From a prison in China to your local Staples -- those handy black clips that neatly sort your papers may have been assembled by imprisoned women in China. Seeking cheap goods in a competitive global economy, Allied International Manufacturing, a stationery company that used to be the supplier for Staples, contracted prison officials in Nanjing, China for millions of these clips. The prison officials, in turn, forced about 60 women to spend hours constructing the clips.
The women, who included prostitutes and perhaps the occasional political dissident, produced 3,600 clips each day, attaching the silver wings to the black backbone. According to a New York Times report, the women worked so many hours that they often came away with their fingers injured or bloodied.
In 1997, an American businessman was able to capture video footage of a truck full of clips leaving the prison. ABC's Nightline broke the story, and Allied was charged with violating a 1932 US law that prohibits importing goods produced in prison or with forced labor. The company pleaded guilty and was fined $50,000.
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