Sweatshops Social Impact

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Recommended: History of fashion

The fashion industry. Models waltzing down the catwalk, fashionista’s chattering quickly into a phone, racks of clothes and stands of shoes, mannequins dressed perfectly from head to toe. Striding out of the store, with bags in hand, stroking your fingers along the soft material. This is the fashion industry, for us. There is a less fashionable side of the fashion industry, a side with sweatshops, despite, cheating, long hours, cramped conditions, abuse and barely making a living to care for their families.

In 1971, the iconic sport brands, Nike, was formed. By 1972, they had signed their first athlete, Llie Nastase. Now they are the biggest sellers of athletic footwear in the world and made over 40 billion in revenue in 2014, this continues …show more content…

Toms shoes are given to people in need all over the world, but are shoes really what these people need the most? These children are being given shoes while their parents are still unemployed, unable to support their families. With a stable job parents would be able to provide shoes for their children. Rather than providing shoes, providing stable, jobs with good working conditions, fair wages with a safe and happy environment would have a bigger and better impact. After critics slammed Toms shoes in the media, they came back fighting, ready to rethink and adjust their model. After being posed the question “does the buy one - give one program actually help fight poverty?” Toms began to find new ways to expand their model. After much demand, Toms made the decision to manufacture shoes in Haiti. This provided 100 Haitians with much needed employment in 2014, four years after the devastating Haiti earthquake. This factory is also monitored regularly and comes under the Argentinian “no sweat-shop” policy. Toms is now not only giving the gift of shoes but also the gift of sight (when Toms eyewear is purchased a patient receives and eye exam and medical treatment to help restore sight), the gift of water (when Toms coffee is purchased a week’s supply of safe, clean water is given to someone in need), the gift of safe birth (when a Toms bag is purchased Toms Giving Partners delivers vital birthing equipment to help help women have a safe birth despite the state of the facilities), the gift of kindness (when a Toms standup backpack is purchased it helps provide training to school staff and counselors to prevent and respond to acts of bullying). Toms responds to critics and works to improve their model, although there are still improvements to be made such as, ensuring that the aid they provide is the most crucial aid needed for that particular community and that a community does

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