Paying the price for fair working conditions

In 2007, Dirk Lammers of the Associated Press attempted to avoid any and all products made in China, and was met with little success.

Dirk says when his son needed new shoes, they learned Adidas, Reebok and New Balance were all made in China. They finally found one pair that said, "Made in USA from imported materials," and they were pushing $80.

The price of buying products constructed outside of China may be high, but it's arguably much lower than the price of continuing to support Chinese factories. On Feb. 16, Alexandra Harney, author of "The China Price: the True Cost of Chinese Competitive Advantage," addressed a full-house at Mitchell Hall to explain what's at stake.

"The China price is the ultra-low prices of Chinese-made goods, prices as little as a fifth of the price of similar goods made in America," Harney says.

The monetary value, however, is only the beginning of the China price.

"It is the price in terms of the health effects of environmental pollution, the epidemic of occupational disease and the widespread neglect of workers' rights," Harney says.

Despite the elimination of sweatshops over the last decade, the author says changes in factory conditions have yet to surface because of insufficient regulations and a lack of pressure from American companies.

In a majority of factories, workers are extremely underpaid - the minimum wage in some parts of China is as low as 55 cents. Most factory workers don't have insurance and receive no health care, which is of special concern when combined with workers' daily exposure to dangerous machines and harmful chemicals like lead, calcium and mercury.

According to a study by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, workers in the Pearl River Delta Region lose or break an average of 40,000 fingers per year.

The safety of their own workers isn't the only thing these factories are jeopardizing, though. According to CleanAirNet.org, Chinese factories carry a bulk of the responsibility for the un-breathable air in the country. The Web site links to other articles about the harm factory pollution has done to citizens, farm animals and the water supply.

Harney says changes have been put in motion and tougher laws are being passed. In addition, the struggling American economy has forced thousands of factories to close their doors. Down the line, that could lead to positive changes, like factory consolidation and better working conditions, but right now, regulations remain weak, changes take time and consumers are still demanding extremely low prices.

Harney says a Chinese manufacturer eager to obtain a contract with Wal-Mart created a clean, luxurious factory comparable to a five-star hotel for the Wal-Mart executives to tour. However, there were multiple "shadow factories" nearby. They were dirty, over-crowded, dangerous factories and they were doing the bulk of production.

The situation is not unheard of in China, where "falsification engineers" falsify documents, change statements and create staged factories to pass regulations and obtain contracts, she says.

The horror stories of Chinese factories are well-known, but not many understand how U.S. consumers perpetuate the poor conditions. Almost all the materials that go into the clothes and products Americans use and wear everyday are imported from China, Harney says.

Many buyers have become so blinded by quantity that they've neglected quality, and many corporate higher-ups have turned a blind eye to obviously harmful factory conditions in order to deliver low prices to their customers back home.

"Is it a good value if it's hurting people's safety?" Harney says.

She says value has somehow become a synonym for cheap, and consumers need to educate themselves on the origins of the products in which they invest.

Harney's presentation - a part of the Distinguished Lecture series, sponsored by the department of fashion and apparel studies - was an opportunity for the audience of mainly students to educate themselves.

"Our intention at the University of Delaware is to make sure our students - the next generation of industry leaders - are a part of the solution, not part of the problem," says Marsha Dickson, professor of fashion and apparel studies.

Junior Jason Aaron, a member of the audience at Harney's lecture, says he learned a great deal about how the U.S. economy influences China's economy.

"I have never really thought about how what I buy affects their workers," Aaron says.

He says it's difficult to know how products are made.

"Alexandra Harney said something about how Timberland has basically like nutrition labels on their shoebox explaining where they are made and the impact it had," Aaron says. "We need that on everything."

Dickson says many times, students think they're unable to make a difference when really, they're able to change things in their own sphere of influence. She says students can help by controlling where they choose to buy clothing and looking for details about how their favorite brand or retailer is addressing labor issues in its factories.

Harney says students can go online to find more information about the brands they buy.

"If they don't get the answers they want, or the companies shrug off their requests, then they have the option of not buying from them," she says.

Dickson says students have greater power and responsibility than many others.

"It would send a very clear message to companies if the most talented young employees chose to work at the responsible companies that are trying to help society and the environment, versus those who will not even admit they cause harm," Dickson says.

Harney agrees college students especially can be strong figures in the debate over sustainability.

"If the students at the University of Delaware joined their voices together to tell the companies they buy from, whether it's ordinary clothing or electronics, it would have a huge impact on those companies' thinking about sustainability," Harney says.