12 Ways to Stop Supporting Human Trafficking
Most of us support human trafficking on a daily basis. We just don’t realize how often or to what extent we are guilty. When was the last time you took a delicious bite of a Toblerone chocolate bar? Bought a new shirt from Abercrombie & Fitch? Or maybe let your little one play on his new Leapfrog toy? If any of these have been done recently, you may not be as innocent as you think.
In some cases, we like to claim, “Ignorance is bliss.” I mean, hey, we didn’t know those brands weren’t 100% respectable and we certainly had no idea most of the chocolate we bought came from enslaved children. Well, now you do, now you can no longer claim ignorance. You must now ignore what you have learned to the detriment of others or chose to make a stand and make a change.
12 Ways to Stop Supporting Human Trafficking
1. Check your chocolate label. Does it have a fair trade logo on it?
Image from: http://www.10campaign.com/issues/
“Chocolate is a sweet treat, but before we enjoy it, here is some information about how it may have gotten into our hands. Hundreds of thousands of children labor in the West Coast of Africa to produce cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate. Specifically, over 40% of the global supply originates in the Ivory Coast, where the US Department of State reports that over 109,000 children work under the worst forms of child labor. Of these 10,000 are victims of human trafficking or enslavement. Children working in cocoa production labor long hours and are often required to use dangerous tools. They are frequently exposed to toxic pesticides in the fields that create health issues and are forced to walk long distances in extreme heat. Furthermore, because these children work long hours they are denied access to an education.” –http://www.free2work.org/
2. Think twice before buying these brands:
Carter’s, Forever 21, Aeropostale, Walmart, Faded Glory, Hollister, and Abercrombie and Fitch (They all scored D+ or below when scored on policies, Transparency, Monitoring, and worker rights. visit http://www.free2work.org/ to see for yourself and learn what other companies to keep an eye on.
“The clothing and footwear that we buy passes through the hands of many workers as it travels from dirt to shirt. It starts in the fields. Cotton is a raw material that is present in a large percentage of today’s manufactured apparel. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, cotton is harvested with forced or child labor in at least fifteen supplier countries worldwide. In Uzbekistan, a Central Asian nation that is one of the top ten cotton producers globally, the government annually sets cotton quotas, and as many as two million children are withdrawn from their schools and forced to work in order to fulfill them. Children who refuse are threatened or beaten. While they work, they are not given much food, and they may have to pay for the little food they are given. Access to clean water is limited. Once the cotton leaves the fields, even more labor rights abuses may occur before the shirt arrives in a store. The cotton that is set aside for apparel is made into textiles and then sent to factories to be made into the clothing that we buy. At both of these levels, the work is often done in sweatshops characterized by harassment of workers, discrimination, attacks on the right to organize, and forced and child labor.” Again, from http://www.free2work.org/
3. Look out moms!
scout, Leapster, Canon, and Leapfrog also scored porely: a D-. visit http://www.free2work.org/ to see for yourself.
“These days, we can access all kinds of information through our electronic devices. Yet not much information is available on the places from where the devices themselves come. Copper and tin, as well as lesser-known minerals like cobalt, cassiterite, coltan, and wolframite, are all raw materials in electronics. They are also all goods linked to forced or child labor globally. Mining is a particularly hazardous sector as it is often physically dangerous. Workers must handle heavy loads, are exposed to toxic chemicals, and must use of dangerous tools. In places like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, miners are forced by armed groups to work, and the profits of these mines fuel armed conflict in-country. As the minerals are refined and transformed into the electronic goods that we recognize, worker rights are often further violated in the factories where these products are assembled. Unsafe working conditions, discrimination, attacks on the right to organize, long hours, low wages, and forced and child labor have all been identified in electronics manufacturing.” Quote from http://www.free2work.org/
4. Glance at your coffee brand and possibly make a change.
Think Twice about Seatle’s Best Coffee (Non-certified), Dunkin’ Donuts (Non-certified), Baskin Robbins (Non-certified) and Trader Joe’s (Non-certified) visit http://www.free2work.org/ to see for yourself.
“Coffee, the second most traded commodity worldwide after oil, is often produced under exploitive conditions. Half of the coffee harvesters in the world do not even make minimum wage. Worse, according to the United States Department of Labor, coffee is produced with forced or child labor in thirteen different countries. It is estimated that children account for over half of the of the work force on coffee plantations in Kenya. In Brazil, children from low income families are withdrawn from school to help with the harvest. Furthermore, the conditions on coffee plantations are often hazardous. Many use pesticides that pose serious health risks to the workers who are so frequently exposed them. ” http://www.free2work.org/
5. Host a fondue party! (Using Certified chocolate, of course)
visit http://www.stopthetraffik.org/library and scroll down. Don’t forget to tell us how it went.
6. Raise your voice and ask questions.
Don’t let this be an unmentionable subject. Human trafficking does not just happen in other countries, but right here in America.
7. Be informed.
Is your state, city, or neighborhood hiding something under it’s surface?
8. Report suspicious activity.
9. Encourage local stores to join you in going Traffick-Free.
10. Grade your house!
Use this grading scale and then use social media to challenge others to discover their own score.
Clothing brands – total points available: 25
Have no brands mentioned in this article: 25 points
Have one brand mentioned in this article: 20 points
Have two brands mentioned in this article: 15 points
Have three brands mentioned in this article: 5 points
Have four or more brands mentioned in this article: 0 points
Chocolate – total points available: 25
Buy certified chocolate all the time: 25 points
Buy certified chocolate half the time: 15 points
Buy certified chocolate hardly at all: 5 points
Never buy certified chocolate: 0 points
Electronics – total points available: 25
Have no brands mentioned in this article: 25 points
Have one brand mentioned in this article: 20 points
Have two brands or multiples of one mentioned in this article:15 points
Have three brands or multiples of one mentioned in this article: 5 points
Have four brands or multiples of one mentioned in this article: 0 points
Coffee – total points available: 25
Never buy coffee mentioned in this article: 25 points
Buy coffee mentioned in this article half the time: 15 points
Almost always buy coffee mentioned in this article: 5 points
Always buy coffee mentioned in this article: 0 points
(This quiz is by no means the most accurate quiz on the web. It’s just to help you analyze where your house stands and consider making some changes. Post your results and use #betraffickfree! We would love to see how everyone does.)
11. Donate the money you would spend on non-certified chocolate to an organization that fights trafficking.
12. Inform your family what’s going on, ask them to come up with other ideas to make an impact!
You have just been confronted with the truth. How will YOU use it?