A manufacturing workplace that treats its workers inhumanely, paying low wages, imposing harsh and unsafe working conditions,  and demanding levels of performance that are harmful to the workers.
www-personal.umich.edu/~alandear/glossary/s.html

The Department of Labor defines a work place as a sweatshop if it violates two or more of the most basic labor laws including child labor,  minimum wage, overtime and fire safety laws.
www.sage.edu/academics/schoolofprofessionalstudies/management/programs/definitions.htm

Sweatshops exist in countries around the world, even in the US. Why? Corporate greed and global competition to produce goods at the

 lowest possible price are the main reasons for the existence of sweatshops. The search for cheap products that can be sold for greater

profit is fueling a race to the bottom where we all lose--our families, communities, farmers, workers, and the environment.

coopamerica.org