No wonder that under capitalism the industry producing and distributing clothing rolls in the profits. But only under capitalism are those who toil making the garments often unable to afford the very clothes they make. An outcry has greeted the dramatic rise of sweatshops in the United States and around the world with working conditions that were supposed to have disappeared by 1920. Investigations revealed child labor, sexual harassment, long hours, wages way below legal minimums and horribly unsafe working conditions. But they are not alone.
Clothing is a phenomenally big business.
Over 30,000 clothing manufacturers in this country employ over 800,000 workers. Around the world, these same companies directly or indirectly employ at least another 400,000 people. Among them are many small shops that the big manufacturers subcontract to. They provide a pool of cheap labor. Most are women.