A sweatshop is defined as a factory where manual workers are employed at very low wages for long hours in dangerous working environments (Oxford Dictionary, 2011). Sweatshops are particularly associated with the clothing industries, such as Nike, Gap, Walmart, Primemark and other brands. The history of sweatshops begins in 1830 with clothing factories in New York and London, even then the working conditions were poor, for example a rat infestation. Since the 1850s, worker unions have improved the conditions of "sweatshops" in the first world, and the term "sweatshop" is more associated with factories in developing countries. The statement that “sweatshops in developing countries are better than no jobs” has many arguments for and against, which will be explored in this essay. Wages are classified as below the “living wage” and are not enough to support a family. Workers are paid less than 1% of the product's retail price; for example, Honduran garment factory workers received US$0.24 for every US$50 Sean John sweatshirt (Sean John Setisa Report, 2003). We are often shocked by salaries in developing countries, but we must analyze salaries according to the standards of the country in which they are paid. In developing countries, the main concern is food and shelter, so when living standards are low, money can go much further. “Sweatshops” provide unemployed people who struggle to find work with paid employment, food, housing and medicine, thereby reducing (infant) mortality rates and can even provide enough money to sustain life. education of the family's offspring. This gives the younger generation a chance to improve their future quality of life, with a greater variety of career opportunities and better pay. ACIT (2000) writes that the multinational... middle of article...... published on April 1, 2014]. Stepp, W. (2001) “Nike is right”, Mises Daily, March 14. Available at: http://mises.org/daily/628. [April 1, 2014] http://everydayecon.wordpress.com/2006/05/18/the-economys-of-sweatshops/ - better than the alternative, agrees with sweatshopsAcademic Consortium on International Business (2000 ) Letter to presidents of universities and colleges. Available at: http://www.spp.umich.edu/rsie/acit/ [Accessed April 1, 2014]Zwolinski, M. (2012) Top 3 Ways Sweatshops Help Poor People Escape Poverty. Available at: http://www.learnliberty.org/videos/top-3-ways-sweatshops-help-poor-escape-poverty/ [Accessed 1 April 2014] Gillespie, L. (2013) “Outsourced by Children », The Moulton Advertiser, September 19. Available at: http://www.moultonadvertiser.com/opinion/columnists/columnist_one/article_75929e8c-2090-11e3-8756-0019bb2963f4.html [Accessed April 1 2014]