As you can see, the purpose of this visual argument is to highlight the prevalence of child labor and human rights abuse in the manufacture of products by some very big-name companies. Many corporations like Nike, Nestle, Gap, Calvin Klein, Apple, Wal-Mart, Hanes, Ikea, and many more have been accused of (or found evidence against) for practices like abusive child labor, repression of worker’s rights, violations of health and environmental laws, and labor discrimination. The claim is simply that many of our favorite products and brands are tainted by the use of morally unacceptable practices.
As we look at advertisements from each of these major companies (Nike, Nestle, Gap, Calvin Klein, and Apple), we can see a corresponding image of child labor or a sweatshop. These are the origins of the products that many of us own and purchase regularly. The purpose of this back and forth is to connect the reality of how these products are created – not just simply in a factory in North America, but most likely in a third-world country and through the abuses of human rights. The emotions that are hopefully evoked are surprise, anger, sadness, discomfort, shame, and indignation. Many times, we buy products without hesitating for a moment to think where it came from or how it was created. However, when we see these corresponding pictures of young, malnourished, and dirty children making the products that we love, we are surprised at this shocking truth. Hopefully, that surprise turns into anger, indignation, and sadness with this interpretation: “it isn’t right for other humans to be abused so that corporations can get more money.”
The photos of the glamorous advertisements are such a stark contrast to the grim realities of the living and working conditions that people in third-world countries endure. Gap and Calvin Klein show you flawless models representing their clothes, but children in Uzbekistan as young as five picked that cotton and young women in sweatshops in China worked 16-hour days to make the clothing. Apple has given such a prestigious aura to their products, but the factory that manufactures their chips in China has to put nets around their building to prevent suicides. These are heart-wrenching truths that the pictures can hopefully convey.
In the end, guilt is not the primary emotion I’m aiming for, but it may also be a by-product of this realization. For example, the viewer shouldn’t feel guilty for buying Nike shoes if they did not know about the immoral practices – it could have been just as easy to buy Adidas shoes. However, if we know that corporations are abusing human rights in order to create products and increase revenue for themselves, we should not continue to buy these products in ignorance.
My purpose is to create an awareness in the viewers, as well as move them to an action, whether continuing to research what companies are morally questionable, petitioning companies to change their practices, or just boycotting a product altogether. We, as consumers, should not be comfortable with products created from the abuse of human rights. These products are tainted.
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