All of this
searching made me start to think. Perhaps, the reason there is so little
information about their stances on sweatshops is because we as a movement have
not be very focused on politics and have instead been focusing much more on corporate
activism. Obviously, there are exceptions and there is a lot of work going on
in procurement by cities and states by Sweat-free Communities and on trade
policies by most groups in who regularly write on this blog. But have we done
enough to force our government (and other governments and international bodies)
to deal with the sweatshop issue? Are activists actively engaging their elected
officials on these issues?

Or are we
trying to “shop” our way out of the problem? One the top things people ask me
when I talk about the exploitation of workers around the world is: “where should
people in the US
buy their clothes?” And I understand why this is a very important question. We
don’t want to spend our money on goods that are being made in an exploitative
manner. But if shopping is the only activism that you are going to do, is that
enough? I would argue that it is not. The number of good that you can buy that
are sold with a “fair trade” label is tiny. Perhaps we can buy gifts or other small goods that are fair trade, but
think about all of the things we buy every day. What percentage of those goods
is even available in fair trade? Just imagine a trip to the grocery store (and
trust me, the organic label has no connection to how the workers are treated.)

In the United States,
we can recognize that worker’s lives are enhanced by organizing campaigns and
the support of shoppers for stores that treat their employees well—this is why
so many people refuse to shop at Wal-Mart. But it is even more important that
we have minimum wage laws, protection for employees who engage in union
organizing, and health and safety regulations. I understand that the
enforcement of these laws isn’t perfect but these laws are pretty important to
protecting worker’s rights. I think it is time to begin thinking about how our
movement can get more involved in politics and more involved in looking for
legislative remedies that can support our corporate campaigns.

What do you
think? Should this movement be more political? How could we do it? Is it
possible to write some legislation? What legislation is already out there?

If you want to be more
proactive, consider:

1. Calling
   the people who are running for office in your area, both for local offices and
   for Senate and Congressional seats and ask what their solutions are to fighting
   sweatshops. Send the information to your friends.
2. Call your union and ask if they have asked candidates about sweatshops.
3. Let us know about websites or groups that have more information on these topics.