Consumers and Wage-Earners: The Ethics of Buying CheapRoss, J. Elliot (John Elliot)
Philosophy
Consumers and Wage-Earners: The Ethics of Buying Cheap
Ross, J. Elliot (John Elliot)
Consumers -- United States; Wages; Wages -- United States
2. No children under the age of sixteen are employed.
3. Work at night is not required, and the working day does not exceed
ten hours.
4. No goods are given out to be made away from the factory.
Similar to the Consumers' League label are the labels of various trade
unions. These latter, indeed, were in the field many years before the
Consumers' League was even organized. They are based upon exactly the
same principle. When a factory maintains the conditions demanded by the
union, it is allowed to use the label on its goods. Anyone, therefore,
who buys union-made goods at a store where the employees are protected
by the retail-clerks union can be sure that those engaged in both the
production and distribution of these articles have obtained their just
rights so far as this is possible.
By having firms on the white list handle labeled goods and, recently, by
establishing a store of its own in New York, a market is created for
them among the members of the League. The practicalness underlying the
whole management of the League is very clearly shown here both in the
dove-tailing of its activities in manufacture and distribution and in
the appeal made to the self-interest of purchasers to buy white goods,
wrappers, etc., made in clean factories rather than germ-carrying
sweatshops goods. It has been the aim of the League all along to make it
to the Consumer's personal advantage to buy labeled goods at white-list
stores. The idea is to give him a better article and better service for
the same money, the increased cost to the manufacturer and retailer to
come out of the increased sales.
In 1898 the various local Leagues that had sprung up in different
sections were united into one national organization and the activities
became even more important. The sweatshop, child-labor, excessive hours
for women, were attacked with considerable effect. In many States the
public conscience was sufficiently aroused by reform agencies with which
the League zealously co-operated to pass stringent laws, and the
League's representatives, either as private individuals or as honorary
inspectors of the State tried to see that they were carried out. If New
York to-day has the strictest child-labor law in the United States, a
good share of the honor is due to the untiring labors of an enlightened
Consumers' League.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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