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What is your Slavery Footprint?
Complete this survey. The survey is an eleven question tool designed to measure the amount of unpaid/forced labor that it takes to supply us with consumer goods. Throughout the semester you learned about the various aspects of our social, political, and economic systems. This survey is to help bring some of these concepts "home". Once you complete the survey answer the following questions in your blog post.
Requirements for BLOG POSTS
35 Comments
Karla O'Connor
11/20/2014 12:27:12 pm
I spend a lot on food, clothing, shoes, electronics, beauty products, shampoo products, lotion and moisturizers, facial cleansers, and basically anything I need on a daily basis. I do believe my consumption habits affect other people. In my Sociology classes I learned about these slavery footprints, and how a cup of coffee, for example, is made through the labor of others’ when we don’t consciously think about who picks up these beans as we go about our days. In the survey, 38 slaves work for me, and as I saw the categories that impacted my score it totally makes sense. I enjoy having new electronics and keeping up with the latest and most efficient brands, which is why Apple products, Samsung, and Canon showed up. I like having digital cameras in hand and taking pictures to capture moments and experiences I have with people, but I don’t think about how the camera was made, or how a manufacturing plant pays their employees because we do live in a technological society where buying things is the norm. The consumption of products is what drives our economy, and we do not tend to think it has an impact on the other side of the world, do we? Other brands that impacted my score were: Target, Coca-cola, Starbucks, Macy’s, and H&M. I love Coca-Cola, and when I drink a glass bottle of it, gives me a sense of nostalgia from my childhood, since I grew up drinking so much of it in Nicaragua. I learned, though, that behind the glass bottle are sugar canes and intense labor in Central America and the Caribbean. Those who work in the fields are people who do this for hours in the scorching heat, only because they are trying to get food on their plate and are the only jobs available to them. Can we encourage corporations to abolish underpaid labor, and how can we start? This is a very complicated issue, and the only thing I can do is decrease my consumption habits and keeping them at a minimum. I acknowledge that our consumption as a society greatly affects third world countries, and I believe that the role of transnational corporations is to move towards a more humane and ethical way in maintaining their businesses. I feel like this is unrealistic due to competition and use of cheap labor in order for their business to flourish and profit, especially in a capitalist society. What does everyone else think?
Tiffany Le
11/24/2014 06:34:52 am
Sadly, politics and corporations have intricately entwined themselves together and the money that corporations make funds governments in America. Thus, corporations have a major influence in politics. To combat this, we could give firms tax breaks for operating in the US, and tax corporations who outsource and use sweatshop like means of production. However, corporations need to begin paying their fair share of taxes!
Aemal Dastagirzada
12/6/2014 12:45:08 am
people are making some great points here and applauded you guys for re-thinking our consumption rate, and our contributions to the capitalist state. it is worth mentioning that the root of the problem lies not in our efforts to consume less, which we definitely should, but the corps tricks and manipulation to train us to over-consume since the profits of these companies are designed to keep growing in numbers. for example, if a company has a target goal of 125 million, next year they have to hit 145 million profitability which means more tricks and manipulations, most of our population end up with owning stocks in these companies and like the dividends that are coming but not feeling guilty about the practices of these corps. in a nut shell, we need to change our attitudes, our behaviors, and our corps way of life that has been selected for us without our consent.
Arnulfo Gembe
11/20/2014 01:33:06 pm
I do not live with my parents anymore so I spend most of my money on groceries, gas, and paying rent. According to the survey I spend most of my money on gadgets such as my IPhone, Comcast, and lastly I spend most of my paycheck at Target and Safeway. I tend to not spend money on clothes unless I need new slacks or a new dress shirt for work. However I was surprised to find out that my soccer uniform and soccer cleats that I use are made by kids in China who work 21 hour shifts for an entire month. That is what was alarming although I’ve been informed that brands like Nike pay their employees next to nothing per hour. Living in the Bay Area means that you see everyone with an IPhone in their hand including myself but it comes at a great cost. A few years ago on the news there were reports of Apple employees in China who were committing suicide by jumping from the Apple factory. While we pay around $200 for a new IPhone and a 2 year contract with a cell phone provider, someone in an Apple factory overseas is hardly being paid. According to my survey I have 25 slaves working for me which is 25 slaves too much. But it only makes sense because it would be impossible for Nike, Adidas, Puma, and other athlete brands to make any profit if they paid their overseas employees the Federal Minimum wage of $7.50.
Dakota Bramer
11/23/2014 02:11:27 pm
The shifts many workers in China have to commit to is incredible. I once watched this video called "China Blue" and a young girl worked for about 16 hours (sometimes longer with no overtime pay) simply cutting excess thread off of jeans. It sucks that the only way these companies see a way of making profit is by exploiting other people.
Dylan SanFilippo
12/2/2014 05:25:14 am
What you have described is one of the evils that come from (mass) consumerism. Greed, slavery, and being above the law are all things that people like Nike have a hand in. Slavery is a part of making lots of profit for the big wigs of business, and it would be difficult to stop slavery in such big businesses because it is so profitable.
Jason Do
12/2/2014 07:07:16 pm
I am in the same situation where I mostly spend my money on food rather than material goods. However, I use my phone and my laptop a lot and that must be what is contributing to the number of slaves working for me. I wish there was a way to see where all the slaves are, but the abstraction of the free market really makes it hard if not impossible to know where all of our stuff is coming from.
Vanessa Fernandez
11/21/2014 08:44:47 am
Most of my money is spent on food, I don't need a survey to find that out. What I didn't realize is that what I consume everyday affects other people's lives. Another guilty pleasure of mine are clothes and cosmetics. Before watching a documentary on Walmart and how underpaid the workers and the people who work at the factories are, I used to love shopping there because of how cheap everything is. After watching that documentary and seeing the poor conditions that those people were living in I refuse to ever shop there again. We all appreciate a good deal but at what cost? So I started going to target, which im sure isnt much better on how much they pay their employees but im sure there are better conditions than walmart. Its almost impossible to stay away from all the ways in which companies cheat and mistreat their workers but I think taking small steps like educating yourself on where the things you buy come from can make a huge difference. The number of slaves that corresponded to me were 69. Im not at all surprised by that number, after all we live in a capitalist society and corporations make their money of off cheap labor. In an effort to eliminating these problems I believe companies need to be more exposed on the way they actually work and how they treat their employees. The majority of Americans consume materialistic goods not thinking twice to where and who these things come from and we need to change that.
Karla O'Connor
11/23/2014 11:47:13 am
I really liked that you stopped shopping at Walmart after watching that documentary, and like you said Target isn't any better and who knows how many slaves work for this corporation. Realistically I don't think that companies will eliminate this issue of using cheap labor since they do profit off of them, and our economy strives on this. People will continue to consume products because we do live in a very fast-paced, consumerist society as you might already know. Very nice post!
Nelson Chuang
11/30/2014 10:05:00 am
I am glad that you realized that what you consume also affects other peoples lives. We too often associate cheap labor with electronics and clothes and forget that foods are also a big part of the cheap labor industry. I finished the survey and was amazed at how many slave industries I was contributing towards but when I read your response, I was astonished by the number 69. Unfortunately, with a capitalist society, it is true that many consumers are unaware of what they are sponsoring.
Jason Do
12/2/2014 06:55:20 pm
After learning about this new form of slavery I will always feel guilty shopping anywhere. However, I can't be sure which places use a lot of slaves and which places are slave free. I can't simply not buy anything for the rest of my life, but I want to try and lower the amount of slaves working for me, but I'm not sure how.
Dakota
11/21/2014 08:56:26 am
I have a big appetite and love to eat. That’s usually what I end up spending the majority of my money on and that was a big part of my score. The sad thing is, when you think about it, everything we do as citizens of a developed country impacts others in mostly negative ways. Actually in this world we live in currently, whatever any human does effects another person/animal/ or the environment; it’s essentially a butterfly effect. Everyone should be aware of what they are purchasing and where it comes from. Obviously it’s a lot asking people to care, because let’s be honest, most won’t, but it doesn’t hurt to actually spread awareness about where our goods come from. I had 32 slaves “working” for me which is terrible when I consider that. Again, a lot of it looks like it comes from the food category since I do like to eat quite a bit. What also impacted my score was technology because I have a cell phone, I-pod, and happen to be typing this post on my laptop. Clothing was another reason behind my number. Although a good amount of my clothes happen to be hand-me-downs, someone somewhere is the reason I even have these clothes. It really puts things into perspective when you truly think about what you have and how you have it. For most of us, it’s go out and buy something from a store (that’s even too “difficult” for some people) without ever thinking of how the item/s came into existence.
Karla O'Connor
11/23/2014 11:58:56 am
It is sad to think that everything we do as a developed country affects somebody somehow, and I liked that you pointed that out! As a society, it is good to know what we buy, where it comes from, who makes them, etc, but realistically it's hard to convince everyone to cooperate and actually care. I do like the enthusiasm behind your post since spreading awareness wouldn't hurt at all.
Alexander Salah
11/25/2014 12:30:12 pm
Dakota, we unfortunately have the same problem when spending money. We both love to eat. I agree with your statement that how we consume as a nation impacts other citizens in countries in mostly negative ways. As a country, we have learned to over consume in many avenues from food, to cars and electronics such as I-phones and laptops. I also agree that this survey really does put things in perspective for me and shows me how good we have it here at the expense of others.
Dylan SanFilippo
12/2/2014 04:58:04 am
It’s impossible for everyone to accept one person’s ideals. This also applies to world-wide slavery. It would take a miracle to have everyone on the same page about world-wide slavery. Yes, we know slavery is bad, but not everyone is willing to pay the price it would cost to eradicate slavery from the world.
Tiffany Le
11/21/2014 10:44:37 am
Apparently, 39 slaves work for me. Currently, I live at home with my parents, and they provide me with the necessities like toiletries. Many of my electronics I have inherited used from my uncles. Mostly, I spend my money on food (snacks, dining out) and coffee. I love to eat, especially at sushi restaurants or Korean barbeque restaurants, and I drink coffee because it is very difficult for me to stay awake in class (even if I sleep at least 8 hours a night) and I love the taste. I rarely spend money on clothes or shoes; I only spend when I need a new pair of jeans or shoes. I don’t feel the need to have the newest gadgets or the trendiest clothing. Of course my spending habits impacts other people; because America values low prices and high profit, many firms and corporations (ex: Walmart) go overseas to produce their products in sweatshops. Issues of sweatshops hit close to home because my grandmother used to work in a sweatshop and would bring her work home for my mom to help her sew in order to fill her quota. Besides hurting people, it also hurts the environment and animals that inhabit the region. For example, many hectares of land are deforested a year, which affects the climate, biodiversity, and livelihood of the people living there. Like we’ve watched in the “Story of Stuff” video, certain people suffer when others have a better quality of life. Many of the things that we buy end up in the trash soon after. Considering this, people should be more mindful of their consumption habits.
Dakota Bramer
11/23/2014 02:04:30 pm
America values low prices for high profit; very true. I think we as humans all function like that at a much smaller scale. If you make a deal with someone, you are going to want a higher return while giving the other person less. Don't get me wrong, I'd be one of the first people in line if there was a legitimate chance we could rid the world of "slaves" right now, but I just thought that point is kind of interesting.
Tiffany Le
11/24/2014 04:28:10 am
Hi Dakota. I agree with your statement that people want to get the best bang for their buck, but I think that when a whole nation or many nations operate with this idea on a large scale, it will end up hurting others. When someone has more than another person, the next person will have less. Unfortunately, we have limited resources for unlimited wants, and not everybody will be satisfied in the society we currently live in.
Alexander Salah
11/25/2014 12:25:35 pm
Tiffany, I like how you brought up Walmart as a large corporation that outsources their jobs to places like India and China. Because of outsourcing, people who shop in places such as Walmart receive the lowest possible price for the good they are paying for. In some ways this helps people save money, but in many ways this is detrimental to our international society and lowers the standard of living in many places just so we can buy a 10-dollar shirt.
Nelson Chuang
11/30/2014 10:07:31 am
I like how you brought up Walmart and because of their overseas productions, they can sell items half the value of what it normally should be. I am interested in how you got 39 slaves though because I also live at home with my parents, and do not spend much on clothes, or other items not considered a necessity for survival.
Alexander Salah
11/25/2014 12:20:42 pm
When taking this survey, my eyes really opened up to how much I consume not just in total, but also on a daily basis. I live with my parents and two other siblings so there is a lot of consumption going on in our lives from food and cars to clothes and electronics. My consumption habits mostly revolve around food and accessories. To say that I am a small person would be a large understatement due to the fact that I currently weigh 235lbs. I love to eat, I have always loved to eat and I will continue to love to eat until the day I die. With that being said, most of my money goes to food. I would be a fool to not believe that my spending affects the lives of other people in our country as well as different countries. Due to over consumption in countries especially America, we have learned that enough is not enough. We can get by just fine with 5 pairs of pants and a couple of t-shirts, but we choose to over indulge in everything we do. We honestly participate in a very glutinous society where we constantly need the newest I-phone or the latest fashion styles. Although this is harming other people’s lives and sustainability in large ways, we continue to over spend and over indulge in every aspect of live. Lastly, the number of slaves that are attached to my current lifestyle is 42. I think I earned this number because of the intake of my family and myself have. We have a car for each of us, several motorcycles, and we eat a lot of protein such as meats, chicken, and fish. We could also spend a lot less but we choose to go out to dinners, and go shopping for clothes and electronics we do not necessarily need. I try to only buy things I absolutely need but sometimes it does not work out the way I would like it too. After this survey on slaves connected to lifestyle, I think we should all start trying to spend and consume less and take into consideration that less might be more.
Hakwoo Kim
12/4/2014 01:46:05 am
Yeah, I very much agree with you. I seem to be culturally accustomed to spend money on newest things. The hard part is that although I am aware of this, I feel kind of lost what to do about it. I felt the same for environment issues as well. The problem seems obvious, and yet the impact I can make by changing daily lifestyle doesn't seem to affect too much under the system that hurts environment. Our everyday activity is so attached to this system, so it's very hard to think about life without things we enjoy not, and I feel very weird not doing it. I am pretty sure there will be actually no problem if I don't take a shower for several days, wear the same clothes for three days, use a really old phone, but there will be emotional impact by not doing so. Perhaps we need to free ourselves from feeling this way while at the same time seeking for more sustainable culture and ways to do so.
Sharon Serper
11/26/2014 04:25:55 am
I definitely live a privileged lifestyle. I am grateful for the electronics I use, the clothes I own, and the food I eat, but I certainly do not pay attention to how my actions influence the lives of others. While taking this survey, I definitely realized that my shopping habits and purchases as a consumer impact other people’s lives around the world. Every device I use or piece of clothing I wear was made by someone who is most likely not working in fair working conditions. At each point of the survey, facts would provide examples for how each of our products is made by people around the world. This information definitely allowed me to see the direct impacts we make on others. At the end of the survey, the website revealed that 48 slaves work for me. I believe that I earned this number because I use lots of electronics (I have a laptop computer, reading device, smart phone that I use rather regularly). I also have a good amount of clothing from various stores that are listed as the biggest clothing industries influencing slavery around the world. Additionally, I drink lots of coffee which raises my personal slavery footprint too.
Nelson Chuang
11/30/2014 10:00:52 am
I rarely spend money on accessories. Most of my money is spent on food and transportation because I do not find it important to have the latest fashion trends and newest technology. If I have something that works well enough to my expectations, I use it till it is unusable.
Bojana Cvijic
12/1/2014 03:41:05 pm
My slavery footprint was 28. What I spend most of my money on is gas, food, clothing, beauty products, my car bill. In addition to that I have my iPhone, my laptop, an apartment that I still live in with my parents, books, and many other things that you normally see in a house. My consumption habits definitely affect other people. When you live in a capitalist society, your needs and wants are bound to the fact that this was not ethically made or bought. This is a very dangerous model to live on as we are all affected by it, especially the people who work themselves to death to create the products or food we consume everyday.
Dylan SanFilippo
12/2/2014 03:39:57 am
According to the survey, I supposedly have 29 slaves working for me. I don’t agree with this number. When the test results came in, I wondered how the number was generated. Just under the number there was a section that says, “Here are some of the categories that impacted your score.” Under food alone there were companies such as Pepsi, Dunkin’ Donuts, Coca-Cola, and Starbucks. This simply can’t be right because I don’t drink soda anymore, I don’t drink coffee, and I don’t eat donuts (unless they are complementary at an event such as a meeting). As for the clothing section, I saw not only popular name brands, but also names of brands that I didn’t even know existed; some of these brands are brands of which I personally try to stay away from. Such names of various brands include: converse, nike, H&M, GAP, kohl’s, and macy’s. I’m not an affluent man. I am not conceded. I get clothes for Christmas! I don’t nor can I shop at brand-name department stores! I believe that this number is inflated to the standard of the average male American, which I am too poor to be.
Hakwoo Kim
12/4/2014 01:34:36 am
Hi Dylan! I agree with you that this site might be generalizing people. But I was thinking that just being in this country, which supposedly takes the most privileges in the world. That itself might contribute to the number we get. What I was feeling was empathizing a bit with those who are privileged. This website made me think about how it's like to be the "oppressor". I was so used to think that I was on the unprivileged side, but as we learned about intersectinoality in class, I was certainly on the privileged side in many cases as well. Like you said, this website was mostly to raise the awareness of this global relationship issue. Having no solution itself shows how less of attention this issue is getting, in my opinion.
Jason Do
12/2/2014 06:52:06 pm
I have 33 slaves working for me. I don't usually go out to buy consumer goods, but I am an avid user of the internet and my laptop. When I do go shopping, I usually spend my money on food and or transportation, with the occasional purchase of an item. Before taking this class, I never thought about how my spending of money would affect other people in the world. I knew that things were mass produced in factories, but I never thought about how workers might be exploited as a new form of slavery. Now I know that even name brand companies don't have all the information of where their raw materials come from.
Gordon Wang
12/3/2014 03:11:49 am
Much like everyone else, my main expenditure is food. I’m not a big fan of shopping and on the rare occasion I do shop, it is usually the purchase of one item of electronics. Without a doubt consumerism impacts other people’s lives. Anyone who says they had “no idea” (effectively) slave labor is used in the production and harvesting of goods is either willfully ignorant or lying. Honestly though, I don’t think there is a lot that can be done about this without internationally enforceable labor laws and standards. The closest thing that exists is the International Labor Organization (an agency of the United Nations), and realistically all they have done is set forth “suggestions” and created a system of voluntary compliance, which in reality is pretty ineffectual. While some might argue that public pressure alone can drive companies to do better, I believe that is false. Let’s take a look at the giant Walmart.
Nicole Cheng
12/7/2014 09:07:05 am
I like your questioning of the number generated and the evidence you used to support your perspective. But I wanted to propose a different way of looking at it.
Hakwoo Kim
12/4/2014 01:23:12 am
I usually spend money on food, snacks, entertainment, gas, clothes, and so on. Money is mostly spent on necessity or needs. Sometimes I just feel like getting some snacks; sometimes I go to movies; sometimes I buy some clothes. As I think about this, a big part of my consumption habit seems to be driven by the culture. By seeing people doing so, I might feel like I should do it. Although I am not sure about food and entertainment part, consumption on clothes seems to be largely driven by it. Having good appearance is such a culture, and sometimes I buy clothes just to look better.
Nicole Cheng
12/7/2014 08:27:25 am
Ooh! I like how you describe white denial; because in a very "barely scratch the surface" way, most problems persist because of denial; which is why it's nice how honest you are in describing your habits and the possible roots for them.
nicole cheng
12/4/2014 05:15:32 pm
"42 slaves work for me"
Shannon Casey
12/7/2014 12:49:19 pm
We have a family of 4 people, 2 adults and 2 children (teen & preteen), 3 cats and 2 chinchillas. We rent our home having moved here late enough in the housing boom that we don't want to live in a house that would be considered in our budget.
Laura Pino-Flores
12/7/2014 12:51:58 pm
I am not much of a shopper mostly because shopping, especially clothes shopping gives me headaches. Therefore when it comes to clothes and shoes I don’t go overboard with the amount in my closet. I do have a laptop, tv, and smartphone in my room so I guess I spend more on electronics. Since I don’t shop a lot most of my money does go to food because I love food and trying new things. I also spend a lot on beauty products like makeup and face washes. I do believe that what I buy impacts people. For one, it gives these people a job, but it also increases demand for these goods which can be both good and bad. I have 40 slaves attached to my lifestyle. I think it came mostly from electronics, food and beauty products. Leave a Reply. |
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