“Sweat Gear” and CISPES’s anti-sweatshop campaign

In 1996, CISPES activists put together a sweatshop fashion show: a spoof on the fashion industry to highlight the horrible working conditions in maquiladores in El Salvador and Central America.

CISPES also made a spoof catalogue of “sweat gear” that described the working conditions behind articles of clothing.  One entry read, “This authentic sweat-shirt is truly an original item: a real sweat shirt made in a real sweatshop. We put sweat into every shirt we make. And to ensure that you get only the very best premium grade sweat in each of your shirts, we settle for nothing less than the maximum sacrifice from our workers.”