company wants them to Mueckler 2know. Consumers would then be able to base their product choice on work place conditions aswell as the over all product information. Some companies’s use of sweatshops have been made public. Kathie-Lee Gifford’sdesigner clothes company for example was widely evident in the news in 1996. Gifford wasshocked when she heard of the sweatshop conditions her company was using. Since this Giffordhas been involved in organizing the Apparel Industry Partnership with the U.S. Department ofLabor. This organization tries to crack down on the use of child labor. This is one example ofwhere the public influenced a company to change its policies. This gives hope that with consumersupport other companies can be influenced in similar ways.Disney, however, has not been so noteworthy in their efforts. Disney licensees go out oftheir way to bring their company to countries such as Burma, where the practice of child labor is anormal everyday event, and they exploit this to create their product as cheaply as possible. Schweizer explains how remote the locations that Disney licensees use, “ For years Disneylicensees were manufacturing in a country few Americans could locate on a map. Burma- alsoknown as Myanmar, the name given it by the ruling military junta- is a poverty - stricken nationwedged between India, China, and the lush mountains of Thailand.” (251). This is an ideallocation because so few people are aware of it. This makes it easy for the Disney licensees tocontinue their business without being detected. Another insight to Burma is that drug lords holdgreat power and are protected by the government. Disney licensees had to get the permission tohave sweatshops in Burma from these drug lords. This shows how the drug lords are the oneswith the power in Burma. First companies must win the respect of these drug lords before theyare able to work there. “ Burma’s attractio...
