Child Labor and its Effects Essay -- Child Labor

In today’s world, one would believe that the majority of Americans would oppose supporting a business that exploits the use of child labor to produce its goods. However, the odds are we all have in one way or another supported these businesses the last time we went shopping. Whether it is a toy for a child or a jacket to keep you warm, it was probably was made using child labor in one of the many different parts of the globe. The use of child labor is a major factor of the global economy in today's age of globalization where U.S. companies such as Nike, Reebok, or Wal-Mart have taken control of the market (Calucag). Western civilization has attempted to fight child labor for years now with little to show for it. The main reason has been the failure to come up with reasonable ways to communicate Western values and opinions on practices that should be eliminated and turn them into effective solutions. Third-world countries offer child labor (Low-cost Labor) as competitive advantage in the world market (Qadeer). As a result, companies from the west have let low-cost, high profitability, blind their morality. Consequently, rather than making sure no child labor is involved in the production of their product, companies have embraced it by running their operations in countries that allow it to occur. By doing this, companies are able to keep production costs as low as possible, thus increasing profits. Child labor is the employment of children who are under the legal minimum age. UNICEF defines child labor to be seen as happening along continuum, with exploitation on one end and the development of a strong work ethic on the other side (Stackhouse). When children are forced to work long hours, their ability to attend school or to co... ...izabeth. Child labor in sub-Saharan Africa . Boulder, Co.: Lynne Rienner Publishers Inc., 2004. Basu, Kaushik. Child Labor: Cause, Consequence, and Cure, with Remarks on International Labor Standards. December 1998. 21 11 2010 . Black, Ken. What is bonded labor? 08 september 2010. Burra, Neera. Born to Work. Oxford University Press, 1995. Calucag, Ernesto B. "International trade and labor (Popular Economics)." Business World (2004). Greenhouse, Steven. "Clinton to seek big increase in funds to fight child labor abroad." New York Times 7 february 2000. Qadeer, Mohammed. "why the third world still needs child labor; WORK." The Globe and Mail (Canada) 12 december 1996. Stackhouse, John. "UNICEF report says "child labor condemned hazardous work, betrayal of rights"." The Globe and Mail 12 december 1996.