I have written posts a few times about the terrible problem of slavery and human trafficking. The problem is so bad and so big that it can be overwhelming. We want to run and hide and forget it, just go about our easy American consumer lives, but many of the products that we buy are produced using slave labor or child labor, or workers who are paid so minimally that they are almost slaves.
The US Department of Labor provides a list of goods that are produced by forced labor or child labor every year. From carpets and flowers produces by children in Afghanistan, garments made by children and slaves in Argentina, shoes made by children in Bangladesh and China, cattle and corn produces by slaves in Bolivia, fruit and sugar grown by children or slaves in Brazil, jade and rubies mined by child and forced labor in Burma, coffee and sugar grown by children in Colombia, down through the alphabetical list of nations, line after line of goods produced by children or slaves, through cotton from Uzbekistan. I could hardly believe the long list of perpetrators. You can see the whole list at
http://www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/PDF/2009TVPRA.pdf
We all like bargains. I have always been on a tight budget and if I can find something that is inexpensive, that is what I buy, but I will not support manufacturers who are using slaves or children for their profit if I can help it. One problem, though, is the cheap shirt I pick up at the discount store does not have tag that says, “Made by slaves”. A garment may have been made by union employees in Chicago, but the cotton could have been grown by chilren in Kazakhstan. The whole thing can be just too complicated.
Good news! There are places (and web sites) that sell only goods made under the Fair Trade Act, which guarantees that no children or slaves, or sweatshops were used. Ten Thousand Villages is a Fair Trade retailer. Fair trade provides under- and unemployed artisans with an opportunity to earn vital income and improve their quality of life by establishing a sustainable market for their handcrafted products. They have products that come from all over the world, handmade, and unique. I ordered some of the products. (Just to show support of course.) And they are all beautiful. The picture is not good, because my camera battery is dead and I cannot find the cord to charge it, so I used my phone, but you can get an idea. The pink bag cost $11.00, and the jewelry items shown ranged from $4.00 to $10.00. So, the prices are good, the products and good, and the cause is urgent. Check out the website. www.tenthousandvillages.com. There are a lot of websites that sell products, but this one had the most variety.
Bag, $11; necklace, $9; providing income that will keep someone out of slaver, priceless.
