Other companies contract out their production to overseas manufacturers whose labor rights violations have been exposed by U.S. and international human rights groups. Van Heusen, the Gap, Liz Claiborne and Ralph Lauren. Large corporations almost always use contract manufacturing firms to produce their goods. In this way, corporations separate themselves from the production of their own goods and try to claim that the working conditions under which their goods are produced are not their responsibility. In fact, it is the corporations that dictate the conditions of their workers.
Corporations squeeze their contractors into paying sub-minimum wages.
Large retailers and retail chains pressure contract manufacturers by refusing to pay more that a rock-bottom price for manufacturing orders. They also demand that their manufacturing contractors guarantee them a profit by buying back unsold merchandise at the end of each season. Manufacturers deal with this financial squeeze not by cutting their own profits, but by cutting workers' wages and benefits, and by compromising workers1 physical safety. Many corporations also refuse to contract to union shops. In the end, it is the workers who pay for corporate greed.