Mardi Gras is right around the corner. This year it will be held March 5. Last year, 1.2 million people attended Mardi Gras festivities. When you think of Mardi Gras, what is the first thing that pops into your head? For me, I think of the colorful beads that are given out during the parades. I never even wondered where do they come from. However last semester, I watched a documentary called Mardi Gras: Made in China and learned the sad truth behind where the beads come from.
American factories outsource the job of making beads to China, because they can make it much cheaper there than in America. Chinese factor workers are subject to harsh working conditions. They work around 15 hours a day and are punished by reduced wages for lower production and socializing. They live at the factories and most of the workers are teenagers sending money to their families for financial support. Workers in these factories that American production is often outsourced to are subject to harsh conditions, such as heat, overworking, and chemical fumes. The workers work hard and are paid little to make these beads for Mardi Gras, but at the end of the night, they are trashed. 25 million pounds of Mardi Gras beads are thrown away each year. Maybe, if people knew the hard work and value behind these beads, they wouldn’t be so quick to toss the hard work of these factory employees to the side
