Go Green Challenge: Week 1 - Diane Tran

My first initial thought about the “Be Green” challenge is that this challenge will be so easy because all I buy is food anyways. However, now that the challenge has started I am scared that I will not be able to finish this challenge without actually buying something.

I love shopping whether it is online or in stores. I love being able to find new tops or bottoms and decide what will match or look good together. Having new clothes allows me to feel good wearing them or even have clothes that are appropriate for that season.

The more I learn about how fast fashion involves sweatshops, the more disappointed I am in myself. I did not know that these sweatshops happen with fast fashion and in a way, I feel like I am ignorant, unknowledgeable, and uncompassionate person of consumerism. When I bought clothes, I never thought of where it was from or how it unjustly was made. For example, in a weekly reading called “Santa’s Sweatshop” incorporates how people are fighting for equality. Markets have created and promoted this idea of cheap labor. Holstein indicates that "young female Chinese workers who have migrated thousands of miles from home are alleged to earn less than the minimum wage of $1.99 a day" (1). Videos in class such as “China Blue” would show the inside of the sweatshops and how the owners would treat the workers with no breaks and barely any pay. Attached below is a video of Nike’s sweatshops and it makes me disappointed in myself to buy products such as Nike that promote sweatshops.

With this knowledge of fast fashion and sweatshops, I will discipline myself to not buy anything such as clothes or shoes. Now that I know why people work at sweatshops, I will be more conscious of the items that I buy.

Works cited:

Holstein, Palmer, Ur-Rehman & Ito. “Santa’s Sweatshop: In a Global Economy, it’s Hard to Know Who Made Your Gift – and Under What Conditions”. U.S. News and World Report. Vol. 121. Issue 24. Dec 16, 1996. p. 50-54, 56-57, 60.

China Blue. Dir. Micha X. Peled. Teddy Bear Films Inc., 2005. DVD. 

TeamSweat. “Nike Sweatshops: Behind the Swoosh.” YouTube, YouTube, 28 July 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5uYCWVfuPQ.