Human cost behind bargain shopping

After she was interviewed for this report, Charles Kernaghan's organization decided on its own to bring Masuma to the United States as part of the group's campaign to improve working conditions overseas. When she arrived, we asked Masuma, along with a translator, to come with us to a Wal-Mart in Connecticut.

Translator: “She's amazed at the size of the shop from the outside. So she's like really excited about going in.”

Inside, Masuma can't believe there's so much for sale, all under one roof.

Translator: “This one?”

And then, in the women's clothing section, a familiar sight: clothes she made.

Translator: “She has done this.”

Hansen: “So you have actually sewn these stripes on these pants in Bangladesh?”

Translator: “Yes.”

She's curious about everything, but more than anything...

Translator: “She wants to know the price.”

Hansen: “$12.84, so $13.”

Masuma: “Oh my.”

She's shocked because the price of the pants is equivalent to one week's pay for her.

Translator: “She is like, what can I think? What can I say? This is beyond anything I'd ever thought of.”

She says the price of the pants leaves her feeling taken advantage of. If she was paid 25 cents an hour instead of 17, a 50 percent raise, she says she could lead what she considers a decent life.

Translator: “So these few hundred taka would mean I could have a diet that consisted of more than lentils and rice, I could buy a few good vegetables, fish. I could buy more food products for my daughter.”

We wondered what a shopper at this store would think about Masuma's situation, so we stopped one and introduced her to Masuma. Would she be willing to pay more for her clothes so Masuma could earn more?

Hansen: “What do you say to a woman like Masuma who makes pennies an hour?”

Customer: “I wouldn't settle for it, but again, what’s the flip side of the coin, you either take -- it's like I have to take what I get or I don't eat.”

Hansen: “But here's the deal: This stuff is very inexpensive here, because she only gets paid pennies an hour.”

Customer: “I know, but like I said, I'm doing the reality part of the deal here.”

Hansen: “It is what it is?”

Customer: “It is what it is, you know. I can't tell her, ‘Don't put the stripes on the pants.’"

While she feels for Masuma, she says her budget is tight. She cleans houses for a living. It’s the debate over globalization in its simplest form. 

Hansen: “So if this was 25 cents more, though, would you pay it?”

Customer: “You notice they had some for $18 and I passed the $18 one.”

Hansen: “So this means a lot for you that you can buy these products for this price.  You're counting your pennies as well?”

Customer: “Of course I have to, because I got a mortgage to pay and a car payment and everything. You know, I feel sorry for people, but what can I do?”

Outside in the parking lot, Masuma lashes out at her situation.

Translator: “They make us work so hard, and they cheat us so much and we're human beings.  I'm not an animal. I'm a human being. Of course I'm angry. This is really shocking.”

Then her anger turns to tears.

But she might take heart from other shoppers. After seeing some of what we found in Bangladesh, Vilma Matera and Peggy Rocciola say they would be willing to pay 25 or 50 cents extra for a pair of pants.

Vilma Matera: “And I would still have a bargain.”

Hansen: “Are we, as consumers, partly to blame for their plight because of the demand we've placed on retailers to keep prices low?”

Peggy Rocciola: “I would say yes. I would say yes, to be truthful.  We're all looking out for ourselves.”

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