sweatshop news stories on Newser

9th Apple Plant Worker Commits Suicide

Jane Yager — Mon, 17 May 2010 05:38:10 CDT

A 21-year-old man who jumped out a window to his death Saturday marks the ninth suicide of a worker at Foxconn, the Taiwanese-owned manufacturer of iPhones and iPods. The deaths of young employees—combined with the fact that the company says it has prevented some 30 suicides in the past...

Wisconsin First to Cut Nike Off Over Labor Concerns

Will McCahill — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 22:38:34 CDT

Concerns over Nike’s overseas labor practices moved the University of Wisconsin to cancel its contract today with the sportswear giant. The school is the first in the US to do so, though the move will cost it $50,000 a year. “Nike has not developed, and does not intend to...

Developing World Needs More Sweatshops: Kristof

Kevin Spak — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:41:02 CST

Before Barack Obama follows through on tough talk about global “labor standards,” Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times wants to take him to a certain garbage heap in Cambodia. Here, where families live in shacks, scavenging in the hot sun, a sweatshop job is “a cherished dream, an escalator...

Made in Italy — in a Chinese Sweatshop

Jason Farago — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:21:31 CST

For consumers of luxury goods, the "Made in Italy" designation remains so prestigious that it can add 300% to an item's price. But the days of artisans plying their trade in little workshops are largely over, the Los Angeles Times reports, replaced by thousands of Tuscan factories employing Chinese workers...

Sweatshop Crucifixes Stir Up Unholy Mess for Church

Rob Quinn — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 02:13:50 CST

Revelations that crucifixes in their gift shops are made in a Chinese sweatshop has shocked officials at New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral and Trinity Episcopal Church, who removed the crosses from stores, reports Newsday . Young workers at the crucifix factory reportedly work 15-hour days in poor conditions for only 26...

Child 'Slave' Laborers Fall Into the Gap

Wesley Oliver — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 17:14:27 CDT

Ten-year-olds were found stitching Gap apparel in a filthy New Delhi sweatshop, some without pay, in an investigation by the Guardian . The kids interviewed by the paper reported long hours of unpaid work, threats and beatings. Serial numbers on the beaded blouses they were working on were ID'd by the...

Report: Top Retailers Pay Poverty Wages

Jane Yager — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 11:27:52 CDT

On the eve of London fashion week, a new report blasts clothing retailers for turning a blind eye to the poverty-level wages of their workers. Marks&Spencer, H&M, the Gap, and others are singled out for paying garments workers in Bangladesh such low wages that the workers must rely on government...