Media takes over the concept of problem solving and boys in particular think that the solution to conflict is violence and fighting. Images of perfection surround girls all the time through the toys they play with, and the advertisements that support and sell them. Girls feel they need to look a certain way, and lose confidence and the ability to understand who they really are. Marketers are deciding children's fate for them, my generation is told what to have and how to feel instead of learning how to make these decisions ourselves. Once the concern of advertisements and media had on education was made, educational toys and products were produced. These products were marketed to parents of school children who believed that these games would support their child's education. This is not the case, and research shows that these products may be hindering children's ability to learn and to grasp new ideas and concepts. As stated in the video, this is a billion dollar industry, that is a total scam. Marketers aren't looking out for children, they aren't thinking about whats best for the future generation. All they want is money. They wonder, how can we get children to keep consuming? Children are loosing the ability to be creative and imaginative which leaves them feeling empty and like they need more and more. Somehow, my generation (those who live privileged lives, with families who buy these products) are programmed to keep consuming, marketers are engrained the idea that the consumption of products solves everything. The video also talked about the impact this has on the future. According to the video, attention difficulty disorder statistics are rising, and so is the health concern of obesity. In my opinion this video had a flaw. The impact marketing has on obesity was discussed in detail, but not that of eating disorders. Boys and girls self image is directly affected by marketing and the media. This issue is just as life threatening and prevalent in our society as obesity and it's extremely sad how little education people are given upon it. There is huge stigma on this topic and I think marketers have an enormous influence on this serious topic. Overall, this video raised a lot of important ideas about the world of consumption that we live in. It is something that we all need to think about, and I hope that this system can be broken down and changed for the better. We can see the affect it has on all aspects of life, and we need to change. |
|