August 2009

This month’s newsletter will examine the topic of ethical consumerism. Unfortunately, many of the products that we buy and use every day are produced directly or indirectly by slaves. These products can be almost anything. Shoe factories in Asia have been discovered using slaves to produce their shoes. Chocolate, as mentioned in previous newsletters, is often made from slave-grown cocoa plants. Even the vehicles that we drive often use steel produced from coal that was made by slaves. Almost any product can be tainted by slavery if companies are not careful to keep their product chains clean. Because of this, David Batstone and his non-profit Not For Sale of launched a website called http://free2work.org specifically designed to give consumers information about companies and their products. Batstone is also working tirelessly to get more companies to clean up their supply chains and become certified by his organization. In addition to free2work.org, there are several other websites that can help you make informed decisions about the companies with which you do business. They can be found at our website: http://www.1865continued.org/consumeropportunities.html.

There is another source of information that could help citizens make informed decisions about the supply chain of products while simultaneously putting pressure on companies and businesses that are knowingly intertwined with slavery. In 2005 Congress told the Department of Labor to produce a list of products that are made using forced labor, human trafficking, and child labor. Four years later this list has still not been published, even though some sources claim that the list is already produced but is being withheld for political reasons. The Polaris Project, one of the anti-slavery organizations active in the US and abroad, has been spearheading a campaign to encourage the new Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis to release the list as soon as possible. It only takes a minute to sign their petition at http://www.change.org/polarisproject/actions/view/tell_the_department_of_labor_to_release_its_list_of_goods_tainted_by_slave_labor.

I encourage you to think about how the items that you purchase may affect people halfway around the world. Your pocketbook may be just as powerful as your voice. Once again, thank you so much for your concern and support. Never forget that the collective actions of our generation will shape the world for those that follow.

Kelsey Snapp

1865 Continued: The Fight against Modern Slavery

www.1865continued.org