Inside the Sweat Shops of Los Angeles

A very interesting, and very sad article on the garment industry in downtown Los Angeles and East L.A.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/0803-02.htm

Reporter Andrew Gumbel accompanies California's Labour Standards Enforcement Bureau into one of the non-descript garment factories in downtown L.A., and describes what he observes.

L.A. is a choice location for the manufacturing of garments because of its proximity to design and retail quarters which ensures a faster response time to orders. This responsiveness eliminates costly backlogs and markdowns when slow responses mean an over-saturation of the market, and allows retailers to capitalise on popular products. In addition, it thrives off illegal labour, getting away with paying workers dismal wages. No Sweat has an enlightening, if somewhat distasteful interview with the owner of Nicole Miller, who despite not using sweat-shop labour, argues for the profit-driven benefits of keeping garment factories in his New York back yard.

This is a poster from the Emmy award winning documentary film, Made in L.A. which follows the story of three immigrants working in Los Angeles garment sweatshops as they embark on a three-year odyssey to win basic labor protections from a trendy clothing retailer. More information can be accessed here: http://www.madeinla.com/