Jennifer Gaytan on Naomi Klein "The Discarded Factory"

In The Discarded Factory from Naomi Klein's book No Logo, Klein explains to us that big brands are not taking responsibility in the production of the products that they are selling. Instead, the companies are spending most of their money on promoting their brand and selling brand. While doing so, the people producing these items are usually forgotten and erased from the picture. 

It is interesting to point out how Naomi Klein explains that even the closing down of factories is being done to harm the workers and benefit the brands. During these closure of factories, hundreds of people will be losing their jobs and not only that, but this allows the brands to give responsibility to others, so that the brand is able to "clear their name" of all the wrong-doing. People who are working in these factories are often being paid minimum wage, sometimes less, and working long hours in bad working conditions. 

I think that if more people tried to bring attention to this issue, then it wouldn't be happening as much.  However, it is hard because a lot of people depend on these jobs to feed and provide for their families. When we buy these goods, for example, the Nike sneakers, we pay the price, but we don't think about how much of that is being given to the manufacturer of the shoes or about how much effort was put into making them. The people who make these shoes will, more often than not, not be able to afford them based on the amount of money they are being paid to make them, and that is so mind-blowing to me. 

While reading this article, I could connect it so much to a documentary we watched in another of my classes, Mardi Gras: Made in China. The people would be working very long hours making Mardi Gras necklaces and would have to move into the apartments in the factory to be able to work there. They wouldn't be paid much money and a lot of times they couldn't afford to go back home. They were also shown how these necklaces were being used in the United States and it was very interesting to see how they felt about it. It is a very interesting documentary that explains how globalization works using a different example. 

Not only this, but this also reminded me of my mother at home. My mom, a Mexican immigrant, works full-time at a factory for minimum-wage-paid work. The working conditions there are not horrible, but they could be better. For example, on the super hot summer days, there is no air-conditioning, sometimes they're not allowed to talk, and are often not allowed to take bathroom breaks. My mother helps make cosmetic goods, so that other people buy them without any hesitation. While reading this article and watching the documentary on Monday, it remind me a lot of my mom's situation. It is something that is very eye-opening and something I never really stop and think about. 

This is an image of the Mardi Gras: Made in China Documentary: 

Whenever you buys shoes, Mardi Gras necklaces, cosmetics, or anything produced in a factory, do you think about all the work that was put into making this item? Because more often than not, the product was made so cheaply, but are distributing it in a way in which will profit the brand.