Raju plugs the GAP!

Was engaged in a very interesting debate last night... by an englishwoman no less!

The context:
In recent times, there has been outrage in the UK, sparked off by discovery that some Gap (international fashion chain) products had children (in India) at least partly involved in the manufacturing process. The press is up in arms. Righteous and "socially aware" consumers are enraged. There are Anti-Gap (and Anti-other-big-brand) protests calling for both - greater controls by label owners as well as boycotts from responsible consumers. Couple of articles through the links below:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2200573,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7066019.stm

Now I say this approach is flawed.

As we would say in marketing - let's start with our consumer... in this case our subject...

A young boy called Raju. He's about 10 and lives in rural UP. His father is a drunk, doesn't have a job and beats up his wife every night. Raju's mother works in the fields nearby and after what her husband steals for alcohol, she has just enough to sustain the family with 2 square meals a day. What chance does Raju have? His mother, deep within, wants him to avail of a very fragile free primary schooling program that the government has in place. But weighed down by the frustration and bitterness of her everyday life, puts him to work instead. There's a textile manufacturing unit located 20km from their village. And they're looking for labour. Very cheap labour. Free market economics apply. Raju's mother needs him to have that job. There are enough Rajus around whose mothers need them to have that job. So these Rajus are cheap. In fact they're so cheap that even after the expense of paying the fat lazy law enforcers to turn a convenient blind eye towards this heinous crime, it's still a great financial proposition for the manufacturer.

Now what would happen to Raju if consumers in London stopped buying stuff that Raju has a hand in making. The brand would either go bust or stop buying from this manufacturer. In either case Raju would lose his job. His family would be more miserable. If he was lucky, he'd get a job somewhere else. If not, he'd be another potential asset lost to his country.

So what's the REAL PROBLEM. There are too many. (1) Lack of a viable social security or welfare system in India so that Raju's family has a viable way or getting out of their dark spiral, (2) Corruption... where the fat policeman condemns this child to abject working conditions when he should be learning math... all for a few rupees (then again - this fat policeman has his own problems and reasons for doing what he's doing.... but that's a story for another day).

Don't stop buying what Raju is making. At least not until India finds a better way of getting him out of his misery.