The Slave Behind Your Bargain
Published July 06, 2009 @ 12:00PM PT
In a recession like this one, "cheap" is the new buzzword. But have you ever wondered why that bookshelf or tennis ball or t-shirt is so cheap? Have you ever wondered if a slave is paying the cost of your bargain?
The Human Trafficking Project writes about the prevalence of slave-made consumer goods on the market. Ironically, they point out, it is all too easy to give a presentation about human trafficking on a computer containing minerals mined by slaves, while wearing shoes made by slaves. They also share some hopeful ideas, like whole towns committing to selling only fair trade goods. However, the fact is that slave-made goods are in every part of our lives, and in many cases they are bringing us the bargains we so love.
Ellen Rupple Shell recently published Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture, an expose on labor exploitation and other abuses that big, discount-based companies engage in. The idea behind the book is that someone, somewhere always pays the price. Red Lobster can sell shrimp so cheaply because they buy it from Thai suppliers who use (often enslaved) child labor and regularly exploit and traffic workers. Ikea can sell bookshelves for $20 because it buys lumber from suppliers who illegally deforest regions of Eastern Europe. Both Ikea and Red Lobster have answered the allegations in this particular book claiming they monitor suppliers and don't buy from the ones with dubious practices.
So who is the keystone in this whole chain of buying and selling and discounts and exploitation? It's us. Ikea sells $20 bookshelves because we as consumers want to buy cheap bookshelves; we've created a market for cheap bookshelves. So in order to turn a profit, Ikea needs to buy the wood for those bookshelves for less. When Ikea buys wood from the lowest bidder, Ikea creates a market for cheap wood. This means wood suppliers are going to try and keep their costs down to sell to Ikea, which may mean using slave labor or deforesting areas illegally if it's cheaper. And this dynamicis not unique to Ikea or bookshelves- it happens with socks and MP3 players and ballpoint pens and coffee and underwear and everything else. Yes, these companies can monitor their suppliers (and it's a great step when they do), but the system is set up to give incentives to those willing to cut costs down to the bottom line, even if that means cutting human rights.
What if the system was different? What if instead of always looking for the best bargain, we looked for the most ethically-produced item? What if instead of having a closet full of slave-made clothes, it was cooler to have one guaranteed slave-free outfit? What if instead of creating a market for cheap bookcases and cheap shrimp, we created a market for freedom?
Image from newint.org
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Comments (10)
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Author
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Amanda has been a full-time abolitionist for six years. During that time, she has created reports, documentaries and training materials on human trafficking in the United States and around the world.
Because I don't have total assurance that the companies I would buy clothes wouldn't be concealing unfair labor practices through subsidiaries and phantoms, I only wear jute underwear that I weave myself. My workmates have adjusted and don't smoke or use incendiary devices around me.
Posted by Turk Fowler on 07/07/2009 @ 04:51PM PT
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The New Yorker ran an excellent investigative piece on illegal logging last year: The Stolen Forests, by Raffi Khatchadourian.
A company could make a really good-faith effort to police its supply chain for illegally harvested wood, but in the end there are simply too many ways for suppliers to con them and each other.
Posted by Emily Gertz on 07/13/2009 @ 06:14AM PT
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The trick is finding a way to convince our friends and family to help... but HOW?
Maybe just awareness helps. But I'm learning that so much awareness these days can also turn people off, and then they just disengage.
On the other hand, I have also noticed that even though they say they don't care anymore and just go on living their lives, they vote with more conscience.
One of the ideas I've found that works, is to comment, (with gentle humor), at the clerks in the stores.
They talk together, and raise the consciousness of the whole store.
I used to joke about "turtle-killers." (plastic bags)
"Oh," I would say, "No turtle-killers for me today!" Or, "Yes, I'll take one of those turtlekillers!"
The clerks would always laugh, and then eventually, one day management would tell me the bags are made of cornstarch.
I would express joy and relief, and we would all laugh and have a good time, and mentioning how adorable turtles are.
It would be like a loving party.
NO condemnation or righteousness - always in humor, kindness and fun.
Now, I will go around and joke about cheap wood. I LOVE Ikea, and will mention to the clerks about "Slave Wood."
Something like, "Is this slavewood? Wow... it's totally beautiful but too bad it's darn slave wood. So sad! : ( "
Inevitable the clerk will ask me questions. I will answer with, "Oh, Ikea uses cheapest (but prettiest!) wood. That saves me money. But I'm not so sure it's so fun to have a slavewood bookcase. Dilemmas!"
A little seed will be planted in a very powerful person. A clerk IS powerful. Actually, everyone is.
The whole point of my comment is that we need to gently help people understand what's happening.
I CAN'T forward these issues to my friends or family. They'll throw them away and ignore, without telling me so they don't hurt my feelings.
BUT... if i write a funny blog, or say something funny with a gentle little joke, THEN they listen and tuck it away in the back of their brains.
As do-gooders, we preach to each other, as the choir.
It's all the others who also need to know. But the sharing of such horrific information needs to be disseminated with great care so as to make a huge impact without frightening, depressing, and "despairing" the average joe or judy.
This is what I'm trying to learn to do.
But, sometimes, it seems like a lost cause. Just when I'm ready to give up, someone will say, "Guess what? I don't use turtlekillers any more! : )"
Then my heart soars, and I give them a kiss and hug. They've just made my day.
Love!
: )
Posted by Cdin Org on 07/13/2009 @ 08:44AM PT
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Be careful when you use the word "slave". Some of the cocoa grown is on the backs of slaves and child labor, and certainly diamonds are a market I will have no part of, but that picture you posted, for insance, is not one of slaves.
Posted by Mark O on 07/15/2009 @ 09:47AM PT
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To Mark: I really like your comment. The integrity of images is important to me. Once, a religious magazine i liked had a picture of "enslaved children."
I was very upset, for they feaetured a picture of a happy, peaceful and sweet little boy from Tibet, albeit a little dirt on his face, definitely ethnic, and wearing traditional garb.
The picture intimated that native looking children with dirt smudges were all obviously enslaved...
I actually wrote a letter to the organization. They responded by saying they use stock imagery for their magazine.
They TOTALLY didn't see the innate rascist and or classist implications in their picture choice.
Upon second look, the picture above covertly implies that black haired women in a row are obviously enslaved, a wrong intimation, for sure.
I would suggest using a row of blonde women. But then, would that work as well?
Actually yes... so many blonde women have been and are being enslaved.
POINT: picture integrity really counts in the subliminal implications.
The more accurate the depictions, the more powerful our message.
After all, a picture is worth a thousand, and sometimes even, a million words.
Posted by Cdin Org on 07/15/2009 @ 11:05AM PT
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PS: I also really like your concern and care in the use the word, "slave."
When people are paid extremely low wages, they are serfs. Bonded serfs. Perhaps subjugated. But not in the true sense, enslaved.
Slaves are imprisoned victims with ZERO freedom - in respect to all those truly enslaved, I understand.
Your comment really made me think. Thank you for that.
It's all about getting out the message so that we can all effect change. Accuracy of wording is very important...
perhaps your point is that we musn't diminish the true impact and meaning of the term, "slave."
Posted by Cdin Org on 07/15/2009 @ 11:12AM PT
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I work for a Fair Trade company and we are always very careful not to throw around the word "slave" when it is unwarranted. We are happy to tell customers that our products meet certain ethical standards, and promote sustainable development in poor countries, and it's even possible that if you buy Fair Trade, a mother will be able to send her kids to school rather than possibly have to sell them to human traffickers. But most of the time, an exploitative situation economically is a world away from slavery.
Posted by Mark O on 07/15/2009 @ 01:52PM PT
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Note to Amanda, author of this piece:
Amanda, I can't tell you how I appreciate your articles on these topics.
Thank you with all my heart for what you do. It must be a soul wrenching task... and my love and support is with you.
I hope you never never stop, and I'm very glad I found Change.org that has people like you.
Posted by Cdin Org on 07/15/2009 @ 11:16AM PT
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Apologies - above, in one of my comments I really needed to put the terms "ethnic" and "native" in quotes.
I used those terms as illustrative rather than descriptive.
Posted by Cdin Org on 07/15/2009 @ 02:29PM PT
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Last week I went into a shoe store and asked the salespeople if they had any shoes that contained no animal products and were not made by slave labor. They didn't know. But they didn't seem shocked by the question, which is at least some improvement over the responses I was getting from salespeople several years ago.
I still need shoes, though....
Posted by Jim Sinclair on 09/27/2009 @ 07:48AM PT
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