"Where is your shirt from?"

For some people, this question would be easy to answer -- the shirt came from a boutique downtown or from a mall back home. For others, though, this question holds a double meaning, one of which most students are completely unaware.

What would students say if they all realized that their favorite sweater had been made by 11-year-old children? What would students do if they knew that their PSU hoodie had been fashioned by severely under-paid women in South America?

Sam Richards, a sociology professor at Penn State, said every single person in America most likely has an article of clothing made by a sweatshop worker -- and that, he said, is a serious problem.

A sweatshop can be loosely defined as a shop or factory that employs workers at low wages for long hours in poor conditions; however, most people don't realize how bad these conditions truly are, Richards said. He also noted that being a sweatshop worker is only a step above slavery.

"People here at Penn State turn a blind eye to this sort of thing," Richards said, explaining that even Penn State apparel is made by sweatshop workers.

"Everyone's involved in this process -- Nike, Reebok," Richards added. "And these companies give Penn State a lot of money. Graham Spanier, he knows. He knows damn well what's going on, but you can't bite the hand that feeds you."

Annemarie Mountz, a Penn State spokeswoman, said Penn State has been involved in the fight against sweatshops since the initial stages.

"We were one of the founding partners of the Global Alliance for Workers and Communities," she said.

Mountz added that Penn State has been a part of the Fair Labor Association since 1999.

"I'm not sure why people say the university has turned a 'blind eye,' she said. "We certainly have not."

Some students on campus, though, are still protesting the administration's decisions. Douglas Baldwin (senior-environmental resource management), the president of the United Students Against Sweatshops, said this has been an ongoing battle with the university for the past seven years.

"We're trying to get [the university] to adopt the Designated Supplier Program," Baldwin said.

According to the Worker Rights Consortium, the Designated Supplier Program (DSP) is a comprehensive program that enhances the enforcement of university codes of conduct, such as producing and selling sweatshop-free clothing.

"If [the university] changed to the DSP program, the highest increase in apparel cost would be 25 cents, just a quarter," Baldwin said.

While the school isn't yet offering sweatshop-free clothing, those who are interested can put together an anti-sweatshop wardrobe just from shopping at downtown State College retailers.

For instance, Mr. Charles, 228 E. College Ave., has many different brands to offer socially aware shoppers.

"We carry Edun and Loomstate among many others," said Veronica Burk, the manager for Mr. Charles.

Berk said Mr. Charles merchandise is received through a buyer in New York, who purchases the clothes through showrooms throughout the city.

"We simply don't have anything like that here," she said. "It says on the labels where they are made, but it's not in sweatshops."

Mr. Charles isn't the only place where students can find clothes that aren't made by exploited workers.

Metro, 320 E. College Ave., carries a specific brand called Hard Tail that advocates a sweatshop-free ethic. Hard Tail creates clothing items like premium T-shirts with tattoo-inspired designs, and contemporary sportswear pieces, such as yoga pants and hoodies.

People's Nation, 126 E. College Ave., also has several clothing lines that don't use cheap labor from overseas.

Some of these brands at People's Nation include American Apparel, Alternative Apparel and most of the Threadless line.

Art Fine, owner of People's Nation, said one of the main reasons he sells American Apparel is that it's sweatshop-free.

"It's a company based in Los Angeles that pays its workers at least minimum wage and offers very good benefits for their employees," Fine said."It's a good label, and they deliver it well," he said.

American Apparel, which sells cotton basics for women and men, is known by students at Penn State for its continued advocation of an anti-sweatshop work process.

"I really like how American Apparel clothes are made in a sweatshop-free environment," said April Foster (freshman-division of undergraduate studies).

"By purchasing these clothes, you're voicing your own opinion," Foster added.

Foster also said that if sweatshop-free clothing became more available through the school, students would definitely be interested.

Baldwin agreed.

"I wish more people would realize a lot of our clothes are coming from people who are exploited," Baldwin said.

"If more people cared, we could probably get the university to change. The administration is just very stubborn," he added.