BP#9

As consciousness around food becomes more prevalent, consciousness around clothing has become widespread as well. Nowadays, more and more consumers are concerned about where their clothes come from. Some of these concerns include wages of the company’s workers, working conditions, and regulation of child labor laws of the company’s "factories" abroad.

Though there are many individuals who are asking the right questions, there is a significant need for the rest of the public to be aware, as well. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), 126 million out the 218 million children who participate in child labor work in harmful environments. Because of this horrid reality, millions of children are robbed of a proper childhood. In order to raise awareness about this issue, I am proposing a monument of a recreational area called “Work Hard, Play Hard.” The playground will consist of a large, black sewing machine. Attached to the sewing machine will be a red and yellow swing that will be very close to the needle of the device. Moreover, there will be red and yellow hopscotch squares leading to the machine and to the right of the squares, there will be a jungle gym made from a large pin cushion. Lastly, on the back of the sewing machine, there will be a bright, yellow slide.

This public art will serve as a juxtaposition between the missed childhood and the awful working conditions that some children face while working in a “factory” for a fast fashion retailer. This monument would be on Fashion Ave. next to to the large monuments of a needle and a button, and a man on a sewing machine.

The purpose of this public art is to, hopefully, get people’s attention and open up a dialogue. I want to get folks thinking about what they are exchanging for that $3.99 t-shirt – a childhood. More importantly, I’d like individuals to think about solutions to this prevalent issue. Solutions that don’t involve us sacrificing third-world bodies.