Outlook
Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, sweatshop labor is likely to continue. Companies have a major dilemma on what to do because it has no ideal solution. On one hand they could decrease or cease using sweatshops. If every company abandoned their sweatshop operations around 4 million of Bangladesh’s roughly 166 million people would be unemployed. Even downsizing could displace a lot of employees, causing more people to be impoverished in a struggling country. Many citizens would not be able to make ends meet anymore, and life would become a daily struggle once more. The economy would crash because it is dependent on the garment industry. This in turn would slow down their development tenfold.
The other option is for factories to improve safety and treat the employees better. This solution is actually just as difficult, if not even more difficult, because safety improvements cost money, especially the amount each factory needs to bring it up to the set government regulations, and that money has to come from somewhere. It would be safe to assume it would come from the consumer’s pocket, meaning prices would increase, and most consumers probably wouldn't like the inflation. Shorter hours and higher pay, both things that are deserved by these laborers, would also lead to a price increase. By having shorter hours, productivity would then decrease, and the demand could not be met unless more employees were hired, which means the company needs more money. Thus, prices would increase. If they weren't to hire more employees to meet the demand, the company could charge more because people would be willing to pay more if it was in limited demand. That money could then go to the higher pay mentioned earlier. Nonetheless, if sweatshops were to continue to operate normally, eventually the company could set aside enough money to make safety improvements, and eventually find a way to provide higher salaries without creating too drastic of an inflation. Also, as horrible as this seems, sweatshop tragedies do usually result in wage increases and improved safety. Ultimately, it looks like sweatshops won’t be going away for now.
The other option is for factories to improve safety and treat the employees better. This solution is actually just as difficult, if not even more difficult, because safety improvements cost money, especially the amount each factory needs to bring it up to the set government regulations, and that money has to come from somewhere. It would be safe to assume it would come from the consumer’s pocket, meaning prices would increase, and most consumers probably wouldn't like the inflation. Shorter hours and higher pay, both things that are deserved by these laborers, would also lead to a price increase. By having shorter hours, productivity would then decrease, and the demand could not be met unless more employees were hired, which means the company needs more money. Thus, prices would increase. If they weren't to hire more employees to meet the demand, the company could charge more because people would be willing to pay more if it was in limited demand. That money could then go to the higher pay mentioned earlier. Nonetheless, if sweatshops were to continue to operate normally, eventually the company could set aside enough money to make safety improvements, and eventually find a way to provide higher salaries without creating too drastic of an inflation. Also, as horrible as this seems, sweatshop tragedies do usually result in wage increases and improved safety. Ultimately, it looks like sweatshops won’t be going away for now.