The Cost of a Great Bargain
by Karen Wilson, PJT Board
Member
Stop and think when you find that
great bargain. I hear people all the time proudly telling how they bought this
great blouse or purse for just a few dollars. Sure, it's good for your
pocketbook and your budget, but what went into that great buy?
First, look at the cost of the
materials that went into the product. Of course the manufacturer purchases that
material in huge quantities, so the price is far lower than what we would have
to pay for it. Still that cost has to be considered.
Then think about the shipping
costs. Eighty to 100% of clothing, shoes, toys and electronics are manufactured
in poor countries. And, for the most part, those countries are half way around
the world from us here in the U.S.A. The continually rising fuel prices need to
be considered into the price of your great bargain, let alone the impact on our
environment.
Obviously, that manufacturing
facility needs to make a profit or they wouldn't stay in business. So that
accounts for another portion of the price you paid. And the store selling the
item is making a profit as well.
What does that leave? That leaves
the person who actually put in the work to make the product. That person might
be a teenager in China working from 7:30 am until 2:00 pm in unbelievably poor
working conditions, and maybe getting 13 cents per hour. The sneakers you might
have purchased may have been made by a person in Indonesia making $4.76 per day,
or maybe 1 percent of the retail price. In Bangladesh a young woman may have
made the shirt you purchased, maybe being paid 5 cents for that shirt. That
worker might have to work over 200 years to make what the CEO of the corporation
that sold that shirt makes in an hour.
So, do we want to continually purchase these
great bargains, knowing we're enabling corporations to exploit these workers? Or
do we want to stand up for these workers and make it known to our stores that we
want the workers who made these products to be paid fairly and have decent
working conditions? Give it some
thought.
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