This review essay discusses five books on the history and contemporary problems of sweated labor. Although different definitions of the problem are reviewed, the various authors under consideration pinpoint a consistent pattern that spans from Paris at the turn of the last century to modern day Los Angeles. The common ground among the studies is a definition that understands “sweating” as a product of the subcontracting process. These books also suggest that the problem of labor standards cannot be separated from the combined forces of competition and consumption. While different approaches to solving the sweatshop issue are touched upon, it is the recalcitrance of the issue that remains the dominant theme in all of these books. The essay ends with a suggestion that seeks to meld both the consumption and production sides of the problem by politicizing the nexus between them through workers taking on the role that the major retail labels now play.