Freewrite

When I was younger, I never understood what the word "sweatshop" meant. I remember going to Walmart and seeing protesters standing outside with signs and asking everyone that went into the store whether or not they knew they were buying clothes that had been made by children or by people that were paid six cents a day. When I went to high school, I understood what a sweatshop was, but felt like there was little I could do to help the people who worked in them. Then, my school had an overnight event where about twenty sweatshop workers came and talked to us. The came from all sorts of companies like Nike, Disney, Martha Stewart, and numerous Walmart providers. They told us firsthand of the horrors of working sixteen hours a day in dirty, poorly ventilated factories for almost nothing. They told us that even though we were young, we could still make a difference. Form that day on, I have refused to buy anything from Walmart and I haven't bought anything from companies that are known to use sweatshops and I have encouraged everyone I know to do the same.