Well actually these pair of green slightly stained socks have changed my outlook on an issue that I only knew a smattering about yesterday.
What happened yesterday?
Yesterday I went to a Missions Conference at Stafford Heights Baptist Church to support my gorgeous friend Tanya as she spoke about Human Trafficking and Slavery.
She gave 3 eloquent 45 minute presentations about the issues and the statistics and an organisation that has seen the need and taken a wholistic approach to meeting the need.
I was blown away. So astounded that not only slavery exists today.. it exists in Australia! Not just Australia but in Brisbane! Some of the statistics are frightening and I won't repeat them here. The stories are real though- and when you realise that in just purchasing simple items like a $1 pair of socks from Rivers that you and I contribute to the problem makes me feel violently ill.
Don't believe me? Read this..
http://www.stopthetraffik.org/australia/campaign/24
WHAT WE ARE DOING?
Rivers
Join our campaign to end forced child labour in Uzbekistan by sending a postcard to the CEO of Australian Clothing and Footware Merchant, Rivers.
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is one of the world’s largest exporter of cotton. It uses forced labour of schoolchildren to harvest cotton by hand. Children as young as nine-years-old are sent out to pick cotton. This practice is organised and controlled by the central government.
The stories that have surfaced from the 2012 cotton harvest show that the situation in Uzbekistan has not improved much.
Furkat, a 9th grader, from Yanguil in Uzbekistan was working in the cotton fields for the 2011 harvest instead of going to school. Furkat, along with hundreds of thousands of other children are sent to the fields at 8:00am and do not get to go home until sun down. Furkat was supposed to avoid exposure to sun and dust due to a skin infection that she had developed. This was not a good enough excuse, she was still demanded to work in the fields.
There are no days off. Injuries and illness are commonplace, with children often having to drink water from canals and ditches in the cotton fields. Children have sustained injuries while being transported to the fields in unsafe tractor-pulled carts intended to transport the raw cotton.
Much of this cotton is exported to China, South Korea and other Asian countries where it is turned into cotton goods and exported to countries like Australia.
In 2004 local activists started to call for the world to boycott cotton harvested in Uzbekistan until the use of forced child labour was ended. Over 100 major brands (including Zara, Gap Inc, Levi Strauss, NIKE and Walt Disney Co) have since agreed to do all they can to ensure their products do not contain cotton harvested in Uzbekistan until such time as the use of forced child labour ends.
Australian Companies
In Australia, the Just Group (peteralexander, Jacqui E. Just Jeans, JayJays, Portmans, Smiggle), Kmart, Target, Cotton On, the ANZ Bank, The Sussan Group (Sussan, Sportsgirl and SuzanneGrae), the Russell Corporation and Pacific Brands have all taken steps to exclude Uzbekistan cotton from their supply chains until the government of Uzbekistan ends the use of forced child labour in the harvesting of the cotton.
To read the full list of companies excluding Uzbekistan Cotton from their supply chain please go to the website of the Responsible Sourcing Network.
I am still going to wear my socks. I need a visual reminder that I need to educate myself on issues like this and be the change. I need to change my shopping values and not purchase something just because its cheap. Cheap could definitely be cheap and nasty.
Food for thought.
oh and if you are interested in finding out some great NGOs who are reaching out and being the change check out some of these websites...
Hagar
http://hagarinternational.org/australia/?gclid=CJD2h_3Hi7gCFUtapQodcmoAGw
Destiny Rescue
http://www.destinyrescue.org/aus/
A21 Campaign
http://www.thea21campaign.org/
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