Child Slave Labor: Zero Excuses
30 October 2007 11:10 AM Filed in: Fair Trade
By Kat Vaughan
Once again we see another high profiled clothing retailer - this time The Gap - caught red handed for child slave labor in India. These poor children, sold into slavery by their desperate and impoverished family members, were forced to work in sweatshops without pay for as long as 16 hours a day. Now, granted, The Gap blames their sub-contractor - but come on, surely the Gap has the resources to investigate their supply chain and the factories where their clothing line is fabricated? There are ZERO excuses for child slave labor. It is abhorrent to me. Children need to be valued, protected, cared for, educated and loved - not given to become slaves for corporations and the sake of the mighty dollar.
So what can we do? Co-op America has some great ideas:
Once again we see another high profiled clothing retailer - this time The Gap - caught red handed for child slave labor in India. These poor children, sold into slavery by their desperate and impoverished family members, were forced to work in sweatshops without pay for as long as 16 hours a day. Now, granted, The Gap blames their sub-contractor - but come on, surely the Gap has the resources to investigate their supply chain and the factories where their clothing line is fabricated? There are ZERO excuses for child slave labor. It is abhorrent to me. Children need to be valued, protected, cared for, educated and loved - not given to become slaves for corporations and the sake of the mighty dollar.
So what can we do? Co-op America has some great ideas:
- Reduce and reuse - Hand-me-downs are in! These days you can buy used clothing on eBay and upscale used clothing stores, as well the local Goodwill.
- Buy fair trade apparel
- Look for clothing with the UNITE label (the union created from the merger of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees and the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union)
- Check their source - Co-op has a directory that is quite useful
- Go deeper - Co-op America has a Responsible Shopper Directory to help you identify socially responsible companies.
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The Floating Landfill: Plastics in the Ocean
30 October 2007 09:15 AM Filed in: Green Living
By Kat Vaughan
On the cover of the SF Chronicle this morning, was the headline Floating Mass of Trash: Can it be Cleaned Up? The news piece covers the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a shape shifting, huge mass of plastics and other refuse floating approximately 1000 miles west of the California. Scientists disagree of the scope of the mass, but Charles Moore, a marine scientist with Algalita Marine Research Foundation, believes it is twice the size of Texas and 3 million tons.
The trash gathers in a region called North Pacific Gyre, due to the clockwise trade wind that circulates around the Pacific Rim. A plastic bottle that begins in a SF storm drain will eventually be pulled into the gyre and make the journey to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Along the journey, it will not biodegrade but photodegrade, causing the bottle not to disappear but become brittle and crack into tiny pieces. The most disturbing part of this plastic mess is that the marine life is consuming the particles of plastic, some of which are turned to dust. Imagine the impact of this on our entire food chain? Disgusting.
This is where I get so upset with the corporations that irresponsibly manufacture plastics. They should be investing in research and product development to find the best biodegradable bottles. I am really disgusted by this lack of social responsibility by corporate titans who line their pocketbooks yet care so little for how their business practices impact the environment and, ultimately, the health of mankind.
So what can we do to make a difference until these corporate giants become socially responsible and produce biodegradable bottles? Easy - let's agree to do the following:
1. Reduce the use of plastics. In fact, buy a water filter so you stop buying the plastic water bottles.
2. Use reusable shopping bags (I have several of them!)
3. Dispose of your refuse at the beach (stop littering!)
4. Double knot your garbage bags and keep your trash lid on.
Promise?
On the cover of the SF Chronicle this morning, was the headline Floating Mass of Trash: Can it be Cleaned Up? The news piece covers the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a shape shifting, huge mass of plastics and other refuse floating approximately 1000 miles west of the California. Scientists disagree of the scope of the mass, but Charles Moore, a marine scientist with Algalita Marine Research Foundation, believes it is twice the size of Texas and 3 million tons.
The trash gathers in a region called North Pacific Gyre, due to the clockwise trade wind that circulates around the Pacific Rim. A plastic bottle that begins in a SF storm drain will eventually be pulled into the gyre and make the journey to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Along the journey, it will not biodegrade but photodegrade, causing the bottle not to disappear but become brittle and crack into tiny pieces. The most disturbing part of this plastic mess is that the marine life is consuming the particles of plastic, some of which are turned to dust. Imagine the impact of this on our entire food chain? Disgusting.
This is where I get so upset with the corporations that irresponsibly manufacture plastics. They should be investing in research and product development to find the best biodegradable bottles. I am really disgusted by this lack of social responsibility by corporate titans who line their pocketbooks yet care so little for how their business practices impact the environment and, ultimately, the health of mankind.
So what can we do to make a difference until these corporate giants become socially responsible and produce biodegradable bottles? Easy - let's agree to do the following:
1. Reduce the use of plastics. In fact, buy a water filter so you stop buying the plastic water bottles.
2. Use reusable shopping bags (I have several of them!)
3. Dispose of your refuse at the beach (stop littering!)
4. Double knot your garbage bags and keep your trash lid on.
Promise?
Global Warming or Not
28 October 2007 10:32 PM Filed in: Green Living
By Kat Vaughan
Whether or not global warming is true, I choose to take care of the planet, making it a greener place to live for you, me and everyone else. I will recycle, reuse and reduce because it is the right action to take, not because of the fear of global warming. In fact, some of you may just gasp, I don't really care if global warming is true. What I am concerned about is: how do we take care of the environment today - for our sake and the sake of future generations. Alternative energy is imperative - we all know that oil is depleting rapidly and non-renewable. Wind, solar and underwater fans are all viable options to oil and must be explored, researched and employed. I believe we need to be good stewards of the planet and that means reducing wastes, recycling and reusing as much as possible, global warming or not.
Whether or not global warming is true, I choose to take care of the planet, making it a greener place to live for you, me and everyone else. I will recycle, reuse and reduce because it is the right action to take, not because of the fear of global warming. In fact, some of you may just gasp, I don't really care if global warming is true. What I am concerned about is: how do we take care of the environment today - for our sake and the sake of future generations. Alternative energy is imperative - we all know that oil is depleting rapidly and non-renewable. Wind, solar and underwater fans are all viable options to oil and must be explored, researched and employed. I believe we need to be good stewards of the planet and that means reducing wastes, recycling and reusing as much as possible, global warming or not.
Rebuilding Guatemala after Hurricane Stan
28 October 2007 09:12 PM Filed in: Guatemala
By Kat Vaughan
During my last trip to Guatemala, I took a tour of the refugee camp just above Santiago Atitlan. The Mayans now living there were left homeless after Hurricane Stan (Oct 2005) washed their village, Panabaj, under a several feet of mud. The damage was monumental and catastrophic. Thousands of loved ones were buried alive in the middle of the night as the soil on the nearby volcano gave way and quickly covered the town of Panabaj. People lost their homes, belongings and livelihoods.
The Mennonite Central Committee gave $45,000 to build cement block homes for the displaced. When I took a tour of the region, I was informed that the government had ruled the land uninhabitable because it was "too near the foot of the volcano and susceptible to another mudslide". So the refugees continue to live in aluminum sided spaces with dirt floors until another area of land is designated safe. The refugee camp is a difficult sight to see because it is unsanitary, degrading and depressing. In response to their plight, USAID and other agencies are stepping in to provide the Mayans with food, clothing and blankets. In addition, various cooperatives, including a few we work with, have helped to rebuild homes and lives.
Globally Minded jewelry is handcrafted by some of the very women who lost everything in the Hurricane, providing food, clothing and resources for entire families. Our producer groups work in clean and pleasant facilities, learn new skills, and make money with their craft. Every purchase of Globally Minded handcrafts, supports those struggling in poverty, many the victims of a dreadful hurricane. We are thankful to make a difference.
During my last trip to Guatemala, I took a tour of the refugee camp just above Santiago Atitlan. The Mayans now living there were left homeless after Hurricane Stan (Oct 2005) washed their village, Panabaj, under a several feet of mud. The damage was monumental and catastrophic. Thousands of loved ones were buried alive in the middle of the night as the soil on the nearby volcano gave way and quickly covered the town of Panabaj. People lost their homes, belongings and livelihoods.
The Mennonite Central Committee gave $45,000 to build cement block homes for the displaced. When I took a tour of the region, I was informed that the government had ruled the land uninhabitable because it was "too near the foot of the volcano and susceptible to another mudslide". So the refugees continue to live in aluminum sided spaces with dirt floors until another area of land is designated safe. The refugee camp is a difficult sight to see because it is unsanitary, degrading and depressing. In response to their plight, USAID and other agencies are stepping in to provide the Mayans with food, clothing and blankets. In addition, various cooperatives, including a few we work with, have helped to rebuild homes and lives.
Globally Minded jewelry is handcrafted by some of the very women who lost everything in the Hurricane, providing food, clothing and resources for entire families. Our producer groups work in clean and pleasant facilities, learn new skills, and make money with their craft. Every purchase of Globally Minded handcrafts, supports those struggling in poverty, many the victims of a dreadful hurricane. We are thankful to make a difference.
Going Green Around the World
26 October 2007 08:37 PM Filed in: Green Living
By Kat Vaughan
The first time I went to a third world country, I was blown away by the amount of refuse that littered streets, fields, and rivers - plastic bags, candy wrappers, plastic furniture, and everything else you can imagine. Forget the idea of public dumps in the developing world - one either burns their garbage (including plastics) or dumps the refuse "under the coffee trees". To top this off, toilet paper doesn't get flushed so this too gets burned.
I lived in a remote village in Guatemala, on the shores of lovely Lake Atitlan. Every Thursday we would burn our garbage; I dreaded those mornings as the smell was awful, I coughed repeatedly, and my eyes would sting from the smoke. Recycling has been virtually non-existent amongst the Mayan people. I don't blame them for the garbage problem, really. I blame the corporations for not being socially responsible as they market their products in the developing world. The Maya lived off the land for centuries and then our western world introduced them to the "wonderful" world of plastics; this was one of the worst mistakes ever made. The poor don't have the technology and resources to set up sophisticated recycling programs. Many of rural poor in Guatemala are illiterate and those who are educated may only have a third grade education.
The good news is that there are "gringos" living around the Lake who are very interested in the environment and teaching them about recycling. One of the projects around the Lake is making a tremendous impact: Pura Vida. They take old plastic shopping bags, batteries, candy wrappers and other refuse and place them into old plastic drinking bottles. They use these plastic bottles as insulation when they build homes, walls and buildings! This is a very novel way to help green the planet, while teaching the locals how to care for their environment.
By the way, if you venture down to San Marcos La Laguna, stay at one of the most eco-friendly hotels around the lake: Hotel Acculaax, owned and built by a German guy named Nicholas. The honeymoon suite is awesome with exquisite sunrises and sunsets, and views of the volcanoes and Lake Atitlan. Yes, make it a plan.
The first time I went to a third world country, I was blown away by the amount of refuse that littered streets, fields, and rivers - plastic bags, candy wrappers, plastic furniture, and everything else you can imagine. Forget the idea of public dumps in the developing world - one either burns their garbage (including plastics) or dumps the refuse "under the coffee trees". To top this off, toilet paper doesn't get flushed so this too gets burned.
I lived in a remote village in Guatemala, on the shores of lovely Lake Atitlan. Every Thursday we would burn our garbage; I dreaded those mornings as the smell was awful, I coughed repeatedly, and my eyes would sting from the smoke. Recycling has been virtually non-existent amongst the Mayan people. I don't blame them for the garbage problem, really. I blame the corporations for not being socially responsible as they market their products in the developing world. The Maya lived off the land for centuries and then our western world introduced them to the "wonderful" world of plastics; this was one of the worst mistakes ever made. The poor don't have the technology and resources to set up sophisticated recycling programs. Many of rural poor in Guatemala are illiterate and those who are educated may only have a third grade education.
The good news is that there are "gringos" living around the Lake who are very interested in the environment and teaching them about recycling. One of the projects around the Lake is making a tremendous impact: Pura Vida. They take old plastic shopping bags, batteries, candy wrappers and other refuse and place them into old plastic drinking bottles. They use these plastic bottles as insulation when they build homes, walls and buildings! This is a very novel way to help green the planet, while teaching the locals how to care for their environment.
By the way, if you venture down to San Marcos La Laguna, stay at one of the most eco-friendly hotels around the lake: Hotel Acculaax, owned and built by a German guy named Nicholas. The honeymoon suite is awesome with exquisite sunrises and sunsets, and views of the volcanoes and Lake Atitlan. Yes, make it a plan.