Factory collapse - 1000's die

[IvoryBeast]

Made In Bangladesh

Walmart does not want you to see any of this. Therefore, I highly encourage you to watch this 25 minute documentary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dQGl_lswYY

It focus's on Walmart's complex supply chain, their inside knowledge of contractors, sub-contractors, and poor working conditions, and its ability to distance itself from catastrophes such as the factory fire that killed 112 people and injured hundreds more. (Where doors were locked, and the windows were barred, trapping the workers inside). And the factory collapse the killed well over a 1000 people.

Walmart would not even acknowledge that these suppliers existed in their chain until photo evidence of the products in the factory went public.

http://www.google.ca/search?q=Tazree...&bih=535&dpr=1

Warning: Images of dead
http://www.google.ca/search?q=rana+p...bih=507&dpr=11


If it helps, Hugh Jackman and Tom Cruise are in the video at the beginning hired as public speakers at the Walmart convention. They look impeccable!

[IvoryBeast]

The above post may look like spam.... but it is not. Spend 25 mins on the documentary. Its an eye opener into the world of child labor.

[IvoryBeast]

I updated the "warning" link above..... somehow I had the wrong one in there.

Also consider, 2606 people died in the World Trade Centre on 9/11, and the US started WW3. (no disrespect intended to any of those victims).

Over a 1000 peopled died in one collapse and nobody batted and eye lash....

[FuckingRotter]

The other side of the coin. Wind the clock back to when Britain was developing from an agricultural in to an industrial and finance based economy, it was common for workers to find themselves in similar conditions to those in Bangladesh. The change to work place conditions we have today was a very slow one. Wholesalers and retailers here undoubtedly exploit the conditions, the cheap labour, the low production costs in developing economies, but it would be naive to expect things to change over night just to ease our own guilt.

This is probably a fight that only Bangladeshi workers can fight.

[IvoryBeast]

Originally Posted by FuckingRotter

The other side of the coin. Wind the clock back to when Britain was developing from an agricultural in to an industrial and finance based economy, it was common for workers to find themselves in similar conditions to those in Bangladesh. The change to work place conditions we have today was a very slow one. Wholesalers and retailers here undoubtedly exploit the conditions, the cheap labour, the low production costs in developing economies, but it would be naive to expect things to change over night just to ease our own guilt.

This is probably a fight that only Bangladeshi workers can fight.

You are likely correct on all points. Canada was no different. Turn of the century, if one of the 12 years olds we had in our factories got her braided hair caught in the big wheel, and she was scalped, factories were not liable for the damages.

However, I still believe that social media can make a small impact. I also believe the avg person would probably want to keep their heads buried in the sand and watch funny cat video's for and hour, than spend 25 mins educating themselves on the real world.....

[buttfreak]

wal-mart sucks anyways, once I buy something from there, they quit carring it the next time I want it.

[IvoryBeast]

Originally Posted by buttfreak

wal-mart sucks anyways, once I buy something from there, they quit carring it the next time I want it.

Try buying tiles at the Home Depot..... They carry what ever style the big ship from China drops off, and they are never the same 2 shipments in a row.

[FuckingRotter]

Tiles are a problem anyway. Even two batches of the same style can be different, unless extremely strict quality control measures are in place.

Anyway, regarding the actual topic. Factory conditions, particularly in Bangladesh, have been in the news on and off here for a few years now. The media seem to be focusing on the clothes industry, and retailers moral culpability for workplace conditions. It's all very piecemeal. Media needs copy, reel, or whatever. They go on a mini moral crusade. Retailers are made to look like demons. They impose conditions on the manufacturer, probably unrealistic conditions if the factories want to stay in business, if the consumer wants to continue buying cheap goods instead of shelling out for quality that is going to last and which is probably more cos effective in the long run, and the retailer wants to continue meeting that demand.

So everyone signs up to these conditions, but they're not really enforced in many cases. Part of the problem seems to be that a retailer visits a manufacturer, sees that the factory is fine, so they place a huge order. I do mean huge. A recent documentary describes orders in the hundreds of thousands or even millions of units. The manufacturer then sub-contracts out some of the work to factories that haven't been inspected, that haven't signed up to the agreement. Why? Because they would lose orders if they can't meet deadlines. Sure, it's deceptive and unethical, but the alternative is redundancies. The retailers are screwed either way, because I'm sure the media would give them an equal battering if thousands of workers lose their jobs!

I just don't think it's fair to place all the blame on Walmart or whoever. It's impossible to police the entire industry. If you really give a shit about workers rights, start your own business!

[IvoryBeast]

Originally Posted by FuckingRotter

Tiles are a problem anyway. Even two batches of the same style can be different, unless extremely strict quality control measures are in place.

Anyway, regarding the actual topic. Factory conditions, particularly in Bangladesh, have been in the news on and off here for a few years now. The media seem to be focusing on the clothes industry, and retailers moral culpability for workplace conditions. It's all very piecemeal. Media needs copy, reel, or whatever. They go on a mini moral crusade. Retailers are made to look like demons. They impose conditions on the manufacturer, probably unrealistic conditions if the factories want to stay in business, if the consumer wants to continue buying cheap goods instead of shelling out for quality that is going to last and which is probably more cos effective in the long run, and the retailer wants to continue meeting that demand.

So everyone signs up to these conditions, but they're not really enforced in many cases. Part of the problem seems to be that a retailer visits a manufacturer, sees that the factory is fine, so they place a huge order. I do mean huge. A recent documentary describes orders in the hundreds of thousands or even millions of units. The manufacturer then sub-contracts out some of the work to factories that haven't been inspected, that haven't signed up to the agreement. Why? Because they would lose orders if they can't meet deadlines. Sure, it's deceptive and unethical, but the alternative is redundancies. The retailers are screwed either way, because I'm sure the media would give them an equal battering if thousands of workers lose their jobs!

I just don't think it's fair to place all the blame on Walmart or whoever. It's impossible to police the entire industry. If you really give a shit about workers rights, start your own business!

I would agree with everything here, save for one point.....

Your assumption is that we as the buying public have to take the hit if standards were raised. My problem here is that over the last 25 years the avg CEO's compensation has gone from;

50 x that of the average worker, to
270 x that of the avg worker.

When trade barriers came down, politicians, and corporations promised it would mean lower prices to the public. More realistically, it just meant bigger returns for shareholders, and CEO and executives to divvy up between themselves.

Ask yourself how may t-shirts can one person make in a 12 hour shift? Then calculate 12 hrs x $0.18 per hour..... $2.16

50 shirts? 75 shirts for $2.16 a day.... per person. 50 shirts at $15 is $750.

That savings have never ever been passed on to you or I. The corporations do have a little wiggle room. Don't let them tell you any differently.