Assignment 3: Attitudes to China Today

After doing a bit of research about Chinese sweatshops i found an article about the products for the Kardashians fashion empire, they are reportedly made in Chinese sweatshops. Now for anyone else like myself that watches a lot of reality tv they will know that keeping up with the Kardashians is a programme about the families busy lives, they make a lot of money, around 65 million dollars a year. According to the article the garments at K-Dash, which are priced extremely high, are being made in Guangdong in China where workers reportedly earn as little as $1 an hour, and working up to 84 hours a week in terrible conditions. For a family who earn such a ridiculous amount of money you would think they would make more of an effort to make sure the garments were produced in a well equipped and clean environment where workers were properly paid and looked after. I think companies like this should be taken to see where their products are produced, so it can be put in perspective for them. Awareness in the West of dangerous working conditions and low pay was raised by the 1993 fire in a Thai toy factory that killed 188 workers. This event brought a lot of bad publicity to companies who were using sweatshops, this forced American company Wal-Mart to drop a clothing line after it was found to be using sweatshops to produce the products. 

Another article I read was about investigations into sweatshops in China and how they go about finding out truthful information and what they actually find out. “No one is willing to tell you the truth of what they are doing,” said one of the investigators staking out a factory. Chinese labour laws are strict, the work week is 40 hours, after which generous overtime must be paid, ranging from 150 percent to 200 percent of base salary, until a total of 66 hours, the effective legal weekly limit. Workers are entitled to at least one day off a week. No one younger than 16 is allowed to work in a factory. If the laws were well implimented their would be no problem, companies just get greedy and stop thinking about the wellbeing of the workers. Last year 68 percent of the factories that were investigated did not pay workers overtime, and nearly 70 percent of factories worked staff beyond the legal limit of 66 hours a week. The factory inspectors have a very difficult job because even though they want to protect the workers thats not always what the workers want, their must be a reason why they work the extra hours or why they even have that job in the first place. Rural families have trouble paying rising tuition fees so they send their children to factories as an alternative to school. A lot of underaged worked purchase forged identity cards to fool the factory management, workers want to provide more money for their families so agree to work all these extra hours so its not just a case of shutting down factories who are going against the law, the problem needs a proper solution.

I wanted to look through some of my clothes and find out exactly what I have that is Made In China, I was very surprised by the small amount from China and also how some pieces of clothing had ‘England’ written in huge writing all over the label then underneath say ‘Made In China’, definitely false advertising. I also thought that brands would have all their clothes made in the same place but was surprised to find out they weren’t. I also thought the price range of garments would have a deciding factor on where it was produced but was wrong about that too. 

After asking one of my friends how aware he is of where clothes he buys are manufactured he replied “not very aware. I think companies will only point out where things are produced if they are trying to create a positive public image about how they treat workers. Otherwise companies will avoid telling consumers where their products come from in case the customer thinks that the people who make their clothing are not being treated fairly and then they will lose customers. For the most part I will know where things are produced if it is custom made as production that is specific will ofter occur in the west where employee rights are stronger and companies are therefore more whiling to disclose that information.” The same question was asked to someone else, they replied with “I have a rough idea, depends on how much they cost and what brand they are, my new custom shoes were made in Holland which surprised me cause they weren’t clogs.”

If I had more time I would prefer to buy locally produced products, but most of the time I don’t bother to look, I just go for convenience and price. Even if the product isn’t locally produced just to know it was made in a factory that has workers that are well paid and working in the correct environment. I think companies should be made to make it clearer exactly where their products are made, and let the consumer decided.

Last year we received a lecture from Nicholas O’Donnel Hoare who graduated jewellery design at Dundee in 2008, he worked on a project called Trojan Egg which basically lets you scan the egg with your smart phone which will then transfer you to the website and you get a live feed of where your egg was produced and shows you the conditions the chickens are kept in, I think this would be a great idea if it was used on clothing labels so you could see exactly where the clothes are produced before you buy them. 

Made In China?

Many Western nations import goods from China. From kitchen appliances to clothing, children’s toys to computer parts, chances are we all have many things in our homes branded with the familiar ‘Made in China’ label. Yet, do we as a consumer nation really understand the sheer enormity of all the products that are imported from China, or even how the product was manufactured? Furthermore, do we even care?  

During an investigation to discover whether or not typical Dundee residents knew where or how their electronic products and clothes were manufactured, the general consensus of the individuals, with regards to the question, was inconclusive. While some guessed China, others suggested Korea, India and Bangladesh, as well as a few people who couldn’t provide an answer. From the wide array of answers it is clear that the vast majority of people do not know for definite where their products originate from. 

In addition, the individuals interviewed were unable to differentiate between the quality of standards between locally made products and products imported from abroad. The few people that did provide an answer claimed that products from China are sometimes not always made to the best standards, whereas products that are specifically manufactured locally have connotations of a higher standard of quality. Is this a fair outlook to have?

In recent years, there has been some publicised instances in the media highlighting the issue of suspect Chinese imports being recalled for lack of quality or for failing to meet standard requirements. Children’s toys coated with lead-laced paint, car tires lacking an essential safety component and medicines and pet foods full of toxins are just some of the noted aberrations in a spate of poorly manufactured goods. 

However, not all of these instances are a true reflection on the standards of products manufactured in China. Of course there will be some products poorly made in China, just like anywhere else. There are some great products and services available, it’s just a shame that these highly publicised incidents can have a detrimental effect on people’s opinions, Western and Eastern alike.  

When asking individuals whether or not it mattered to them if the goods purchased were manufactured in good working conditions, the responses were mixed. Some people said that they simply didn’t care or think about it. Others said that while they do care, it is not always made clear to British and Western consumers the details of the source and conditions of their products and how their products are made. 

It’s evident that there is a lack of understanding from Western consumers with regards to the origins of their products, despite a familiarity with the ‘Made in China’ brand. Perhaps low prices plays a factor in this lack of caring or understanding, especially during this current global economic and financial crisis. After all, we are always looking for a way to save pennies. However, should our relentless pursuit of a bargain be more important than the poor working conditions of the people who make our goods?