THE CARROLL NEWS: 

Paying it Forward: Nicaragua Immersion trip
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Erin Borger on 13 February, 2008 05:35:00
 
Try to imagine the process that went into making your North Face jacket. Perhaps
you envision a large overheated garment factory in some remote part of China
where workers are sewing away in harsh conditions to meet the day’s quota.
Your image would not be far fetched from what twelve John Carroll students
encountered over winter break as they travelled to Nicaragua to study the issues
of trade, including sweatshop labor.
Over 1,500 workers were compressed into a factory no bigger than two lengths of
the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center. The scorching sun found its way into the
building, not through any windows, but through the lonely doors found at the
front of the building.
As soon as the John Carroll group stepped inside the factory, silence broke out
amongst the students. “I felt like an outsider that had just intruded in a
completely different world,” recalls freshman participant Molly Gradowski,
“As I walked through the aisles, all I saw were hundreds of eyes glaring at
me. Those eyes immediately went back to work on their garments, knowing well
that if they did not fill the day’s quota, they would face severe consequences
like blistering verbal abuse and pay cuts to name a few.”
While walking through the aisles of the sweatshop looking at the Nautica
swimwear being made for the upcoming summer, a sense of heartache filled the
air.
“All I could think about it was how I have one of those North Face jackets
they were making, or how those clothes they were sewing were going to be in our
stores,” said senior leader Alison Cyperski. “You have to realize that they
are people too. Sure, they are people that need money, but they are people that
do not deserve to be treated the way they are. No one does.”
After a tour of the Free Trade sweatshop, the group gathered in a busy alley
way to meet with Union Leaders and Workers from Free Trade Zones. One Union
worker in particular, Pedro Ortega, presented some staggering statistics as he
challenged us for change.
“It roughly costs about 90 cents to make a North Face jacket that you pay $60
for,” Ortega informed us. “It’s the corporations that are making all that
money in between, making it worse off for both the workers and the consumers.”
And despite all of the workers’ long hours and physical labor, they are only
being paid a mere two dollars a day. Yes, you heard right, two dollars a day,
for a 40 to 50 hour week.
So what does this mean for us as consumers? Should we stop buying apparel made
in these sweatshops? While the chances of every consumer boycotting North Face
products are unlikely, Ortega said it’s not the right answer anyways. “If
you don’t buy the clothing then we are out of work” he said. However, there
are some things that you as a consumer can do to help.
Junior participant Mandi Kulwicki states, “What we can do is make others
aware of the situation and try to get these companies to be socially
responsible.” On top of making others aware, sophomore participant Jimmy Rudyk
encourages consumers to “challenge themselves and ask questions, like where
their clothes are from and who is making them.”
And while it may seem like nothing to be picky with your choice of clothing,
Cyperski challenges you to think again. “Start shopping with a little bit more
of a conscious,” she says. “If you see a shirt that has a little bit of a
snag in it, do not put it back because it is not perfect.  Someone probably lost
their job for that snag, or had something worse happen to them.”
One way the group affected the Nicaraguan people was by instilling a sense of
hope for the future. “Physically being in Nicaragua showed the workers that
Americans are standing in solidarity with them,” commented Rudyk. “It showed
the people that we are hearing the issues, caring about the issues and want to
change the issues.”
Now the challenge for the group comes in the form of educating the community.
Freshman participant Jose Juarez added, “Talking about our experiences with
other people, especially the right people, will make a difference not only here
at John Carroll, but in the world.”
For more information on the sweatshop labor witnessed in Nicaragua, check out
the window display case by Einstein Bros.