Knowing how much progress we've made in North America on occupational safety, what about overseas? The latest Bangladeshi incident (80 dead so far) comes on the heels of earlier disasters. What can be done?
Some large apparell companies have already made real commitments to better conditions in overseas factories. More can be done. Bashing “corporations” and all that blah blah blah won’t change things. It might make people feel good, but it won’t help.
Similarly, grinding on about the local authorities may be fair, but there's not much each of us can do to change the habits or staffing levels at local fire departments in Asia. Political action isn't powerless, but it is neither the most immediate nor the most likely tool to be effective.
The answer lies deep with us. Deep within our pockets, actually. Are cheap t-shirts a good enough reason to go on like this? How many more Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fires and similar disasters do we need to see, before we figure it out? Free markets can help to effect change, if the people participating in those free markets (including consumers) use them. Will we?
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