Exported from El Salvador, Processed By Slaves

If you have t-shirts, coffee, underwear, sugar, sweaters, or blue jeans in your home right now, than you probably have a product made in and exported from El Salvador. And if you have a Salvadoran export, chances are high it was processed by slaves. That's because many of the 67,000 female workers who process exports in El Salvador are subjected to verbal and physical abuse, sexual harassment, and forced labor. By allowing the abuse of export workers, El Salvador is exporting exploitation along with the stuff you eat, drink, and wear.

In El Salvador, and especially in the export industry, Trade Unions are all but outright banned. Women are routinely discriminated against, paid less than their male counterparts, and underrepresented in higher-wage jobs. According to the International Trade Union Confederation, export processors have so little ability to negotiate their contract or their work, that they are tantamount to being forced labor. Add to that abuse and sexual harassment, and it's easy to see why the women who work in export processing in El Salvador may feel trapped in their jobs.

It's easy to feel disconnected from exploitation and slavery in factories and fields overseas. But what if those slaves were in charge of getting your possessions to you? A quick glance through my own closet revealed at least one t-shirt made in El Salvador, a team shirt from the 2008 bocce season (yes, I played in a bocce league which made its own shirts).

So I tried to visualize the journey of that shirt. I ordered it from my bocce league, which got all their shirts from an online wholesaler. Those shirts were shipped from the factory where they were made in El Salvador. But before they left the country, there were processed by an export processor, who may or may not have been subject to forced labor. I tried to imagine her face and her name. Was she sexually harassed the day that she stamped my shirt box? Was she trying to think of ways to break free of her abusive job when she put my box on the plane? Or had she given up hope by then? One thing is for sure -- thinking through this journey made me feel like the distance between us was much shorter than I thought.

When we talk about modern-day slavery and consumer goods, we often talk about how slaves and exploited workers grow, sew, and assemble our products. But they also export them, quality check them, drive them to distribution centers, and stock them on shelves. It's important to remember that exploitation can occur at any step of the chain. That's one of the reasons it is so important for companies to have transparent supply chains.

Photo credit: craig cloutier