Now that you have managed to make it through the Thanksgiving holiday, your mind has begun to drift away from thoughts of turkey and stuffing, not to mention pumpkin pie, to thoughts of holiday giving. Today the Christmas shopping season officially begins, as Black Friday consumes shoppers across the country. It’s the American way to look for a deal and a bargain, but does your bargain gift come with a price?Global March Against Child Labor estimates that one in every eight children from 5 to 17 years old, some 179 million, work in the worst forms of child labor. Slavery taints many of our consumer products such as clothing, jewelry, cosmetics, electronics, sports equipment, rugs, agricultural produce, sugar, tea, coffee, chocolate, and many others. Often products, like clothing, may even be tainted at multiple points in the supply chain. For example, children may have been used to pick the cotton of a shirt, while workers were held in situations of slavery.
Why not make your holiday shopping list one that not only brings joy to your friends and family, but is free from slavery and gives back to individuals and communities in need? Slavery touches each one of us as a
consumer, therefore take a stand against child and slave labor and work toward being a more conscious consumer by keeping slavery tainted products out of your home today in just a few easy steps:
- Donate to local organizations that help empower people out of poverty & slavery, many can be found here; Fair Trade and Slave Free Links, Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Links, and Child Soldiers Links
- Educate yourself about the companies that use slavery in the making of their products. Green America has a sweatshop free guide. Sweatfree Communities: Sweatfree Communities has a great shopping guide with a number of places to buy sweatshop-free apparel for men, women, and children. Fair Trade Federation: You can search their online directory for Fair Trade vendors in your area.
- Become a more conscious consumer and buy products made by survivors of trafficking or Fair Trade products. Amanda Kloer summed it up nicely with her list of 7 Ways to Fight Slavery at the Grocery Store and her post on where to find gifts that help human trafficking survivors, over the last two years. You can also see the Fair Trade and Slave Free Links list, which has a number of resources and sites where you can learn more about, and purchase Fair Trade or slave free goods. Here is a quick list to get your Black Friday Shopping Started:
Continue Reading on the Foreign Policy Association (FPA) Children's Rights Blog, written by Bridge to Freedom Foundation Executive Director and Founder, Cassandra Clifford: http://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2011/11/25/shop-consciously-and-child-labor-free-this-black-friday/
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