Down at the Mall

Down at the Mall

Looking for serious sweatshop alternatives? Check out NoSweatShop.com, the new virtual union mall.

Claiming to be “the first and only mall in the world where you can’t find one stitch that was made in a sweatshop,” the venture, created by No Sweat Apparel, received the blessings of a quirky coalition of co-sponsors, including AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, Reverend Billy, minister of “The Church of Stop Shopping” and Musicians Against Sweatshops.

As of now, the mall has five tenants, offering everything from jeans and yoga pants to scarves and button-down oxfords. Powell’s Bookstore, whose workers are represented by ILWU, sells books, posters and CDs.

Facebook
Twitter
Email
Flipboard
Pocket

Looking for serious sweatshop alternatives? Check out NoSweatShop.com, the new virtual union mall.

Claiming to be “the first and only mall in the world where you can’t find one stitch that was made in a sweatshop,” the venture, created by No Sweat Apparel, received the blessings of a quirky coalition of co-sponsors, including AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, Reverend Billy, minister of “The Church of Stop Shopping” and Musicians Against Sweatshops.

As of now, the mall has five tenants, offering everything from jeans and yoga pants to scarves and button-down oxfords. Powell’s Bookstore, whose workers are represented by ILWU, sells books, posters and CDs.

“Our goal was to create a one-stop shop for progressive consumers,” says mall promoter and No Sweat CEO Adam Neiman. “We wanted a meaningful standard, something that people could have absolute confidence in…We are hearing from a lot of designers looking at creating no sweat lines of handbags, children’s clothing, sneakers; all wanting to know where to find acceptable sources. If we have strong holiday sales there will be a lot more outlets here in ’04.”

While most stores at the mall to date stock only “made in USA”, Neiman’s outfit, No Sweat Apparel, also carries Canadian union made goods and is working hard to market products from the handful of decent union shops in the developing world. “We think that the only viable response to globalization is to globalize the labor movement” Neiman says.

This holiday season, you can help say no to sweatshops with just a few keystrokes. As NoSweatShop says on its homepage: “When you vote with a dollar it always gets counted.”

Can we count on you?

In the coming election, the fate of our democracy and fundamental civil rights are on the ballot. The conservative architects of Project 2025 are scheming to institutionalize Donald Trump’s authoritarian vision across all levels of government if he should win.

We’ve already seen events that fill us with both dread and cautious optimism—throughout it all, The Nation has been a bulwark against misinformation and an advocate for bold, principled perspectives. Our dedicated writers have sat down with Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders for interviews, unpacked the shallow right-wing populist appeals of J.D. Vance, and debated the pathway for a Democratic victory in November.

Stories like these and the one you just read are vital at this critical juncture in our country’s history. Now more than ever, we need clear-eyed and deeply reported independent journalism to make sense of the headlines and sort fact from fiction. Donate today and join our 160-year legacy of speaking truth to power and uplifting the voices of grassroots advocates.

Throughout 2024 and what is likely the defining election of our lifetimes, we need your support to continue publishing the insightful journalism you rely on.

Thank you,
The Editors of The Nation

Ad Policy
x