TED Community » Alex Hillis

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• A comment on Conversation: Would you buy unethical clothes?

  Apr 25 2011: I have no problems with buying clothes manufactured by sweatshops in third world countries. For one, I am a college student (read: strapped for cash), and also, the jobs that workers get in sweatshops are often better than their other options. Those jobs usually pay more than working out in the fields does and they are certainly better than being unemployed, otherwise the worker would quit.
  
  Would I prefer to buy "ethical" clothes? Sure. Do I think that clothes made by sweatshops should be boycotted? Not in any case. The benefits of spending our money on those clothes far outweighs the consequences that would be faced by the sweatshops workers should we stop spending money on the items they make. If we don't buy their items, they can't make a living.