Part 1: Dateline hidden cameras in Bangladeshi factories

By Kelsey | July 5th, 2007 | 2 Comments »

Thoughts on PART 1 of Datelines “Hidden costs” report:

First let me say, shows like this get those guys with the deep Voices and anything they say is way too overdramatic. Not that the situation in Bangladesh isn’t dramatic, because it is. But when the voice says, “barely surviving” you expect someone to drop dead from hunger immediately.

-Nobody loves management. I don’t care if you work for a fortune 500 company or if you sew crotch flaps on boxers, you don’t use the word “love” to describe your feelings for your bosses.

-One worker says that she has to ask her supervisors permission to go to the bathroom. Is this different than any other factory line anywhere in the world?

-I didn’t see any child labor in the garment factories, but I did see it in the textile factories where many of the garment factories purchase their material. And as I have said before, many children in Bangladesh work hard whether it is begging, helping a blacksmith, or collecting plastic bottles. It would be interesting to see what the children who would have been working in the garment industry are doing. I bet it’s not pretty.

-I also created a fictitious company – Touron Attire. I was shopping for underwear.

-The factory owner says that his workers make $2/hour. I really think something got lost in translation here. That’s about like me saying that I get paid $100,000/word I write.

Overall, I think this report is pretty accurate portrayal of the situation so far. Now watch PART 2.