A "sweatshop" is defined by the US Department of Labor as a factory that violates 2 or more labor laws. Sweatshops often have poor working conditions, unfair wages, unreasonable hours, child labor, and a lack of benefits for workers. Take a stand and protest: Ask your school to make its apparel under fair conditions.

What are made in sweat shops?

Products that are commonly produced in sweatshops include clothing, shoes, toys, electronics, carpets, chocolate, coffee. Products from sweatshops are exported on a large scale. To illustrate, the clothing industry in Bangladesh accounts for about 80% of the country's exports and around 40% of its industrial workforce.

Why is it called a sweatshop?

The phrase sweatshop was coined in 1850, meaning a factory or workshop where workers are treated unfairly, for example having low wages, working long hours, and in poor conditions. Since 1850, immigrants have been flocking to work at sweatshops in cities like London and New York for more than one century.