Apparel retailers – stores that sell clothing directly to the public.

Brand name – The name by which a particular product is advertised and sold. i.e.: Nike, Levi, Kleenex, Ford…

Child labour – Forced labour of children to earn wages. Economic situations force children to work and not attend school so that their families can survive.

Corporate/company profile – A summary giving the facts about a company. Including its finances,

Exporting – To send something to another country for sale. Canada exports wood products to the United States.

Full public disclosure – To make all information know to the public. A company may tell where its products are made and the conditions under which they are made.

Garment industry – All of the companies and people involved in making clothing for sale.

Importing – Bringing things into a country for sale. Coffee is imported into Canada.

Labour/Labor – Canadian and American versions of the word labour. To labour as a verb means to work or toil. As a noun labour means workers as a group, the labour movement.

Minimum wage – The lowest amount it is legal to pay for hourly work. I can be different depending on age and type of work (teenagers, farm labour).

Prevailing conditions – The typical conditions in the work place in a particular country and industry.

Slavery (modern) – In modern slavery workers are in dept to an employer and cannot get out of debt. A child might be sold to a carpet maker. The amount he is paid could be less than what the “employer” charges him for food and board.

Sub-contracting – When a company pays another company or person to make part of a product. Levis might subcontract the production of belt loops or buttons to another company.

Supplier – They company providing a product or service.

Third world – Non-industrialized countries. Most people earn an income from agriculture of working in small businesses with little or no machinery. This includes most countries in Central America, Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Union – An organized group of workers in a particular field of work or working for the same employer.

Vendor – A person or company that sells a product.