UNICEF Young Ambassador Emma Crane is a speaker at the Fairly Educated Conference currently taking place in Hobart, which is designed to unite Fairtrade businesses, retailers and advocates to grow the Fairtrade movement in universities. This article is from her blog on the UNICEF website.
Let’s just admit it. We’re all guilty of spontaneous fashion purchases, impulsive technology spends and irrational material desires but can that sometimes irresponsible consumption make us criminals?
How far can the finger pointing go when our purchases impact on the lives of workers who we know have to endure back-breaking labour and unfair wages to create the goods we covet? It’s neither you nor I standing behind those workers with whips and shouting at them to work harder and faster, but it is true, we are the ones with the spending power to influence change. As consumers, every purchase we make is a vote for the world we want to live in and the kind of economic system that exploits workers and accepts child labour.
The news was filled with guilt-laden reports after the mainstream fashion labels using low-paid workers from a Bangladeshi factory collapse were named. The factory’s collapse, in the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka, killed an estimated 1000 workers and the lack of safety, poor wages and long hours were quickly fed to news consumers, and more importantly, fashion consumers. But it’s not just Bangladesh where this form of human exploitation and labour exists. People all over the world are working in similar unsafe and exploitative conditions and some factories witness dozens of suicides each year, many of which stay hidden from the public.
When I’ve raised the issue among my peers, I’ve been told its narrow minded to boycott big brands because it won’t make any difference. I’ve even been told our purchases help prop up the livelihoods of these workers and not to buy would be a significantly more criminal act.
However, to me our financial power, our discretionary spend, is like a voting system and where we choose to invest makes a profound statement.
In its simplest form economics is a supply-demand system and we, the consumers, are the most integral part of that system. If we demand ethically produced garments, businesses will take notice and – hopefully – supply us the products we have indirectly ‘voted’ for. Change begins with small steps and grows to a movement and a transformation that could, in this instance, literally save lives. It doesn’t have to be about swapping every purchase for an ethical one, but it is about being aware and trying to live ethically and responsibly.
Since the Bangladeshi factory collapse, 50 companies have signed onto the Bangladesh Fire and Safety Accord to ensure decent working conditions within these factories.
However, there are many more companies simply not stepping up to the plate. It’s time to do more and write to your favourite brands, start a conversation with a friend, or buy from businesses who lead by example and offer up fair trade alternatives.
We need to support existing fair trade businesses, but we also need to put pressure on the big brands who fail to treat their workers with the dignity and respect they, like you and I, inherently deserve.
Remember, every choice is a vote.
* Early next year Emma is developing a one-month challenge for high school and university students with the aim of educating and inspiring change in the area of fair trade and exploitation. If you’d like to be kept in the loop e-mail her at [email protected].
