Sweatshops: Just a Phase?
As Americans, we see many moral issues with child labor and sweatshops. This stems from the fact that at one point in tiime, children in America worked on the assembly lines and in the factories. They would lose limbs and be scarred for the rest of their lives. Pay wages were low, hours were incredibly long with no breaks, and the companies had free reign with no labor laws.
As we progressed through the industrial revolution, the working environment improved slowly. Workers began to protest, which led to child labor laws, minimum wage, and many other labor laws. Almost a century later, we have completely reversed those practices, and have created safe working environments beneficial to both the company and its employees.
A developing country cannot simply skip its own industrial revolution. It has to experience the growing pains just like America did. Eventually, the country will begin to set up its own labor laws as economic growth occurs. Economic growth leads to raised living standards, along with working standards. In some developing countries, a family cannot survive unless every family member works. They are desperate, just like an American family in the early 20th century. Until the family can survive on the parent's income alone, child labor is a necessity.
Outright banishment of child labor and/or sweatshops would force the unemployed to find other, likely illegal, sources of income. Prostitution, the drug trade, and theft are several ways to make money fast. For some families, sending their children to work is the last option. Taking away that option would be a devastating mistake and would make illegal sources of income that much more tempting.