Personal Injury Law

The High Cost of Cheap Batteries

By Megan Roth

While we're doing our best to keep our wallets thick, we're contributing to the health deterioration of any factory worker or distributor. Though the negative effects of cadmium batteries are well-known and well-publicized, we buy them because of their cheap cost and quick surge of power.

Alright, we've all heard of the infamous documentary: The High Cost of Low Prices. The film provides an overview of the negative aspects and consequences Wal-Mart's cheap goods have on both employees and manufacturers and prompts consumers not to shop at the superstore. While it presents an overview of the negative effects cheap goods have on employee lifestyles, it fails to adequately educate consumers of the effects those low prices have on factory workers' health.

It's well-known that our economy is struggling and that it's necessary for consumers to squeeze every penny for what it's worth; thus, it comes as no surprise that generic brands and cheaper alternatives are popping up at every corner at lesser costs than name-brands. But are these alternatives really beneficial? While it's great that they cost less, we can't help but take note of the effects these not-so-great products have on the rest of society.

One example of a seemingly beneficial but realistically harmful alternative is cadmium batteries, which have been known to save consumers approximately $1.50 a pack. But while we're doing our best to keep our wallets thick, we're contributing to the health deterioration of each and every factory worker involved in the construction of such products.

Take, for example, Ms. Wang Fengping. Sound familiar? Probably not. Until this past January, Ms. Wang was just another factory worker in China. However, after the WallStreet Journal wrote an article on her deteriorating health and its correlation with cadmium poisoning, she became a representative of the adverse effects cadmium batteries have on human health. And Ms. Wang isn't alone.

Many workers are employed by similar corporations' factories in Singapore, Thailand, and other third-world countries where the options for making a living are relatively few and far between; thus, they can't leave their factory job in search of a better opportunity because there is no other opportunity - at least not there.

Remember ten years ago when Nike was publicly scorned for its dangerous working conditions within its factories? We didn't accept it then, so why is it accepted now?

Though the negative effects of cadmium batteries are well-known and well-publicized, we buy them because of their cheap cost and quick surge of power. True to the American way, we continue to purchase low-cost products simply they're cheaper; but is what we save monetarily really worth the cost such products have on human health?

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on May 02, 2008 (boomark / email).