[neilparikh]

Their point is, we (western countries as a whole) have the following options:

- Buy clothes made using child labour, the children and their families get a bit of additional income. - Don't buy clothes made using child labour, the children and their families don't get a bit of additional income.

Most likely, these children are working because without this income, it's difficult for them to meet their needs for survival. Given that, the choosing option 2 will clearly leave this children and their families worse off. I'm not sure how that's a controversial statement, it's simply describing the situation as it is. Denying harsh realities doesn't make things better for those children.

Now, the ideal situation is just a direct wealth transfer from rich countries to poor countries, and I would be in favor of that. But people in rich countries value the lives of people in their countries many times more than those in poor countries, so I doubt this will happen anytime soon.

[LockAndLol]

That's a false dichotomy used to justify child and slave labor as well as absolve yourself of responsibility.

Here's a few options:

1. buy second hand

Cheapest and best for the environment

2. buy local

stimulates local economy, doesn't give money to another big corporation ready to exploit another country

3. buy fair trade

4. stop buying so many things

It really isn't that difficult.

------------

The harsh reality is that we all are to blame for the predicament of those countries and we try to brush it off, just like you just did. We choose to buy cheap without checking where things are from. We choose not to support local industries. We choose politicians that choose not to prosecute companies for crimes in other countries. We choose to give big companies money which they then use to corrupt foreign countries in order to exploit them. We choose to justify our consumerism with "at least I'm giving them a job".

You really think that those countries would be in such disarray without our involvement? Do you think if multi-nationals had less power, the support of their western politicians and populace, that they'd be able to mess around in foreign countries and take away opportunities for the foreign populace?

[neilparikh]

> That's a false dichotomy used to justify child and slave labor as well as absolve yourself of responsibility.

It's clearly not a false dichotomy, since 3 of those options will leave those in the working in the global poor worse off. Buying fair trade will help those in the global poor, so that's a good option.

Note that I did not use this to justify slave labour. That's obviously bad, and they will be better off not working under slave labour. We should refuse to buy goods produced from slave labour. I am specifically focusing on those who work "voluntarily"[0] in exchange for pay.

> we try to brush it off, just like you just did.

Did you read my comment? I said, "Now, the ideal situation is just a direct wealth transfer from rich countries to poor countries, and I would be in favor of that." How is that brushing it off? I advocated for giving them money/aid/etc. directly (and is something I do on a small scale personally, by donating to charities that help people in the global poor).

What it comes down to at the end is that these people are working these jobs because the alternative is starvation or the like. If you're saying we should stop buying from them (indirectly, through a large company), you need to pair that with a direct transfer of some form of aid to make up for the lost income. Otherwise, you are directly making them worse off. Before, they earned some money for their labour, now they don't.

> The harsh reality is that we all are to blame for the predicament of those countries

If we're to blame, we can't just tell them "Sorry, I know you need this income to sustain yourself, but I'm not comfortable with those working conditions, so I'm going to give my money to someone in a first world country instead."

[0] - Ie. They decided they are better off working this job, than not working this job.

[vrperson]

All the options you give leave the children worse off, because they lose their source of income.

[LockAndLol]

This most likely won't reach you, but anyway, inform yourself.

16x9 - Child Labour: The Dark Side of Chocolate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXWFXeIZY9g

Documentary. The Dark Side Of Chocolate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vfbv6hNeng