sweatshop?

Most t-shirts are made in other countries anyway, hmm..

I hope not ;o

yes, they're made in bangladesh. no, it's not a sweat shop.

But these shirts are so much better. . .

Yes, I know. They're less thin and the quality is a lot better, in my opinion.

define "sweatshop"

I used to work for a mens clothing company in London. They made their polo shirts in Hong Kong, their shirts in Romania, their suits in Mauritius etc etc

They did this to get the best balance of good cost price landed from factory to store, with workmanship expected by the customer.

Now what do you want to discuss?

read this

check out the update here.

damn.

Okay, I should have read that before. I just didn't know why they were overseas. Thanks tracer =)

I'm fairly certain that Bangladeshi work standards are close to the same as Chinese work standards so workers probably work an 80 hour work week. In China, the 4th work week has to be "only" 72 hours. It's not "people chained to machines with children running dangerous machinery," but it's a shitload more than what westerners have to do.

this is what threadless says, "We were pretty concerned at first about the conditions of the factory, how they treat their workers etc. We were assured that everything about this facility is 100% legit by American standards. One way to know he's being honest is that he produces a HUGE amount of product for Disney. By industry standards, Disney has the most stringent standards of any company in the world. Their reputation depends on it." Hmm..

I've dealt with and sold to Disney. 100% legit by American standards doesn't mean that they would stick to the standard American work schedule.

All this being said, I DO believe that the Threadless folks would go out of their way to make sure that everything is on the up and up, it's just that the up and up differs from country to country.

I agree. Unless they visit the factory itself, they have no way of knowing how many hours and workers work and how they are being treated.

'MyPenis on Apr 04 '08 at 5:11pm
I've dealt with and sold to Disney.'

lol

"I agree. Unless they visit the factory itself, they have no way of knowing how many hours and workers work and how they are being treated."

Yeah, I would love to know this stuff. Not to mention, when people go to inspect factories anyway, workers usually have to lie about conditions, hours, and pay.

Haha nice one loserbeech. I wonder how much the workers are paid per hour.

That's true, but I also think Threadless would do their best to find a legitimate factory that has fair pay and fair hours.

IF they only work a 40 hour work week, Bangladeshi garment workers minimum wage works out to about $.20 and hour.

Glad to hear that Threadless cares about the conditions where thier Tees are made. You guys rock! I wouldn't have expected less. My first comment was a question, as I specifically avoid wearing clothing that has come from places where unfair labour practices are carried out. If the quality is better, why not get them produced in Bangladesh.

There are good factories in Bangladesh. My sister sources clothing and checks standards for a UK clothing manufacturer and she has to go to bangladesh fair bit to check standards. My primary concern would be the sourcing of the original cotton from which the tees are made. No one's said owt about that yet.

i wonder if the company that used to print the shirts are having a hard time now that they aren't doing constant business w/ threadless

and deep down inside, i feel remorse for the person who can no longer cut the tags

Isn't it just the tees themselves that are outsourced, not the printing?

Welcome to the 21st century!

yeah, there are probably some good factories in Bangladesh, but they also have a record for having some of the worst conditions and lowest paid labour, that's why a lot of companies have gone to bangladesh for production in the last while...sigh...however, one of the new threadless tees i got was printed in the USA and the other in Bangladesh...if they can print some in the US, can't they print them all there? I mean outsourcing really is taking away jobs from people in the US, isn't that sort of unAmerican? I'm Canadian and we do the same thing. it really really sucks as manufacturing jobs are at an all time low. And yes i know most clothes are outsourced which is why i try to buy fair trade and buy local. I was convinced that the conditions at the threadless shops were better as per their post a month or so ago, but Disney does not have the greatest standards...hmmm....

lolzbump

i personally hate the shirts from Bangladesh, they are wider and not as long, plus the cotton is way too thick.

the shirts are disgusting. i will only, from now on, buy the American Apparel tees.

it's hard to find a 5 year old that is willing to give a hard days labor any more.

it seems all the mens shirts are on American Apparel now?

wait some are and some aren't.......

threadless please clarify if you are using the exact same company as disney(you guys said you did), some facts about the company:

Workers Badly Beaten, Fired, And Imprisoned For
Asking To Be Paid On Time
• Workers routinely slapped and punched for not working fast enough;
• Forced to work 14 hours a day, seven days a week, with at most one day off a month;
• Mandatory 19-hour all-night shifts once a week, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. the following
morning, after which workers sleep on factory floor;
• Forced to work 35 to 42 hours of overtime a week. Workers at the factory up to 100 hours a
week. At most workers get four to five hours of sleep a night;
• Sewers paid just 11 to 20 cents an hour, as little as $5.28 a week;
• Helpers earn just seven to eight cents an hour, and $3.16 a week;
• Workers trapped in misery: four workers sharing one small hut exist on rice and must
borrow money to survive;
• Workers paid just five cents for each Disney garment they sew;
• Workers routinely paid two weeks late and are cheated of one-half of legal overtime pay;
• Women denied their legal maternity benefits;
• Speaking prohibited—if caught may be docked one day’s wages;
• No health insurance, no doctor in the plant, no sick days;
• No daycare center and no place to eat;
• Drinking water is filthy;
• If late three times docked one day’s wages;
• Docked two days’ wages if they talk back to supervisors or managers. Any attempt to
exercise their legal right to Freedom of Association would be met with beatings, mass firings
and blacklisting;

http://www.nlcnet.org/campaigns/niagra/niagra-bangladesh.pdf

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