Editing Sweatshop (section)

==Impacts of sweatshops==
===Child labour===
{{main|Child labour}}
Child labour is one of the most serious impacts that sweatshops have brought. According to the [[International Labour Organization|International Labour Office]], more than 250 million children are employed in sweatshops, of which 170 million are engaged in the textile industry in developing countries.<ref>{{cite book |place=Geneva |publisher=International Labor Office, International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) |year=2013 |title=Making progress against child labour: Global estimates and trends 2000-2012 |url=http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---ipec/documents/publication/wcms_221513.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004230847/http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---ipec/documents/publication/wcms_221513.pdf |archive-date=2013-10-04 |url-status=live |isbn=978-92-2-127182-6}}</ref> In hopes of earning a living, many girls in these countries, such as Bangladesh and India, are willing to work at low wages for long working hours, said Sofie Ovaa, an officer of Stop Child Labour.<ref>{{cite web |last=Moulds |first=J. |title=Child labor in the fashion supply chain |via=labs.theguardian.com |url=https://labs.theguardian.com/unicef-child-labour/}}</ref> Most fashion manufacturing chains employ low-skilled labour and as child laborers are easier to manage and even more suitable than adult labour for certain jobs such as cotton picking, it becomes a particular problem in sweatshops as they are vulnerable with no backups.

In the United States, sweatshops supporting the [[cotton textile industry]] were a contentious topic in American economic and political debate surrounding the use of child labor. In his book ''Child Labor: An American History'', Hugh D. Hindman stated, "In 1870, when New England dominated textiles, 13,767, or 14.5 percent of its workforce was children under sixteen".<ref name=Hindman>{{Cite book|last=Hindman|first=Hugh D.|title=Child Labor: An American History|date=2016-09-16|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-315-29085-0|edition=1st |doi=10.4324/9781315290850}}</ref> By the most conservative estimate, from the Census of Manufacturers, there were 27,538 under sixteen in southern mills. According to the household census in 1900, the number was 60,000.<ref name=Hindman/> To curb this matter, the United States enacted the [[Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938]] (FLSA) to prohibit the employment of minors under the age of sixteen.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/history/flsa1938 | title=Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938: Maximum Struggle for a Minimum Wage &#124; U.S. Department of Labor }}</ref>

===Environmental pollution===
Not only workers are impacted by sweatshops, but the neighboring environment as well, through lax environmental laws set up in developing countries to help reduce the production cost of the fashion industry. Clothing manufacturing is still one of the most polluting industries in the world. Nevertheless, the environment of developing countries remained deeply polluted by untreated waste. The [[Buriganga River]] in Bangladesh is now black and pronounced biologically dead because neighbouring leather tanneries are discharging more than 150 cubics of liquid waste daily. (Stanko, 2013)<ref>{{cite web |last=Stanko |first=N. |date=2013 |title=Sweatshops |work=Greeniacs Nation |access-date=October 31, 2017 |url=http://www.greeniacs.com/GreeniacsArticles/Consumer-Products/Sweatshops.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107011248/http://www.greeniacs.com/GreeniacsArticles/Consumer-Products/Sweatshops.html |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The daily life of local people is significantly affected as the [[Buriganga River]] is their source of bathing, irrigation and transportation. Many workers in the tanneries suffer from serious skin illnesses since they are exposed to toxic chemicals for a long time. Air is being highly polluted in such areas because the factories do not install proper ventilation facilities. Sweatshops are also an environmental issue as it is not only the human right of labour but also their living environment.