| The ethicacy of sweatshops: a comparison of real income, PPP and living wages for the garment industry |
| | Min Wage/Hr | Annualized | Living Wage/Hr | (LW) Annualized | X (#@min=LW) | Agg Average Wage | % of LW | Avg Garment Wage | % of LW |
| Los Angeles County, CA | $8.00 | $16,640.00 | $34.07 | $70,865.60 | 4.3 | $42,578.00 | 60.08% | $31,470.00 | 44.41% |
| | | | | | | | | ($2622.50/mo or $119.20/day) |
| Montgomery County, MS | $7.25 | $15,080.00 | $22.82 | $47,465.60 | 3.1 | $31,046.00 | 65.41% | $25,147.00 | 52.98% |
| | | | | | | | | ($2095.580/mo or $95.25/day) |
| | Min Wage/Mo | Annualized | Living Wage/Mo | (LW) Annualized | X (#@min=LW) | Agg Average Wage | % of LW | Avg Garment Wage/Mo | % of LW |
| Bejing, China | ¥800.00 | ¥9,600.00 | ¥1,381.33 | ¥16,575.96 | 1.7 | - 0 | - 0 | ¥1,210.00 | 87.60% |
| | | | | | | | | ($190.14/mo or $8.64/day) |
| Shanghi, China | ¥960.00 | ¥11,520.00 | ¥1,528.40 | ¥18,340.80 | 1.6 | - 0 | - 0 | ¥1,747.00 | 114.30% |
| | | | | | | | | ($274.53/mo or $12.47/day) |
| Dongguan, China | ¥770.00 | ¥9,240.00 | ¥1,437.51 | ¥17,250.12 | 1.9 | - 0 | - 0 | ¥1,686.00 | 117.29% |
| | | | | | | | | ($264.94/mo or $12.04/day) |
| Ningbo, China | ¥960.00 | ¥11,520.00 | ¥1,420.73 | ¥17,048.76 | 1.5 | - 0 | - 0 | ¥1,652.00 | 116.28% |
| | | | | | | | | ($259.60/mo or $11.80/day) |
| Living wages are based on a family of four using a basket of goods and PPP as set by the World Bank. |
| Obviously, compensation is only part of the discussion. Concerns remain for other issues related to "sweatshops" including child labor, long working hours and safety/environmental conditions. |
| However, it is obvious that great strides are taking place with regard to economic development and "exploited and cheap labor" is is not a viable ant-sweatshop objection, even at $8-12 per day |
| compared to U.S. wages. |
| Data from: |
| Fair Wear Foundation, "FWF - Study on Wages in China," August, 20108/1/10 |
| Pennsylvania State University, Dr. Amy Glasmeier, U.S. Living Wage Calculator |
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LivingWageDataUSAChina.xlsx
