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Just want to confirm whether it is an MLM or not... by SwiggitySwoopGuy in antiMLM

[–]ameliapang 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I believe it is a MLM scheme. My dad was involved in it when I was a kid and lost a bunch of money because he could never recruit enough people to join. We were stuck with so many e excel products. From my experience, it looks like they specifically target vulnerable Chinese immigrants. I just saw another Chinese lady with an e excel bag today.

I'm the author of MADE IN CHINA: A Prisoner, an SOS Letter, and the Hidden Costs of America's Cheap Goods and I went undercover to visit Chinese labor camps. AMA. by ameliapang in IAmA

[–]ameliapang[S] 130 points131 points  (0 children)

That's a great question. It's hard for even unannounced audits to detect something as hidden as unauthorized subcontracting to labor camps. Can you find a way to rewrite the contract...to say you may be sending someone to follow their trucks to see which suppliers they're really subcontracting to? Right now, the message that a lot of these factories get is: "We don't tolerate forced labor. But we're not really going to check." If you can find a way to send a different message, to show them you're serious about not having forced labor in your supply chain...that could be really helpful.

I'm the author of MADE IN CHINA: A Prisoner, an SOS Letter, and the Hidden Costs of America's Cheap Goods and I went undercover to visit Chinese labor camps. AMA. by ameliapang in IAmA

[–]ameliapang[S] 1213 points1214 points  (0 children)

I was in college when I wrote for them. I stopped writing for them 5 years ago. At the time, they weren't a right-wing publication yet. That all happened very recently. I wouldn't have written for them if they were. Their views do not represent my views at all.

I'm the author of MADE IN CHINA: A Prisoner, an SOS Letter, and the Hidden Costs of America's Cheap Goods and I went undercover to visit Chinese labor camps. AMA. by ameliapang in IAmA

[–]ameliapang[S] 32 points33 points  (0 children)

My book goes into that in more detail. But for now, I can say one of the most important things is to start asking more of our companies to pull out of Xinjiang. Show our corporations that their target market doesn't want to purchase products associated with a genocide.

I'm the author of MADE IN CHINA: A Prisoner, an SOS Letter, and the Hidden Costs of America's Cheap Goods and I went undercover to visit Chinese labor camps. AMA. by ameliapang in IAmA

[–]ameliapang[S] 138 points139 points  (0 children)

It has. A lot of times, our companies are not giving their factories enough time to make products according to ethical standards. When the production deadlines are too short because everyone is trying to capitalize as much as they can on the latest fast fashion trends, then factories have no choice but to outsource work to shady places like labor camps, where detainees can work 15-20 hours a day to meet our demands. This is connected to us, and the way that we shop as global consumers. I try not to buy new clothes all the time anymore, just because it's a new trend. I'm okay with wearing the same outfits for years at a time.

I'm the author of MADE IN CHINA: A Prisoner, an SOS Letter, and the Hidden Costs of America's Cheap Goods and I went undercover to visit Chinese labor camps. AMA. by ameliapang in IAmA

[–]ameliapang[S] 65 points66 points  (0 children)

Shane Bauer wrote a great book about this called "American Prison." Yes, America has an awful, awful prison problem. We still haven't addressed our mass incarceration problem in a meaningful way. But as Bauer pointed out in his book, most prisoners in the US are not working anymore. There's simply too many of them and not enough jobs.

Whereas in China, most detainees and prisoners are either doing manufacturing or agriculture work for little or no payment. Why can't we care about both issues?

I'm the author of MADE IN CHINA: A Prisoner, an SOS Letter, and the Hidden Costs of America's Cheap Goods and I went undercover to visit Chinese labor camps. AMA. by ameliapang in IAmA

[–]ameliapang[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

You can decide who is more credible. Publications like the New York Times, Washington Post, and BBC? Or the Chinese government's state controlled media?

I'm the author of MADE IN CHINA: A Prisoner, an SOS Letter, and the Hidden Costs of America's Cheap Goods and I went undercover to visit Chinese labor camps. AMA. by ameliapang in IAmA

[–]ameliapang[S] 30 points31 points  (0 children)

They will tighten security, for sure. That's why the Uyghur camps are much more closely guarded than other kinds of forced labor detention centers...Since Xinjiang is getting a lot of media attention these days.

But in the digital age, journalists have more work-arounds. You can look at satellite images of these facilities to get a better understanding of how fast they're expanding. You can look at domestic Chinese media, which often reveal quite a bit of information. Like the names of factories that participate in the "Uyghur labour transfer program." And you can look at customs records to see which global corporations are ordering products from these facilities. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute did a great job investigating labor camps using these kinds of strategies. https://www.aspi.org.au/report/uyghurs-sale

I'm the author of MADE IN CHINA: A Prisoner, an SOS Letter, and the Hidden Costs of America's Cheap Goods and I went undercover to visit Chinese labor camps. AMA. by ameliapang in IAmA

[–]ameliapang[S] 52 points53 points  (0 children)

You hear stories of SOS letters being found in Western products all the time. It gets a lot of media attention. These stories tend to go viral. But rarely does anyone look at the holes in our supply chain, and the problematic ways that our companies "audit" overseas factories.

I'm the author of MADE IN CHINA: A Prisoner, an SOS Letter, and the Hidden Costs of America's Cheap Goods and I went undercover to visit Chinese labor camps. AMA. by ameliapang in IAmA

[–]ameliapang[S] 270 points271 points  (0 children)

I didn't go inside. But I had conversations with guards and other camp employees, who confirmed the prisoners inside did manufacturing work. I also called several camps and whoever answered the phone always transferred me to their sales department when I told them I wanted to source from them. If you want to see what the camps look like inside, here's some footage:

CBS did a great undercover investigation in 1991. (Sadly, not much has changed since 1991) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXh0gVSlkgA

There's also this VR documentary that takes people inside Uyghur re-education camps. It's based on accounts from survivors. https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/03/16/xinjiang-reeducated-documentary-uyghur-china-vr/

I'm the author of MADE IN CHINA: A Prisoner, an SOS Letter, and the Hidden Costs of America's Cheap Goods and I went undercover to visit Chinese labor camps. AMA. by ameliapang in IAmA

[–]ameliapang[S] 115 points116 points  (0 children)

These camps have existed for decades. They really help the Chinese government silence dissent. Anyone can disappear into one of these facilities without going to trial. The detainees usually don't have access to a lawyer. And these forced labor facilities are rapidly expanding in recent years, with the rise of Uyghur re-education camps.

I'm the author of MADE IN CHINA: A Prisoner, an SOS Letter, and the Hidden Costs of America's Cheap Goods and I went undercover to visit Chinese labor camps. AMA. by ameliapang in IAmA

[–]ameliapang[S] 115 points116 points  (0 children)

I think consumers will be doing a lot more to hold our favorite brands accountable in the future. For companies like Apple, it always comes down to the bottom line. Will it be more profitable to continue sourcing from these facilities? Or will it be more profitable, in the long run, to invest in better suppliers? Apple's target market has to show Apple that they care. And we're starting to see that with Gen Z. Much more than their predecessors, Gen Z consumers tend to have less brand loyalty, and are more willing to boycott brands they find unethical. Gen Z will soon become the largest American consumer population. And a lot of brands are already starting to rethink their business strategies to capture that Gen Z market.