There is no legal definition for a sweatshop. But a common definition is that a sweatshop is a workplace where workers are subject to extreme exploitation, including the absence of a living wage or benefits, poor working conditions, and arbitrary discipline, such as verbal and physical abuse. The word "sweatshop" was originally used in the 19th century to describe a subcontracting system in which the middlemen earned their profits from the margin between the amount they received for a contract and the amount they paid workers with whom they subcontracted. The margin was said to be "sweated" from the workers because they received minimal wages for excessive hours worked under unsanitary conditions (www.sweatshopwatch.org). .
Given the nature of the garment industry, it is difficult to come up with a list of companies that do or do not use sweatshop labor. Thousands of garment shops exist worldwide and checking the working conditions of each one would be impossible. While the exploitive conditions of some well-known manufacturers & retailers have been exposed, many other lesser-known clothing labels remain questionable in terms of their labor practices (www.sweatshopwatch.org). .
Wal-Mart is one company that has had many sweatshop complaints. In January 1999, litigation was filed against Wal-Mart, along with 17 other clothing manufacturers, for mistreatment of workers in foreign-owned factories operating on U.S. soil. The company was accused of using indentured labor to produce clothing on the island of Saipan, part of a U.S. commonwealth in the South Pacific. The company was also charged with failure to pay overtime and ongoing intolerable work and living conditions. Two federal class action lawsuits were filed on behalf of over 50,000 workers who were promised high pay and quality work in the U.S. (www.sweatshopwatch.org).
Here are some sweatshop conditions at the Beximco factory in the Dhaka Export Processing Zone in Bangladesh, where shirts and pants for Wal-Mart and other retailers are made:.
