sweatshops
Low-wage labor mills
Sweatshops are factories or workshops where workers labor under harsh conditions—long hours, low wages, poor ventilation, and minimal safety protections.
The term emerged in the garment industry but now applies broadly to exploitative manufacturing: The company faced criticism for using overseas sweatshops.
Sweatshop often appears in discussions of global supply chains and labor rights.
Minors performing paid work
- forced laborCompelled toil, no consent
- human traffickingCriminal trade in people
- bondageInvoluntary subjugation to another
- servitudeCompulsory labor under masters
abuse · oppression · inhumane · unsafe conditions · overwork · degradation · suffering · violation
People doing jobs
- laborersWorkers doing physical tasks
- seamstressesThose who sew professionally
- migrantsPeople who move elsewhere
- undocumentedNot officially recorded
women · children · workforce · low wages · minimum wage · poverty line · underpaid · overtime
Material from woven fibers
- sewingCraft with needle and thread
- stitchingJoining with needle, thread
- fabricWoven or knit material
- clothingBody coverings worn daily
apparel · garment · fashion · fast fashion · Shein · H&M · Zara · factories
Filled beyond capacity
- hazardousLikely to cause injury
- unsanitaryLacking proper cleanliness
- fire hazardsSources of potential burning
- no breaksWithout interruption or rest
long hours · exhaustion · heat · noise · dust · fumes · repetitive strain · injuries
Third-party task delegation
- offshoringMoving work overseas
- developing countriesNations with growing economies
- BangladeshSouth Asian republic
- VietnamSoutheast Asian coastal nation
Cambodia · China · Indonesia · Honduras · multinationals · supply chain · subcontractors · free trade zones
child labor
Minors performing paid work
- forced laborCompelled toil, no consent
- human traffickingCriminal trade in people
- bondageInvoluntary subjugation to another
servitude · abuse · oppression · inhumane · unsafe conditions · overwork · degradation · suffering · violation · poverty wages
workers
People doing jobs
- laborersWorkers doing physical tasks
- seamstressesThose who sew professionally
- migrantsPeople who move elsewhere
undocumented · women · children · workforce · low wages · minimum wage · poverty line · underpaid · overtime · shifts
textile
Material from woven fibers
clothing · apparel · garment · fashion · fast fashion · Shein · H&M · Zara · factories · assembly line
overcrowded
Filled beyond capacity
- hazardousLikely to cause injury
- unsanitaryLacking proper cleanliness
- fire hazardsSources of potential burning
no breaks · long hours · exhaustion · heat · noise · dust · fumes · repetitive strain · injuries · collapsed buildings
outsourcing
Third-party task delegation
- offshoringMoving work overseas
- developing countriesNations with growing economies
- BangladeshSouth Asian republic
Vietnam · Cambodia · China · Indonesia · Honduras · multinationals · supply chain · subcontractors · free trade zones · race to the bottom
- labor historyAFL-CIO, workers, labor movement, CIO, laborers
- labor systemsbonded labor, chattel slavery, child labor, compulsory labor, contract labor
- fashion industryfashion, fashion design, fashion designers, fashion shows, fashion week
- industryfactories, factory, automotive, manufacturing plant, manufacturing plants
- wrongdoingmisconduct, crime, sabotage, crimes, misbehavior
- Early 1900sroaring twenties, flapper, jazz, speakeasy, prohibition
sweatshopsfair trade
Equitable exchange between parties
sustainable production · antisweatshop · slow fashion · artisan workshops
- sweatshop laborExploitative factory work
- sweatshop workerExploited manufacturing employee