Historical Significance

In 1995, investigators from the National Labor Committee found teenagers sewing clothes at a sweatshop in Honduras. Kathie Lee Gifford lent her name to a line of clothing from Wal-Mart, which was later discovered to be made these workers. The press coverage revealed one of the problems associated with globalization: Manufacturers circumvented United States labor laws by moving their factories outside of the country. "The race to the bottom" was a competition between countries to lure corporate employers in order to secure jobs, regardless of how poor the working conditions. The poorer the country was--and the weaker its safety, health, and environmental laws--the more attractive it was to a corporation's bottom line.