Smart Consumers Can Combat Slavery

Smart consumers can contribute to a slave-free world. End Slavery Now is an organization that, according to their website, believes we all have a role in ending slavery…

One of their resources is called Be a Smart Consumer, and it lists seven ways each of us can be more mindful of what we purchase in order to help assure a slave-free world. From their website:

Our goal at End Slavery Now is for the public to learn about the issue, connect with organizations, and take action to end slavery. Through this, we are building a community of activists that can come alongside the lawyers, law enforcement and service providers to not just address the victims and consequences of slavery, but to truly end the practice.

They suggest beginning by downloading their Slave-Free shopping guide.  Additionally, they encourage taking the Slavery Footprint Survey to learn how many slaves you employ by the purchases you make. Their website informs on many specific issues, including fair trade, recycling, and company supply chains.

Being a wise shopper is not always so simple.  For example, if you check to see where the product is made, that doesn’t always assure that all the parts and components of that item are actually created there.  It may only mean that the final product was assembled there.  In other words, while you might be able to avoid purchasing products from a particular country, you may find that parts from the very country you hope to avoid are being used in the final product elsewhere.  Some are surprised to learn that a brand they trust is actually subcontracting to a factory that is abusing and underpaying its workers.

If you care about human rights and want to help stop modern-day slavery, take time to become informed. There actually are lives depending on your smart consumer habits.