Sweatshops
Many western businesses are outsourcing the production of their goods to developing countries. Famous western brand names such as Apple, Nike, Disney, and Mattel have outsourced their production to factories in China, India, and to other countries in Asia. Cheaper labor and 
production costs is the main reason for this phenomenon. But controversies have arisen from these practices because of the discovery that workers in these factories are working in “sweatshop” conditions.
A sweatshop, as defined in www.thefreedictionary.com, is “A shop or factory in which employees work long hours at low wages under poor conditions.” Basically, sweatshops are the modern day slavery. Like in this article entitled Sweatshop Wars from The Economist claims that, “The Disney report … alleges that some workers making Disney products are forced to work up to 16 hours a day, seven days a week, and are paid almost no overtime.” Also, in sweatshops, child labour is often also utilized by the factories.
On the bright side, activists have made us more and more aware of these issues. Due to pressure from Labour and Human rights groups, many businesses now regularly inspect their supplier’s factories to make sure that working conditions are safe and workers’ rights are upheld. But until sweatshops are eradicated, it should be the duty of all businesses to ensure that their workers are working in safe conditions and are paid a fair living wage.
Source article: http://www.economist.com/node/187886
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