Would you use slave labor or prison labor?

[gearmaker.org]

Are there any circumstances under which your brand would knowingly use slave labor or prison labor to make parts?  Do you discern between slave labor and prison labor?

[essal]

In Norway prison labor is volunteer work by the inmates, it pays them and is a part of their work training. I would have 0 problem with using Norwegian prison labor, and I haven't seen anyone have any negative reaction to Norwegian prison labor when brands promote that they use it. Realizing that it might be different in different countries, I'd do a lot of research into the topic before contracting to a prison.

Slave labor on the other hand, not a fucking chance. Forcing people to work, either by having a messed up system that forces them to work 12+ hours a day to pay for basics or by actual force is so against my personal values that I can't think of a situation where I'd accept it. I'm ok with using cheap labor in other countries, as long as their work environment is proper and their salaries are functional in their location.

[Avant-Guard Tactical]

If my business were to grow, I'd consider employing those who just got out of prison, depending on the crime. Not sure about having a prison bus stopping in front of my workshop every morning, or having a visitor stop by for a custom product and seeing someone behind a machine in all orange. So, if I were to have a person serving out their sentence work for me, the prison would have to transport them in unmarked vehicles and the prisoner would have to wear regular clothes. I expect a GPS ankle gadget would be strapped to them. Obviously, I'd would not be having violent criminals work in my shop in respects to my own health and survival. Even so, I think I'd keep a taser handy and would at that point have to keep security cameras up just in case they lose it and try to stab me in the eye with a thread nipper.

I'll admit, the image of having someone shackled and chained to an industrial sewing machine head might be a bit comical in a dark way...

As far a slave labor goes, referring to actual slave labor, the kind made illegal by the 13th amendment in the united states? The one where over 600,000 soldiers died? (On both sides.) OVER MY DEAD BODY! I agree with essal 100% on this.

And if it felt like it could be defined as slave labor, or indentured servitude of some kind, I would not go for it. No matter how good the money is.

I really don't see too much value in this kind of question, most people would all agree on the same thing with only slight variance. Something similar I'd see as far as the actual future is going is robots sewing and forcing the human operator out of the picture. Now that's a worthy conversation, perhaps that should be in its own post altogether. You know it's right around the corner too. So, forget prisoners and any other humans. Yes, child labor for cheap sewn goods would disappear; but what happens to all the skilled makers, through no fault of their own, are financially not worth employing?

[gearmaker.org]

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/kamala-harris-office-sought-to-keep-inmates-locked-up-so-that-california-could-use-them-for-cheap-labor

"Lawyers under the oversight of then-Attorney General of California Kamala Harris argued in 2014 against the release of nonviolent criminals because they wanted to keep them for cheap labor. "

https://prospect.org/labor/red-blue-states-rely-prison-labor/

“That’s the ones you can work,” Prator said of the people who could be soon be let go under the plan. “That’s the ones that can pick up trash, the work release programs. But guess what? Those are the ones [the state is] releasing.” He added, “In addition to the bad [prisoners], they’re releasing some good ones that we use every day to wash cars, to change oil in our cars, to cook in the kitchens, to do all that where we save money—well, they’re going to let them out.”

Every sound bite or statistic can be skewed to show whatever.  This is offered for what it is.