The Real Cost

More companies have been offshoring more labor now than ever before.

Take a moment to reflect on your belongings. Look at the phone in your pocket, the top you are wearing and even the cosmetics you have on. Think about where they were made and what materials were used to make them. Most likely, they are made from hundreds of components. Components include ingredients in production to the materials and resources used to manufacture the finished good. More likely than not, most of your belongings and their components were offshored, or manufactured abroad. More companies have been offshoring more labor now than ever before.

This pattern is largely due to the fact that labor is cheaper overseas than it is in the United States. Within the United States, there is a federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Countries do not widely have labor regulation laws like the United States, allowing large corporations to pay less for the components they need to produce. This leaves a larger profit margin for the corporation and a cheaper product for consumers to purchase. In addition to less intense labor laws, companies who offshore components may also be attracted to the weakened climate regulation laws they can find abroad. China produces over 10 million tons of CO2 per year— about double what the United States produces. In exchange for these issues, companies also offshore component manufacturing to widen supplier options. Consumers can shop on such a broad scale with thousands of options to choose from, spanning beyond the capacity and capabilities of the United States. Globalization has opened the market for component suppliers exponentially. Simply put, consumers would not be able to shop from such a wide range of options if it weren’t for the globalization of production.

It is a privilege to have cheaper prices and more options, but it is important to know what happens behind the curtains of less intense labor regulation laws. Cotton is constantly in high demand by clothing companies and inexpensive processed cotton is a business priority. In 2017, the Chinese government established “vocational education and training camps’’ in Xinjiang. Since then, over a million workers have been held there for essentially free labor. These labor-focused concentration camps have faced criticization for claims of torturing prisoners through physical violence, starvation, sexual assault and cruel punishments. China does not have the political infrastructure to disband these camps. Due to globalization, many of the brands sold on American soil are linked to the Xinjiang concentration camps including Victoria’s Secret and Zara, as well as designer brands like Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. Globalization sets up the perfect conditions for fast fashion to flourish. Companies can keep up with rapid production with little to no pay. Safety deficits and high consumer demand allow high profits for companies. As consumers demand to keep up with the latest and transient trend, outsourced labor offers them the ability to do so at the cost of others. Corporations can also take advantage of ‘planned obsolescence’, in which products are made to last a short period as a result of quality or trends. Consumers then face the necessity to repurchase, continuing the harmful pattern.

From the 2013 Dhaka Factory Collapse to the Foxconn Longhua iPhone plant suicides, it is clear that Global South countries suffer immensely from harmful manufacturing practices. Fast-fashion garment factory employees work for 16 hours, seven days a week at low wages while being exposed to cancer-causing chemicals. With little job diversity, people often are left with no choice but to work under such conditions. The cycle of poverty never ceases when people do not make liveable wages and future generations must also work in dangerous factories.

As advancements in technology and transportation swell, globalization simultaneously increases and makes Western consumers aware of inhumane labor practices. Yet, despite awareness, consumers are willing to ignore detrimental conditions in Global South countries to reap the benefits of outsourced labor. Often, this deliberate ignorance stems from being inundated with information to the point one feels helpless and apathetic toward improving labor conditions. Additionally, the abundance of outsourced labor makes avoiding purchasing from companies that use unjust practices seem impossible. Both awareness and abundance lead to general consumer desensitization that enables companies to continue to exploit workers in the Global South.

While it is easy to ignore exploitation and continue purchasing from companies using offshore manufacturing, it is critical to be more conscientious about what your dollar is supporting. Sometimes one cannot afford not to buy from unjust companies. Nonetheless, for those who can, deciphering between what is truly needed versus wanted for the temporary rush helps to avoid indulging in exploitation. There is power in where one chooses to spend their money.