Sweatshops..
Sweatshops are exactly what is implied in the phrase; shops in which you sweat. Sweatshops produce clothes. Their employee's are most likely immigrants without papers, or criminals who need money and wont get hired anywhere else. The millions of people who worked in these shops were payed VERY little. They would work maybe 6-7 days a week and about 12 hours a day and win about as little as only cents a day.
The average day of a worker
At the beginning of each workday they workers would get assigned their work then have the entire day to finish it. If any worker didn't finish their assigned work by the time the work day was over, they'd have to work over time until all was finished. The faster you work, the more money you made. Safety was not an issue on the minds of the big-shots who ran these.
The owners
All the capitalists during this period were in a competition for markets and profits. Therefore, they had no choice but to push their workers to the limit.
The owners of these shops were as selfish as people can get, but also smart. Why do i think they're smart? well maybe because they made millions and payed their worker's an income equivalent to a meal at McDonalds.
It was a great idea to hire people who were in desperate need of a job. They would work as hard as they can, and as fast as they can (so they wouldn't get fired).
They were also selfish because they only cared about how fat their wallets were, when their very own workers were working 12 hours shifts of hard labor and returning to their not so nice, little homes in poverty.