Rationalizing Sweatshop Labor: At Least They Have Jobs!
Why do sweatshops remain in business?
According to new research by Harvard Business School doctoral student Neeru Paharia and professor Rohit Deshpandé, the reason is, well, us. We continue to support sweatshop-based businesses because we like the prices and we like the styles, so we disengage our moral compass. Then we throw in a few rationalizations to justify our actions.
Or, as author Julia Hanna summarizes the research in HBS Working Knowledge:
"Our moral benchmarks are subject to change, particularly during an afternoon at the local mall."In a series of studies, the researchers queried several hundred participants about their views on sweatshop labor and their own willingness to buy products made in those places.
You might expect that the consumers were more likely to unplug their moral filter if the price of the product was cheap enough, especially in a recession. And that proved true. But particularly troubling to the researchers was that the more a person wanted an item -- that is, the cuter the jeans -- the more likely they were to ignore their internal hesitation.
"My initial thinking was that it's driven primarily by economics -- if the price is right, you will disengage," says Deshpandé. "It's the cuteness that's the troubling part; when it's not a matter of survival, when you haven't lost your job, and you disengage because something is cute -- that's even more disturbing."Since consumers have the power to put sweatshops out of business, it is imperative that we understand our internal biases and act on what we think is morally right, according to Paharia and Deshpandé.
Read their research paper, "Sweatshop Labor is Wrong Unless the Jeans are Cute: Motivated Moral Disengagement."
What about your own buying habits? Do you purchase only from outlets that pledge not to sell sweatshop-produced materials?