Kinsey Hansen

Professor Lisa Packer

15 March 2015
Human Trafficking and You: Whats your clothes got to do with it?
When we hear the word slavery, thoughts that come to mind might include black
slavery, white masters, Abraham Lincoln, Emancipation Proclamation, slaves freedand
wouldnt it be great if that were truly the case? Americans today tend to believe that slavery has
gone awayour society is no longer plagued with the horrendous abuse of human lives for the
gain of others. Many would be shocked to know that there are millions of slaves in the world
today. Many Americans may not know that most of their clothes, shoes, accessories, and even
food is a product of human trafficking, including child slaves.
According to http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs and http://www.therichest.com
multimillion dollar industries that knowingly allow their products to come from other countries
include Walmart, Hanes, JC Penny, The Gap, Victorias Secret, Disney, and many more. Im not
going to lie, I am just as guilty as anyone else for using these retailors--they are everywhere!
Furthermore, if you think about how much money these companies make, it just gets more and
more disgusting to think about them taking advantage of poorly paid workers in other countries.
Im pretty sure Disney would be ok if they used American factories and had to pay their workers
a living wage. Christy and Jim Walton (Sam Waltons of Walmart children) are in the top 10
wealthiest people in the world, valued at $41.7 billion and $40.6 billion respectively stated by
http://www.forbes.com/billionaires. Maybe they could use some of that money to figure out a
way to stop allowing child slaves to make their products. Understandably, it is a way to keep

your business healthy, at least financially. Maybe not healthy in the moral department, but at
least they dont need to look the workers in the face and explain to them why them and their
CEOs have millions but they can only pay them pennies. At least they have that. It is so easy
here in America to see only the product before you, and not see how it got there. Lets be honest,
who hasnt shopped at Walmart? Or been to Disney Land or had Disney products? How many
people will read this article, and continue to shop at Walmart? The answer is, probably everyone.
As much as it may surprise many Americans, it isnt like it hasnt been in the news. Does
anyone remember a few years ago that Nike was accused of using child labor? Nike is, of course,
a goliath shoe company, multimillion dollar industry, and shoe prices run anywhere from $80$200, and yet they were allowing children in other countries to be beaten, underpaid(if paid at
all) and subjected to long hours. Are their shoes worth robbing children of their childhood? And
yet, in spite of that whole ordeal for Nike, did they stop selling shoes? Did people stop buying
their shoes? Of course not.
This is clearly a crime against humanity, but there is no easy answer for this problem. It is
something that has been going on for years, and will most likely not go away without a fight.
There are, however, brands that are 100% American made such as American Apparel, Carhartt,
Levi Strauss and Co., and LL Bean. I guess the best I can do is urge the American public to be
aware of the brands they use, do their research. It doesnt take long to google American made
companies. Of course it is difficult, it is like an ant fighting a battle with a rhinoceros. But every
small effort counts, do you think it is worth it?

Dear Professor PackerHere is my rationale for this paper:

How does this commentary connect to the larger issue for the online magazine? What was my
main argument/thesis of this commentary paper? It is connected to the larger issue because it is
talking about the side of human trafficking that is forced labor. My main argument was that even
though it saves large companies money to outsource, it is harmful to those people that are
underpaid and overworked.
How did I use the rhetorical appeals in my commentary (ethos, pathos,
logos,kairos)? Which appeal is my strongest? Weakest? Why? I think I used pathos the most
because it is really sad to think about a child making products for you. And I think my weakest
was ethos. I didnt really include any peoples quotes or anything in the paper.
Who is my intended audience and what is the message I am trying to get across
to them? My audience I think is everyone. Everyone shops, so everyone can hear this message
and get something from it. My message was to just be aware of where you shop, do research.
Who are the naysayers and how do I approach them in my commentary? Does this
strengthen my argument? Why or why not? The naysayers are the companies who use
outsourcing(child labor, forced labor etc). I introduce who some of them are and acknowledge
that it helps save them money, but by introducing some of their worth, it brings up the fact that
they arent hurting for money. I think it did strengthen my argument, because when you see how
much money they make, you start to realize that they dont have to pay their child laborers slave
wages.

 What did I struggle with the most with this paper? Did the feedback from my
peers help me write a stronger paper? Why or why not? I struggled most with the naysayers.
Who thinks modern day slavery is ok?? So when we had the peer review, I did brainstorm with
the reviewer about ways to introduce large companies, and it did help a lot.
Did I use the templates from They Say, I Say in my commentary? Did I think
the They Say book was useful to my learning in this class? Why or why not? Yes, I did use a
template (Many Americans think..) And yes, I liked the book, I thought it as a fun way to read
about the tools we need to write effective papers. It wasnt super boring text book style, it was
actually kind of fun to read!
Any final comments about the commentary genre paper? No, it was a fun assignment, it made
me feel like I was writing an article for Buzzfeed or something!