Survey says consumers wary of sweatshop goods

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February 2000

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The survey says: consumers don't want sweatshop products
American consumers want to avoid goods made in sweatshops, and a "fair labor" label in clothing would help them make that choice, researchers at Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia have found.

For more information:
Global Exchange

Sweatshopwatch

National Labor Committee

Marymount survey

Three-fourths of respondents to a November 1999 survey said they would avoid shopping at a retailer that sold garments made in sweatshops, and 86 percent said they would even pay an extra dollar on a $20 garment if they were guaranteed it was made in a legitimate shop.

Those findings mirror the results from similar surveys conducted in 1995 and 1996 by Marymount's Center for Ethical Concerns. A new question—"What would most help you avoid buying clothes made in sweatshop?"—found that 56 percent of respondents felt a fair-labor label would be most helpful, while 33 percent preferred a warning list of companies that use or tolerate sweatshop labor.

"This survey confirms that American consumers care about working conditions and would pay more for the things they buy to ensure that workers are treated fairly," says U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman.

As in the two previous studies, almost two-thirds (65 percent) of respondents said they would be more inclined to shop at a retailer if they knew that particular store cooperated with law-enforcement officials to prevent sweatshops. Although consumers primarily hold manufacturers responsible for ending sweatshop abuses (65 percent agree manufacturers are "most responsible"), the number of respondents saying both manufacturers and retailers are culpable doubled since the first survey (19 percent in 1999 versus 10 percent in 1995). The researchers believe the evidence suggest that not only are consumers prepared to alter their shopping behavior but that retailers who promote and sell legitimately made garments can gain a competitive advantage over other stores.

"This survey sends a message to manufacturers and retailers that the American people continue to care about this issue and are willing to show that concern through their shopping decisions," says Marymount president Sister Eymard Gallagher, RSHM. "It is a vital reminder of a terrible social injustice that is still with us as we enter the new millennium."

Marymount, a Catholic university, has been involved in the issue of sweatshop abuses since 1995. It was the site of the Department of Labor's Fashion Industry Forum in 1996 and a national conference on the issue in 1997. The university was one of the first 17 colleges and universities in 1999 to join the Fair Labor Association, whose code of conduct establishes basic norms on forced labor, child labor, fair wages and benefits, and other labor issues. Marymount also lobbied Barnes and Noble College Bookstores Inc. to adopt the Workplace Code of Conduct and Principles of Monitoring developed by the Apparel Industry Partnership.

The telephone survey of 1,014 randomly selected adults has a margin of error of 3 percent.

In related news, a special anti-sweatshop task force at the University of Notre Dame has called for the school to prohibit the manufacure of its licensed products in countries that do not recognize workers' rights to unionize. The task force has also urged the creation of a model factory monitoring program. Notre Dame president and Holy Cross Father Edward Malloy has accepted the recommendations.—Heidi Schlumpf

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