What do you see in your future? Perhaps a law degree from Harvard, maybe fashion school in New York, possibly Engineering at MIT? Imagine that, instead of these amazing dreams, your future held gruelling 14 hour work days in a dingy factory, performing one singular task, over and over for days on end. Sadly, this is the reality for roughly 250 million children living in developing countries, who are forced to work in sweatshops. These illegal factories are in horrendous states, with dangerous conditions and unsafe surroundings, and are sometimes run by vicious criminals. The Mekong club, a charity that helps to fight against modern slavery, recently worked alongside a group of KGV students and their parents to create a sweatshop simulation, raising awareness among Hong Kongers about the incredible hardship that those unfortunate enough to be involved with modern slavery face.
Best described as “a student-driven event to raise awareness of modern slavery”, the workshop was held on Zoom, open for all students and their families to join. As Mr. Beard outlined in an interview with The Lion’s Crest, “A group of participants from three schools were challenged to spend two consecutive hours engaging in a repetitive action—putting nuts on bolts and then taking them off. They did this without food, water, or breaks. If they did not perform fast enough, they were scolded by the organisers.” At the end, participants were challenged with the question: “Imagine if this was your life seven days a week, 365 days a year, for no pay. How would you feel? What did you learn from the experience?”
Matt Friedman, the CEO of the Mekong club, collaborated with CNN news anchor Kirstie Lu Stout to raise awareness about the sweatshop simulation. CNN runs a project called #Myfreedomday, where students around the world hold events that are televised by the channel to raise awareness of modern slavery. Mr. Friedman invited Mrs. Stout to be involved in the collaboration, interviewing families after the simulation asking what participating in this activity had taught them, and how this had changed their view on the issue.
When asked if he thought the workshop made a difference, Mr Beard was positive it had. “If each participant and each person that views the CNN report does one thing, then we are going some way to combating the problem of modern slavery,” he underlined. “Students want to change behaviours and being online has not dampened that desire to make a difference.”
But how else can we make a difference? One simple way is to pay closer attention to the brands we buy from—to refuse the brands that rely on sweatshops and support, instead, more ethical fashion companies. In other words, to “boycott” and to “buycott”. Refusing to buy from shops that use sweatshops, such as Nike, H&M and Adidas, means that these companies will hopefully either cease to exist or be forced to change their behaviour. Instead, look towards supporting ethical enterprises that stand against sweatshops and treat their factory workers fairly, such as Patagonia, Levi’s, and many other small businesses. By supporting local ethical startups and boycotting big brands that use sweatshops, you can shop knowing that you are not contributing to the deterioration of the quality of life for people across the globe.
This is a nice way to shed a light on modern slavery.