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Fair
Trade
New: Check out photos from the 2007 Women and Fair Trade Event and Cultural Event (Austin, Texas, Nov. 10-11, 2007).
In the Global Economy today families,
children, workers, resources, the
environment, living wages and human rights don't matter. People
often
ask when they come to understand what a maquiladora or sweatshop does
to hardworking people in poorer countries, "What can I do?"
You can promote, support and buy fair trade. Or, if you're an investor
(e.g., retirement funds) you can put your money into socially
responsible corporations-- companies that have a commitment not to hurt
people or the environment, buyers and sellers who are committed to
making all of the human links in the chain of production from factory
or land to buyer and consumer free of abuse, discrimination and
destruction of the environment.
It's that simple.
ARE ALL MAQUILADORAS CONSIDERED SWEATSHOPS?
No! Any factory can operate as a fair and free trade workplace. The management simply have to commit to decent terms and conditions of employment. Below is a picture of women who were once employed by a NAFTA factory and who now get decent wages, time to care for their children and decent work schedules. Their employer is Fabrica Dignidad y Justicia and is housed in the building of the Comité Fronterizo de Obreras (CFO) (Committee of Women Border Workers), a Mexico based grassroots nonprofit that teaches workers how to fight for their rights in the workplace under Mexican labor law.
The women of the Fair Trade factory "Dignidad y Justicia" (Dignity and Justice, Inc.) in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, earn a decent pay for a reasonable work schedule and offer for sale canvas bags, T-shirts, aprons and custom orders. Contact D&J Factory.
Photo by WOB, Inc. (2007).
Resources
for Thinking about and Buying Fair Trade
Articles
Books
- Amy Domini, Socially Responsible Investing
- Vandana Shiva, Earth Democracy, Justice, Sustainability and Peace (2005)
- Vandana Shiva, Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply
(2002)
-
Films
CHINA BLUE (documentary) (2007)
THE CORPORATION (documentary) (2003)
www.thecorporation.com
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