[flip]

so i was eating a bowl of cereal late at night and i had nothing to read so i picked up my moms copy of O magazine. For those of you who aren't familiar this is Oprah's magazine of which she puts herself on the cover of every issue ever. (the August 2007 issue in case anyone wants to read it)

I saw an article where people asked questions about random stuff that worries them. i came across an intersting qustion.

to paraphrase it asked whether or not buying clothes made in the third world helps the people of said countries or if we are taking advantage of them by buying cheaply made clothes.

The answer stated that it is actually a good thing because the alternative is much worse.

Here are some quotes:

"...in general buying cheap clothes from foreign factories actually helps the workers. True there are problems with facilities that use unsafe chemicals or lock the fire doors, but people in poor countries generally see factory jobs as better than many of the alternatives, such as peddling, farmwork, or day labor."

"...workers earn(ing) 15 cents for making a shirt that will sell for $15"

"I interviewed workers scavenging a dump in Indonesia, and I'll never forget the mother who told me that she dreamed that her children would someday work in what we'd call a sweatshop."

"But it's the poorest countries, where wages and working conditions are the worst, that most desperately need the jobs. And the most effective foreign aid is often to start a manufacturing industry in those poorest countries."


Let me make this clear Oprah did not say this herself but it did appear in a magazine named after her, which she endorses. And for the record she is the Founder and Editorial Director.

It just sounds weird to me because from what i know she is all about helping the less fortunate yet she would let stuff like this get
published in her magazine. just sounds to me like she is endorsing some terrible stuff.

Does anyone know if this is actually true? do sweatshops actually help the people of these poor countries? because to me it sounds like the industrial revolution where they used to make children work in factories for pennies a day and they worked like 14 hour days.

did oprah just tell me not to feel guilty about taking advantage of slave labour because its the best they can do? regardless of their financial situation shouldn't no one be subject to the conditions found in sweatshops?

Discuss.