Clothing shed, sweatshops protested

It was hard to distinguish the difference between shouts of agreement and catcalls from the… It was hard to distinguish the difference between shouts of agreement and catcalls from the audience on Wednesday at the Engineering Auditorium, as the members of Students In Solidarity stripped off their Pitt clothing at the No Sweat Pitt fashion show.

A political and advocacy group at Pitt, SIS is working to make sure that workers around the world have equal rights and are not exploited by large businesses looking to make a profit off cheap labor in Third-World countries.

Dec. 1 marked the National Day of Action, a day when SIS, as well as many other college groups all over the country, tried to join the Worker Rights Consortium, a non-profit organization that works to ensure that clothing with college and university names are not produced in sweatshops.

Members of SIS and Pitt students modeled Pitt’s sweatshirts and sweatpants — which are produced in sweatshops, according to the group — before stripping them off in protest.

Throughout the show, a speaker educated the audience about the working conditions in sweatshops, which are common in many Third-World countries that need foreign investment, such as Guatemala, Nicaragua and Bangladesh.

Women and children may often work 60 to 120 hours a week, with little or no breaks, in sweatshops. Many other workers suffer from migraines, allergies, skin problems, asthma, lung disease and malnutrition.

Children are especially exploited, according to the group. It is predicted that 12 percent of Guatemalan workers are younger than 16, and many children will never go to elementary school because they immediately begin work in the sweatshops. While workers are paid meager wages, they often have no other choice for employment.

SIS is currently trying to gain support, and encouraged everyone who attended the fashion show to sign a petition protesting the use of cheap labor to make Pitt apparel. They hope this petition will show that many members of the community are interested in the cause.