Their poverty leads to our privilege

During American Studies class a couple days ago, we were asked to look at something we use everyday, and then ask a deeper question and find the answer. When I went to complete this assignment, I was shocked at the results.

I chose my North Face winter coat, something I wear everyday and rarely even think about, simply throwing it on to keep warm. I found information from the National Labour Committee, which exposes the horrible working conditions to make the jacket I wear without a care in the world. I wondered who made my coat, and found the answer to be women in El Salvador, and when they sew a coat that will ultimately be sold for 165 dollars in the U.S., they are paid 94 cents for each one. They can't afford basic needs like milk and food for their children, many having to take them out of school to help pay for these necessary items. In addition to the extremely low pay, the women are sometimes forced to do 47 hours of overtime a week in a room with no ventilation, and it can get up to 100 degrees! To make the matter even worse, they are completely denied rights to the freedom of association, immediately getting fired if they join the legal workers union.

These conditions are clearly reminicent of the Chicago factories during the 20's, and I would have no idea about them if not for digging just a little bit deeper into the jacket I would normally think nothing of. This whole assignment also made me think more deeply about poverty and privilege; if not for the workers' poverty in other countries, we wouldn't have some of the privileges of material wealth we enjoy today. If we all thought more about the items we take for granted, we would truly realize how much work, even poverty, goes into making them perfect, just so we can use them mindlessly.