Why, sweatshop labor of course! Sorry to get all serious for a second here, but let me explain.
I’m now entering my third year running a squash equipment blog,
and just recently, in between posting the latest products and
ooh-ing and aaah-ing over them, I’ve starting to wonder where these
things are made.
I just recently bought a pair of shoes made
by Salming, a relatively new brand. As I recall from the shoebox, they
were made in China. I’ve got a box of new Dunlop balls here, and it
says they were made in the Philippines. Were either of these products,
or any of the hundreds or thousands of other products used by squash
players, made in a sweatshop?
By sweatshop, I mean a place where workers,
typically young women, are lured into working in an unsafe place, for
paltry wages and long hours, then told they better not complain, or the
jobs will be taken away or moved elsewhere. Yeah, those sweatshops,
like say the infamous one that collapsed in Bangladesh at Rana Plaza.
The truth is, probably ALL of the equipment
we wore the last time any of us played squash were made in some form of
sweatshop. Maybe not as bad as described above, but probably someplace
that cuts as many corners as possible in the name of producing cheap
goods. (If you know of any sweatshop-free squash brands, please email me, so I can feature those items on my site.)
Not that this is a problem particular to
squash -- most clothing is made in the same manner. There’s usually a
company that manages the brand,
and they sub-contract the production of the actual item to someone
else. Often, to someone who then sub-sub-contracts the production to
someone else. In the end, you never quite know who makes your stuff.
Some of these brands have made strides developing codes of conduct for
their supply chain, but it’s difficult to assess how closely these are
being followed, in part because of the sub-sub-contracting nature of
the business model. The problem seems so daunting, it’s tempting to
just throw up your hands.
Of course, throwing up hands is exactly
what I’m tempted to do myself. If I’m a squash equipment blogger and I
can’t name a single sweatshop-free brand for you to buy, then what am I
supposed to tell you to do -- stop playing squash? Stop wearing clothes
altogether?
Right now all I’d say is be aware. Be aware
that most clothes are made this way. Be willing to pay more for stuff
made in an ethical manner, and be on the lookout for places to buy that
type of product. Maybe even read No Logo, which is a bestselling and highly readable dissection of the current state of the brands and their business model.
Remember: squash is a global sport. You saw the squash Olympic bid video,
right? Squash players have a special obligation to think about the
global picture. We should become conscious of what’s going on, even if
we don’t yet have a solution to the problem.
Pierre Bastien is 37, lives in Philadelphia, and runs a squash equipment blog calledSquash Source.
What's On My Mind is a column by rotating authors.
Contact: DailySquashReport@gmail.com
