Merchandise sales to Institutional Prisoners

Oregon

For decades inmates in federal and state institutions have been able to earn income through institutional prison work programs. In the 1990s the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution was the target of a privatized marketing campaign for inmate-made jeans “made on the inside to be worn on the outside,” that appealed to the feel-good sentiments that inmates were earning their keep while learning valuable job skills that would keep them out of prison by the time they were eventually released.

The Prison Blues program was criticized for not providing inmates with the standard industry wage, as required by law for all employees involved in interstate commerce. Oregon complied in 1997 and returned compensation to the workers. Inmates earned 50 to 55 dollars a day sewing together the jeans. About 80% of those earnings went to pay for the inmates’ housing, food, board, legal fees, institutional maintenance, and child support payments. Sometimes whatever was left over would go to their families.

The private sector was enlisted by the state to run the program since any commercial enterprise must be run in a business-like manner. Yoshida Group and Array Corp, Portland-based private firms, snatched up the opportunity. They compensate the state 6% of their sales and in order to maintain copyrights over the business are required to increase their profits by 10% each year.

The jeans sell for about 22 dollars a pair. Inmates require 50 days of good behavior to qualify for the program. They train for 3 months prior to manufacturing the jeans. The pay for the Prison Blues program is far superior to any other prison-run programs like the laundry program. As such, it is attractive and highly competitive among inmates.

Montana

In Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge, the prison operates a craft shop for inmates who would like to practice craftsmanship and pass the time more productively, and earn money at the same time. Inmates work with leather and metal to produce models, belts, woodwork, or clothes. The shop is located next to the minimum-security yard and includes a leather-carving booth and a wood distribution room.
The pay is not high, but the merchandise sales, managed by the shop as a business, it is enough to reinvest in their crafts to produce better merchandise and to purchase new and improved tools and materials. The money is usually used for child-support payments, tuition or start-up money.

One inmate has been reported to earn $1,000 in one year from his wildlife wood carvings. The money he earned was spent on a computer for his son.

In addition to their sales directly from the prison, a not-for-profit Main Street shop in Deer Lodge has begun to sell some of the prisoners' merchandise, including horsehair belts, leather wallets, watercolor paintings and crocheted dolls. 10% of inmates’ merchandise sales go to the maintenance of the shop, 10% goes to the store, while the remaining 80% goes to the producer, the inmate.

The program was originally created to help curb sales from drugs trafficked into the prison. However, a Montana law would seek to limit inmates from generating anything in excess of 200 dollars a year.

Mexico

Cereso Prison in Juarez, Mexico also provides a program allowing inmates to sell their artwork and crafts through a state-sponsored website, available at http://www.ceresojuarez.com. Money inmates earn through their merchandise sales can go to restitution payments, to support their families, and in many cases to raise their bond money to be released.

Both women and men participate in the program. The prison has almost 4,000 male inmates, and approximately 200 female inmates. The program produces money for inmates in addition to the money they already make selling wooden bases for beds sold at a public shop in Albuquerque, N.M.

Fiji

As of 2008, inmates at Naboro Prison in Fiji, have earned money through vegetable farming, which can be deposited directly into their bank accounts. Inmates have earned $200 - $500 already through the farming project. Produce is sold to prison officials as well as to the public through private vegetable stalls outside the prison. They are sold Tuesdays to Fridays, in the afternoon.

Utah

As of 1997, dozens of prisoners at Utah County jails participate in the volunteer Jail Industries program. As participation is expected to increase to 100 inmates, the county estimates it could make over $400,000 dollars per year once it starts to take off.

The state law requires inmates to keep 20% of the money they earn (however this program does not permit inmates to make money through merchandise sales). They are paid $6/hour by Haulmark Industries, not including bonuses. 10% goes to income taxes, 10% to the victim's reparation trust fund, 10% to the prisoner’s family, and 50% percent to keep the program running and earn profit for the county.

The company operating the prison work program in Utah runs under the trade name Unicor, and generates approximately $500 million worth of products and services to the federal government in one year. It operates 99 factories in 64 prisons state-wide. Inmates produce over 100 items, including furniture, vehicle parts, military uniforms, and safety goggles.

Utah County Security Center will be the initial location for the program, but Spanish Fork Jail is the ultimate destination to save on transportation and manpower costs.

The prison work program in Utah has not been without its controversy, however. In 1999, Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich moved to end Utah’s 65 year-old Federal Prison Industries work program on grounds that inmates were getting unfair compensation for their efforts in comparison to public citizens doing the same job. He pointed to the case of Arthur Burnam, a quality control inspector working inside one of Utah’s state prison who was earning just $1.65/hour for the same work that a comparable employee would be making $10/hour for on the outside.

Critics argue that the prison enterprise is unfair competition to private industries, who are obviously not able to offer such low wages.

Arizona

In Arizona, the Arizona State Prison Outlet operates to provide an outlet for prisoners' merchandise sales for the state prison near Florence. Inmates sell bird houses, wooden stage coaches, Native American dreamcatchers and moccasins, leather goods, woodworkings, bone carvings, paintings, drawings, and jewelry. Prisoners purchase their own materials from the store and get a return on their investment by selling their merchandise. The store keeps 25% of the sale price while the inmate pockets the remaining 75%.

In 2003 the program in Arizona made $82,000 in total. Of the 360 inmates who were participating in the program in the early 2000’s, individual inmates have made upwards of $1,000 a year.

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