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How Oil and Gas drilling is bad for the environment

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How Oil and Gas drilling is bad for the environment

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Oil and gas drilling is a dirty business

Oil and gas drilling has a serious impact on our wildlands and communities. Drilling projects operate around the clock generating pollution, fueling climate change, disrupting wildlife and damaging public lands that were set aside to benefit all people.

For many years the federal government prioritized the development of fossil fuels over habitat conservation and recreation. Federal agencies gave the oil and gas industry generous access to public lands, tax breaks and subsidies. With this support, the industry encroached upon too many of our nation's wildlands.

The Biden administration is reviewing some of these processes but we are still living with the consequences. For a cleaner future, it's critical to reduce fossil fuel drilling on public lands. We need to equitably transition to responsible renewable energy-including solar and wind-to fulfill our energy needs while preserving our environment and communities.

Here are seven impacts of oil and gas drilling:

1. Pollution impacts communities

A total of oil and gas production facilities scar the U.S. landscape-from active wells to processing plants. More than 12 million people live within 1/2 mile of these sites and are exposed to pollutants on a daily basis. What's more, when fossil fuels are burned by automobiles, power plants and industrial facilities, they release even more impurities.

Air pollution from fossil fuels is known as the "invisible killer." It can lead to respiratory, cardiovascular and other diseases and is responsible for more than 13 percent of deaths in people aged 14 and older in the United States. Fossil fuel development can also leak toxic substances into the soil and drinking water sources, causing cancer, birth defects and liver damage.

Black, Brown, Indigenous and low-income communities are disproportionately impacted since these groups tend to live in neighborhoods with more pollution. Not surprisingly, these communities are fighting back. In Greeley, Colorado, residents of a predominantly Latino and immigrant community are trying to close an oil and gas operation located two blocks from a public school. The original plan was to place the wells near a predominantly white school but the location changed after angry parents pushed back.

The health threats from oil and gas production are very real and it's crucial to reduce fossil fuel development-especially on public lands that should be contributing to our health and well-being.

2. Dangerous emissions fuel climate change

Climate change is happening here and now. The year 2020 was one of the warmest on record, wildfire season in the West is longer and hurricanes are more dangerous. These extreme weather events are directly linked to fossil fuels that release heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere.

While we are all impacted, Black, Brown, Indigenous and working-class communities are feeling the heat-quite literally. Due to unjust housing policies and practices, these communities often live in treeless, concrete neighborhoods that are more susceptible to extreme weather events. These groups also have a harder time accessing natural landscapes that can help mitigate climate impacts.

The United States is one of the world's top emitters of greenhouse gases and almost one quarter comes from fossil fuel extracted on public lands. With better management, public lands can be a part of the solution instead of the problem. We can have less fossil fuel extraction on these lands and more responsible renewable energy.

3. Oil and gas development can ruin wildlands

Infrastructure built for oil and gas extraction can leave behind radical impacts on wildlands. The construction of roads, facilities and drilling sites requires the use of heavy equipment and can destroy big chunks of pristine wilderness. The damage is often irreversible.

On public lands, over 12 million acres are being used to produce fossil fuels-the equivalent of six Yellowstone National Parks. These developments typically remove large amounts of rangelands and vegetation that is used by wildlife and people. Even if oil and gas companies eventually abandon these sites, it can take centuries before they fully recover.

What's more, many fossil fuel developments are located in the West and in a semi-arid climate that receives little precipitation. A full recovery would require human intervention and a bundle of resources.

4. Fossil fuel extraction turns visitors away

Hunters, anglers, hikers, birders and vacationing families go into the wilderness to experience nature in all its beauty. Oil tanks, power poles, noisy compressors and busy roads are not what they expect to see. Too much noise, air pollution or damaged landscapes can ruin anyone's getaway.

The unsightly effects of oil and gas can ultimately hurt local communities that depend on tourism for a living. Outdoor recreation is a big driver of local and national economies. In 2019, visitors to national parks spent an estimated $21.0 billion on their trips and supported 341,000 jobs, according to the National Park Service.

If polluters continue to call the shots on public lands, they'll usher in a new era of unchecked energy development on wildlands that deserve preservation.

5. Drilling disrupts wildlife habitat

Oil and gas extraction is a menace to wildlife. Loud noises, human movement and vehicle traffic from drilling operations can disrupt animals' communication, breeding and nesting. Powerlines, wellpads, fences, and roads can also fragment habitats for many species.

The pronghorn antelope and mule deer in Wyoming are among the species most impacted. In the winter, some pronghorn travel south from the Grand Teton National Park to the Upper Green River Valley to escape heavy snow. Their journey is one of the longest big game migrations in the country.

But recently, animals making this age-old trek have faced a series of obstacles, notably, intense activity in major natural gas fields. The pronghorn have to navigate past enormous well pads and noisy compressor stations to find what forage hasn't been bulldozed. Future energy development farther south could ultimately have major impacts on the abundance of this herd.

6. Oil spills can be deadly to animals

Big oil spills are big killers of wildlife and can cause long-lasting damage to marine ecosystems. Just think of BP's Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The 2010 incident spread oil across 68,000 square miles of sea surface and killed approximately 1 million seabirds, 5,000 marine mammals and 1,000 sea turtles.

Smaller spills during oil and gas extraction don't always make headlines but can also be dangerous. Drilling fluids injected into wells for lubrication-known as "mud"-are supposed to be captured in lined pits for disposal. However, they often leak and are splashed around drilling sites.

Big and small oil spills are common in top producing states. A recent report by the Center for Western Priorities found that 2,179 spills were reported in Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming in the year 2020. These incidents can have devastating effects on local wildlife through direct contact, inhalation and ingestion of toxic chemicals.

7. Light pollution impacts wildlife and wilderness

The glare from oil and gas sites is so strong that it's visible from space. Photos of Earth taken by NASA satellites show North Dakota's Bakken oil fields burning almost as bright as Minneapolis and Chicago. Much of that light is produced by the burnin, or flaring, of natural gas, well pads and storage sites.

Scientists have found that the bright glow can hurt pollinators such as bees. These insects have the very important job of moving pollen around, which helps to generate new fruits and plants. But luminosity disrupts their sleep, feeding and reproductive cycles, which in turn leads to the dwindling of plants such as the cabbage thistle.

The brightness is also changing important cultural landscapes like the Chaco National Park. The park is one of the best places in the world to stargaze, but its pristine skies could disappear to the human eye due to glare coming from oil and gas complexes. The show could come to an end if the federal government doesn't permanently protect the area from this type of development.

For joining the movement to save our lands.

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7 ways oil and gas drilling is bad for the environment

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Oil and gas drilling has serious consequences for our wildlands and communities. It's crucial to reduce fossil fuel development-especially on public lands that should be contributing to our health and well-being.

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Fashion brands are overproducing to meet the demands of modern trends and countries in West Africa are drowning under the weight of waste shipped to their shores every week.

BBC Africa's Thomas Naadi investigates why donations and recycled clothing are actually ending up in landfill.

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Fast fashion: The dumping ground for unwanted clothes

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Countries in West Africa are said to be drowning under the weight of waste shipped to their shores.

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I love how this one is organised!

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Fashion & Environment — SustainYourStyle

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Cheap clothing is an affordable option for our pocket. But what is the real cost of that? Learn more about the impact of the fast fashion industry on the environment 🌏.

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Coffee production linked to deforestation

The conversion of coffee production to sun-grown coffee is a major source of deforestation since forest is cleared to make room for coffee plants. According to some estimates, every cup of coffee consumed destroys roughly one square inch of rainforest, making it a leading cause of rainforest destruction.

The clearing of forests reduces biodiversity and play a critical role in the extinction of species

Coffee production is highly water demanding

The coffee required for one single cup of coffee takes 140 liters of water to produce.

Climate change affecting coffee production

Over the next decade, climate change could have a huge impact on the production of coffee and the people who rely on coffee for their livelihoods. Areas affected include the major coffee producing countries of Nicaragua and Tanzania. Nicaragua could lose the majority of the country's growing areas by 2050 and Tanzania could reach critically low yield levels by 2060.

Coffee is not just coffee

There are huge differences in how sustainably and ethically coffee is produced.

Coffee produced without the use of slaves, child labor and pesticides is widely available. Shade-grown coffee requires fewer pesticides and fertilizers than sun coffee - partly because it provides habitat for birds and insects that eat coffee-plant pests.

The production of fair trade coffee only accounts for a small percentage - but it's increasing.

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Environmental Effects of Coffee Production

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The conversion of coffee production to sun-grown coffee is a major source of deforestation since forest is cleared to make room for coffee plants. According to some estimates, every cup of coffee consumed destroys roughly one square inch of rainforest, making it a leading cause of rainforest destruction.

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Scrapping For Glitter: The Dark Side Of The Cosmetic Industry

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Mica is used in eyeshades, lipsticks, mascara, nail polish, blush and many such cosmetic products. 60% of the high-quality mica that goes into the cosmetic industry is sourced from India and most of it comes from scrap mining.

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When we put on the highlighter that's popping on our cheeks, we only admire the glow we get and the trendy comments we receive in turn. But we never question whose blood and sweat was offered to give us the shine that makes us gleeful.

When we buy makeup products, we never check the labels to ensure which ingredients and elements have been used in those products to provide us the desired shiny outcome. Not very long time ago, I was also one of those oblivious people who just wanted the trendy makeup products that align with my skin tone. But once you educate yourself regarding the unethical beauty products, there is no going back.

A silicate mineral called mica is used in most beauty products to provide a shiny pop which is a key component to the universal beauty industry. Although China is the global producer of mica, our neighbouring country India is known to be the home of the largest deposit of it owing to its cheap labour and existence of exploitation of desperate, illiterate, and unemployed people by way of illegal mining.

The Indian states of Jharkhand and Bihar produce the largest amount of mica through mining operations that are illegal due to restrictions on mining in forested areas. This restriction contributed to the emergence of the so-called 'mica mafia', the black market of this booming industry.

As a result, people living in poverty are forced into working in an unsafe environment contributing to colossal health hazards as well as fatality. Children as young as five years old are involuntarily employed in such intensive illegal mining work for extended hours and in return, they earn eight cents for one kg whereas in the world market the price ranges from AUD1000 to AUD2000 per kg.

This illustrates the low-cost labour the ultra-rich cosmetic industries are unscrupulously enjoying and articulately exploiting whether knowingly or unknowingly. It further entails human rights abuse and the degradation of environmental resources.

In a recent investigation, carried out by Cynthia McFadden, Senior Legal and Investigative Correspondent of NBC News, provided the evidence of rampant child labour in another region. In Madagascar, where this so-called magical mica is sourced from mainly for the automobile industry, exploitation of child labour is a commonplace.

In 2016, the Responsible Mica Sourcing Summit was organised in Delhi where an agreement was reached concerning the traceability and transparency of mica usage. Beauty Companies like L'Oreal and Lush have adopted the initiative to acquire mica from secured sources as the mica supply chain is globalised which changes hands many times from the miner to the consumer. Of course, very few beauty companies are aware of whether their supply chain is 'cruelty-free' or not.

Boycotting mica is not an appropriate solution as many mine workers' livelihoods are dependent on it. Therefore, experts have asserted that eliminating child labour, bonded labour, and human rights abuse, will be possible if mica is sourced responsibly.

However, political patronage plays a crucial role in the ongoing illegal mica mining as the majority of mineworkers are employed through bonded labour. Therefore, active government intervention coupled with transparency can lead to the mitigation of such exploitation. In addition to this, the wages of mine workers should be raised so that they can support their family and their children can have access to education which can potentially alleviate child labour.

Moreover, consumers must hold the brands accountable as they are spending their money on these products. This can be achieved by way of reaching out to the companies' human resources department, raising awareness on social media and other networking sites, etc.

Although it is a well-known fact that reaching such a goal would be a far-fetched dream as the mica industry is growing in a rapid pace, a little self-education and awareness regarding unethical beauty products will not harm anyone.

Also, next time we look in the mirror, we can feel pretty without feeling guilty.

The writer a lawyer and a certified Human Rights Trainee

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The dark truth about the beauty industry

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When we put on the highlighter that's popping on our cheeks, we only admire the glow we get and the trendy comments we receive in turn. But we never question whose blood and sweat was offered to give us the shine that makes us gleeful.

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"The DRC produces more than half of the world's cobalt," says Maria Canadas, head of Amnesty International in the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia

As the world's largest mobile phone fair hosts the "creme de la creme" in Barcelona, activists slam the dark side of a sector accused of ignoring rights abuses in Chinese factories and Congolese mines.

"Behind this modern, progressive industry lurk dark themes like labour exploitation or minerals stained with blood that come from conflict zones," says Alba Trepat, campaigns officer for SETEM, a federation of 10 NGOs that promotes an alternative fair with a social twist.

Just a few blocks from the main Mobile World Congress (MWC), the so-called Mobile Social Congress has even showcased its very own superstar smartphone-the Fairphone 2, which a Dutch firm tries to manufacture as ethically as possible.

"Traceability is quite a difficult issue," recognises Daria Koreniushkina, public engagement manager at Fairphone.

"The supply chain involves hundreds of actors globally and just for one mineral you have at least five steps where the mineral goes.

"To make sure that every step of it is ethical is a very challenging exercise."
DRC, Peru, China
The firm's first model tried to use tin and tantalum from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that was not linked to the country's armed conflict.

For its second phone-launched in 2015-Fairphone used gold extracted from Peru respecting fair trade standards.

A Dutch-made prototype of a Fairphone smartphone during its unveiling in London on September 18, 2013

In its Chinese factory, meanwhile, the company promotes social programmes for employees, bettering worker representation and publishing independent reports on labour conditions.

"We cannot magically find the fair factory in Asia but a first step is transparency and willingness of the factory to work towards improvements," said Koreniushkina.

According to Electronics Watch, a watchdog working to better labour rights in the global electronics industry, workers in many Chinese factories toil for more than 80 hours a week, with low salaries and high exposure to carcinogens.

In 2012, Apple even admitted that some of its suppliers had committed labour abuses after a wave of suicides hit Taiwan's Foxconn company, which makes components for the US giant.

The sector is lucrative. In 2015, it contributed $3.1 trillion (2.8 trillion euros) to world output, according to GSMA, organiser of Barcelona's main mobile phone fair.

"This industry would be the world's fourth largest economy," says Josep Maria Royo, a researcher at the Autonomous University of Barcelona who studies armed conflicts.

"They boast about having these resources, so they should be responsible."

The DR Congo is one of the main producers of cobalt and coltan, essential components in the manufacture of many smartphones

Sunlight? What is that?
Royo is also part of a small, local NGO that denounces how the mobile industry indirectly finances armed conflict in the DRC, one of the main producers of cobalt and coltan-essential components for many smartphones.

"The DRC produces more than half of the world's cobalt," says Maria Canadas, head of Amnesty International in the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia, where Barcelona is located.

"Some 20 percent of the cobalt it exports comes from makeshift mines in the country's south, where workers excavate with their hands, without any tools or protection."

In January, Amnesty published a report denouncing conditions in these mines for workers-many of them children-who toil away from dawn to dusk, seven days a week, sometimes mistreated.

"UNICEF estimates there are around 40,000 children working in these mines," she says.

"Some of those we interviewed-as young as seven-said that they had not seen sunlight for a long time as they spent the day in the mines.

"I can't believe that the people at the MWC don't know this. But they're not interested in talking about it, and even less in resolving it."

Fairphone wants to become a leading player in the fair trade mobile sector.

Some 60,000 people in Europe bought its first model, and 30,000 units of its second phone have been sold so far.

"By showing there is a demand for more ethical products, we can inspire the whole industry to act more responsibly," says Koreniushkina.

"And maybe one day Mobile World Congress and Mobile Social Congress are going to become synonyms."

© 2016 AFP

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The dark side of world's lucrative mobile phone industry

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As the world's largest mobile phone fair hosts the "creme de la creme" in Barcelona, activists slam the dark side of a sector accused of ignoring rights abuses in Chinese factories and Congolese mines.

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TOKYO -- Users of portable electronic devices may know that cobalt is used in the batteries of these products. However, they might not be aware that children are sometimes involved in the production work at the mines of this rare metal.

Electronics makers that offer transparency in their supply chains could offer ethical alternatives.

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Child labor in cobalt mining powers electronic devices

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TOKYO -- Users of portable electronic devices may know that cobalt is used in the batteries of these products. However, they might not be aware that children are sometimes involved in the production work at the mines of this rare metal. Electronics makers that offer transparency in their supply chains could offer ethical alternatives.

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Is your phone tainted by the misery of 35,000 children in Congo’s mines? | Siddharth Kara

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My field research shows that children as young as six are among those risking their lives amid toxic dust to mine cobalt for the world’s big electronics firms

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Do you care about the sustainability of smart devices and the benefits of fair trade? A fair trade phone has a unique mineral mix that uses conflict-free tin, tantalum, tungsten, gold, and cobalt. Conflict-free minerals help to ensure social, economic, and environmental justice throughout the supply chain.

What is Mobile Fairtrade?

Fairtrade is a certification system that aims to ensure that people meet the standards in producing and supplying a product or ingredient. What is a fair trade phone? It's not just about paying workers a fair wage-it's about making sure that the process used to create your phone is environmentally friendly.

Fair-produced mobile phones, fair-traded mobile phones, and mobile fairtrade are all terms for a phone made to positively impact the people who make it, the raw material extraction, and the environment. By choosing a fair trade phone, you're ensuring that production complies with safety and legal provisions as far as possible.

Fair Trade Phone: TCO Certified Sustainability Certification

Cell phone sustainability is one of the most important issues today. Cell phones are a big part of that, and the industry has proven to be incredibly wasteful. What if there was a way to make cell phones more sustainable?

That's where the fair trade phone comes in. These phones are made with recycled components and materials from conflict-free mines to have peace of mind in your pocket. They come with an annual certification from TCO (The Council on Economic Priorities), which means they've been tested for sustainability and safety by an independent third party.

This certification also means that we've got a certified supply chain-which means you can rest assured that every component of your phone was sourced and manufactured in a way that has the possibly lowest impact on the environment.

What makes a phone sustainable?

Let's be honest: smartphones and other mobile devices cannot be and will not be fully sustainable or eco-friendly in the near future.

But we can try to make them as sustainable as possible:

with recycled materials, so less goes into making them,

with repairable and modular designs, that allow for single components to be upgraded,

with biodegradable packaging that can be broken down by microorganisms in soil or water and will not produce toxins when it breaks down,

with longer operating system support so the devices can be longer used safely, and

higher recycling rates and less resource consumption when you get rid of your old phones.

Eco-Friendly Fairtrade Smartphones: Smaller Carbon Footprint

We believe that devices should be used as long as possible. This is why we came up with a subscription model for company phones, that ensures a second or even third usage cycle ("circular economy"). In the end, we want to reduce e-waste, increase the lifespan of the devices through refurbishing and in the end recycle them.

Durable Fair Trade Phone with Replaceable Parts

One of the biggest benefits of an eco-friendly fair trade phone is that it comes with replaceable parts and a modular design. These features mean that if you break your screen or need to replace a battery, you can do so without purchasing a new phone entirely. It also means that you can upgrade these modules from time to time, thus not having to discard the entire phone when only a part of it is outdated. Most of these exchanges can be done by anybody. Special skills or tools are usually not necessary.

Modular phone design by Shiftphone
Modular Phone Design by Fairphone and Shiftphone

If something goes wrong with your device, you may have to pay hundreds of dollars for repairs or even buy a new phone. However, with an eco-friendly fair trade phone, you can replace individual components without spending large amounts of money or buy new devices -saving money in the long run.

Fair Trade Phone Built With Sustainable Materials

These phones are built with sustainable materials, which means safe from harmful chemicals like mercury and arsenic. These chemicals can leach into the ground and contaminate soil, water, and air.

Solid Construction, Durable, and Light Phone

A fair trade phone is a smartphone that has been designed with the user in mind. It's made from 100% recycled plastic and has Fairtrade gold in its supply chain. The phone's body is machined from aluminum, sourced from ASI-certified vendors. The cobalt and lithium used to make the battery have also been ethically sourced.

Long Battery Life

These phones have excellent battery life to enjoy uninterrupted communication anywhere without worrying about charging up before heading out. You're getting a phone that lasts roughly two days under normal use. That means you'll be able to browse the internet and take photos for much longer than other phones on the market. You can also use it for five hours with apps and two hours on 5G before charging.

Of course, this all depends on how much time you spend actively using your phone and what kind of apps you use, but we think it's safe to say that fair trade phone users should have no trouble getting through a full day without worrying about running out of juice. Plus, public charging stations are always available if you ever get low on power while out and about.

Fairphone

Fairphone is a brand known for its high-quality devices and commitment to fair labor practices. The company was founded in 2013 by Bas van Abel who wanted to "put the people who make our phones at the center of our business model."

You can rent Fairphones from us in our subscription model. By renting phones instead of selling them, Fairphone encourages users to upgrade their devices more often and reduce e-waste. Fairphone devices are also made from recycled materials and are designed in Germany-a country known for its high environmental standards.

Fairphone is a smartphone that stands for fairness. It's not only about the design and production of the fair trade phone itself but also about how you can use it. You can rent Fairphone devices from everphone. We call this "Phone as a Service." With this system, you pay only for what you use: the price includes all maintenance costs. A fair trade phone is an amazing opportunity to help reduce waste, essential to protecting our planet's future.

Final Thoughts

These phones are made by companies that pay their employees fairly, provide them with education and healthcare benefits and give them a safe work environment, especially when dealing with CO2 smartphones. The phones are also built with recycled materials, which are great for the environment. If you're ready to make a difference in the world while still getting a quality product, check out our selection of fair trade phones today.

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Fair Trade Phone: The Minerals in Your Mobile

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Do you care about the sustainability of smart devices and the benefits of fair trade? A fair trade phone has a unique mineral mix that uses conflict-free tin, tantalum, tungsten, gold, and cobalt. Conflict-free minerals help to ensure social, economic, and environmental justice throughout the supply chain.

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lobal criticism of the treatment of hundreds of thousands of workers from countries such as Nepal, India and Bangladesh who have been building Qatar's World Cup dream led to the Gulf state introducing a range of labour policy changes that it says have improved the lives of the migrant workforce. Have those changes worked and how likely are they to be sustained after the tournament? A panel of experts give their view.

The World Cup is like a slap in the face of workers.

I have spoken to thousands of them. They don't know their rights; their contracts are violated; there is discriminatory pay, and then there's the weather. People are working in severe temperatures. They get dehydrated. Workers have been dying in their sleep. These deaths may be caused by the work, and their families should be compensated.

At least there is a minimum wage now. Before, there was no way you could complain about your salary, but now you know you should get at least 1,000 rials a month (£245). The problem is that it is too low. Way too low. How many billions of dollars has Qatar spent on preparations for the World Cup? The minimum wage is a drop in the ocean.

[a systemunder which workers cannot freely change jobs] was abolished for two or three months only. After that, these powerful Qataris who own big companies complained and the changes were watered down. Now there is a requirement to get your company to approve your resignation. This is like bringing the kafala system again through the back door.

The first time I was detained in Qatar was for trying to change my job. I could deal with it because I know my rights, but what about the thousands of workers who don't know their rights? People have been deported just for trying to change companies.

Fifa talks a lot about "fair play". Is it really fair play when there is nothing for the workers? Yes, a lot of workers got employment but it was under exploitative conditions. I think a country's human rights record should be part of the evaluation process when awarding a World Cup. For Fifa, it was an afterthought.

Geoffrey, a Kenyan, worked in Qatar for three and a half years. While there, he also worked for the human rights group Equidem as a researcher and advocate for workers' rights. He was detained three times and has now returned home, where he continues his advocacy work

Earlier this year, we commissioned a survey among 1,000 low-wage workers, and found that 86% of respondents felt that the labour reforms had positively affected their lives.

Changes to the kafala system have led to labour mobility. Now workers can negotiate for better conditions, and employers are incentivised to provide them in order to attract and retain talent.

Legislation has also been introduced on the minimum wage, on protecting outdoor workers during the summer months, and on the election of migrant worker representatives within companies.

Over the past five years, the government has engaged closely with the ILO [International Labour Organization], international trade unions, NGOs and others. Notably, staff from the global unions are based with us here in Doha, raising awareness among workers, and helping them to resolve the problems they face.

There is universal acknowledgment that the work is not complete. Among our top priorities, there's the need to address the retaliation by some employers against workers who wish to change jobs; to streamline access to justice and the recovery of due wages; and to ensure that the law protecting domestic workers is fully implemented.

We are all impatient to see the reforms fully applied and enforced, but we also recognise that we are dealing with new laws and new institutions, and changing practices that have been deeply entrenched for decades.

The World Cup was never the finish line, but rather a key milestone in Qatar's longer-term strategy, which includes competing for skilled workers in an increasingly global market.

The companies I work for are just getting away with everything. There are many people now walking around Qatar who have lost their jobs, haven't received their end-of-service benefits or months of salary. I've seen a lot of good people suffer and it's absolutely linked to the World Cup.

Qatar wanted to build everything as cheaply as possible. All the big contractors were fighting one another to win the work. They were winning jobs at any cost. As Qatar started slowing down its construction [before the World Cup], all these contractors then started to face problems ... and where they save their money is by not paying suppliers or our salaries and end of services.

All the government and supreme committee [the local body organising the World Cup] want to do is tick boxes, show a good report and just hope and pray that no one finds out.

I've worked on a number of World Cup projects and we had good workers' accommodation and bad workers' accommodation. We did all our inspections at the good accommodation. This is how it works.

There's no accountability. The government doesn't enforce its own laws effectively. They did allow workers to change jobs ... but the bad companies were losing all their workers, so the owners went to the government and said, "Stop this."

It's 50% the contractors' fault and 50% the government's fault. The country is too small for them not to know what's going on.

Once the World Cup's finished, that's it. The eyes of the world will no longer be on Qatar. They'll just go back to how they were.

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Qatar has made significant strides in terms of labour reforms in the past five years. In a region hostile to civil society interventions or criticism, Qatar has engaged with its critics. No doubt the World Cup was effective leverage to compel it to do so.

When we speak of reforms, we have two main components - in principle, what's been implemented and, in practice, what's been enforced. Much of our concern is with the latter.

The removal of the no-objection certificate [which workers required from their employer in order to change jobs] was by far the most important of the changes. It gave migrant workers an opportunity to tap into the local job market for better opportunities. For the first few months, the job change process was almost seamless, until employers started pushing back. Other parts of the kafala system, particularly the power of employers to report workers as "absconding", were misused to keep workers in check, negating to a large degree the effectiveness of the reforms.

Advocates for Qatar keep arguing - weakly, in my opinion - that cultural change will take longer and what must be appreciated are the changes in law. This is not about culture but selective reforms that still give power to the employer.

The true test, and the real opportunity for meaningful change, will happen after the World Cup. The relentless - and, at times, unfair - scrutiny Qatar has faced in the last 12 years means reforms and reactions have been to primarily ward off criticism, without focusing on buy-in and behavioural change locally. As a result, the powerful business owners cock a snook at the reforms and continue unchecked with their exploitative practices.

I'd like to believe Qatar will not regress on its legal commitments post-2022, but if they are to be enforced, it will require dialogue at the grassroots level to show that ensuring the human rights of migrant workers and business profitability is not a zero-sum game.

Qatar's two flagship labour reforms are the introduction of a minimum wage and the abolition of the kafala system. The first is a scandal, the second largely a failure.

The minimum wage is the equivalent of about £1 an hour. This is poverty pay, in one of the richest countries in the world per capita. Employers must also provide food and board, or an additional allowance to pay for them. The food allowance is about £2 a day.

The abolition of kafala worked for a few months, but today the system is effectively still in place. On my recent visits to Qatar, almost every worker I spoke to said they were unable to change jobs, leaving them at the mercy of abusive employers.

Both reforms only came into force 10 years after Qatar won the right to host the World Cup, and long after most of the stadiums and infrastructure were completed.

That is not to say nothing has changed, but every claim of reform the Qatari authorities make has to be heavily caveated.

New workers' accommodation has been built, but many thousands still live in squalid, overcrowded dorms.

The World Cup organising committee has introduced a scheme to partly reimburse the huge illegal fees workers are forced to pay to secure their jobs, but it only benefits a fraction of Qatar's low-wage workforce.

Regulations have been put in place to limit labourers' exposure to the searing summer heat, but the authorities have done little to investigate the sudden and unexplained deaths of thousands of workers. Countless families of deceased workers have been left without compensation.

The Qatari authorities and Fifa claim the World Cup will leave a lasting legacy of better workers' rights in the country and the region. That seems unlikely. Some of the reforms have stalled even before a ball has been kicked.

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Has the World Cup really improved workers' rights in Qatar? Five experts give their verdict

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lobal criticism of the treatment of hundreds of thousands of workers from countries such as Nepal, India and Bangladesh who have been building Qatar's World Cup dream led to the Gulf state introducing a range of labour policy changes that it says have improved the lives of the migrant workforce.

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Coffee Production Process From The Harvesting To The Cup Of Coffee

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You know where your coffee beans come from -- so why not your gasoline? Did your $3.50 a gallon go to prop up our tar-sands-addicted frenemies in Canada?

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Petroleum is another name for oil, a liquid found deep underground. Petroleum is a valuable natural resource. It is used to make many products that people use every day....

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Everyone can help to prevent oil spills, one of the worst environmental disasters. Cutting down the use of oil and organizing fundraisers are great ways to get the kids involved.

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UK nonprofit Ethical Consumer recently published shopping guide for smartphones, laptops, and desktops. Its researchers considered factors like:

the presence of conflict minerals (tantalum, tin, tungsten, and gold) in electronic components

the use of toxic chemicals (polyvinyl chloride, brominated flame retardants, and phthalates), which harm workers and communities around e-waste dumps

the planned obsolescence and limits to repair built into many tech products, to deliberately make it hard for users to keep their devices for long periods

The clear winner is the iameco D4R, which scores 12 points out of a possible 20 - three points ahead of the number 2 choice, the similarly limited-scale VeryPC. What makes iameco so much better than the competition? These computers, which are encased in recycled wood, including furniture offcuts, look different to other PCs. But the differences aren't just cosmetic; the aim is to make them simple to repair and recycle, with components that can easily be swapped out. The devices are also free from harmful chemicals like brominated flame retardants. And according to the manufacturer, the iameco D4R accounts for at least 30% fewer greenhouse gas emissions and 75% less freshwater use compared to standard laptops.

Yet this environmental responsibility hasn't come with a massive price tag. The iameco D4R sells for €850 ($945). In comparison, laptops from Samsung, which receive Ethical Consumer's lowest score, range from $400 to $2,000 at the company's site. (It would be useful to have rankings of technical specifications alongside ethical ones.)

Having a small scale helps with certain ethical dimensions. Unlike the multinational companies like Huawei and Google, iameco and VeryPC aren't likely to dodge tax. Among the companies with more name recognition, Apple and Lenovo are recommended by Ethical Consumer (though not best buys like iameco and VeryPC).

Yet VeryPC, the overall #2 laptop, has among the worst scores for conflict minerals and toxic chemicals. Even the celebrated iameco is among the worst offenders for supply chain management, which incorporates workers' rights across the long networks that assemble digital products. The company has also been criticized in the past for using endangered wood. But according to Jose Ospina, a project manager for parent company MicroPro Computers, "The woods used by iameco are Maple, Oak, and Beech. Only wood from Irish sustainable forest is used."

For 2-in-1 laptops specifically, which combine the functionality of laptops and tablets, the ASUS Transformer has the highest yet still-not-stellar score, at 8.5/20. For desktop computers, iameco again comes out on top, with its V3 model. HP, which ranks near the top for 2-in-1s, and near the bottom for desktops and laptops, has claimed that it's attempting to increase the proportion of recycled plastic across its product lines.

Of course, it's useful to keep in mind that thoughtful shopping decisions can help limit damage to rights and environments, but they're only a portion of the big picture. For one thing, combatting consumerism is ultimately the greenest consumer choice. Ethical Consumer's broad recommendations are for consumers to hold onto their devices for as long as they're usable, attempt to repair them when they break down, and buy secondhand items where possible.

Moreover, these kinds of individual choices pale in comparison to major structural ones. As a news article in the November/December 2019 issue of the Ethical Consumer magazine reminds readers, "while individual consumer choices will be able to play an important part in tackling climate change, they will never be enough on their own. We need people to join together into movements and leverage the power to shift corporations and governments."

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The Most Ethical Laptop You've Never Heard Of

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UK nonprofit Ethical Consumer recently published shopping guide for smartphones, laptops, and desktops.

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A new investigation into the Chinese fast-fashion giant revealed that workers make four cents per garment and wash their hair during lunch breaks.

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Clothes today are made from a wide range of different materials. Traditional materials such as cotton, linen and leather are still sourced from plants and animals. But most clothes are more likely to be made of materials and chemicals derived from fossil fuel-based crude oil.

There are nine major types of raw materials commonly used in clothing today.

Synthetic materials

The source of synthetic fibres and fabrics is the fossil fuel crude oil. It is estimated that 62% of all fibres used in t...

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Most clothes are more likely to be made of materials and chemicals derived from fossil fuel-based crude oil. Clothes today are made from a wide range of different materials.

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Really great about where our clothes come from

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Really great about where our clothes come from

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Our clothes are big business: it's been calculated we spend up to £44 billion in the UK on clothes each year. The video explores the types of material our clothes are made of - including natural and synthetic fabrics.

A group of teenagers are invited to try a day's work in a busy clothes factory in the UK: they try cutting, stitching, ironing and packing. They find the work very challenging but by the end of the day they are getting the hang of things.

The video ends by inviting us to think when we go shopping for clothes about all the hard work that goes into making them.

End of speech: '...the men and women in Mick's busy factory.'

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A primary school assembly, most suitable for pupils aged 7 - 11, exploring where our clothes come from - what they are made of and how they are made. Includes a song / reflection / prayer. Suitable for Collective Worship. BBC School Radio. BBC Teach.

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Pictured: The 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse which injured over 2,500 and killed over 1,100 garment workers in a fast fashion factory. 80% of the casualties were women, mostly aged 18-20 working for around 22 cents per hour.

The reason most fast fashion workers are women is because of the lack of opportunity in their countries, as well as the patriarchal societies in which they live. According to Gisela Burckhardt, director of FEMNET, an NGO fighting for women's rights in Asia's garment industry, the fast fashion factories primarily seek to hire women because they are seen as more docile and unwilling to organize or fight for better conditions and wages. And because the fast fashion companies want to sell their clothing for cheap prices, the only way the production factories can maintain the bottom line is by paying the workers less, making them work inhumanely long hours, and setting unrealistically high production quotes. Whereas the management is mostly male, the majority female workers have little say in their working conditions, hours or wages, and any reluctance or inability to meet ridiculous quotas results in shouting, violence and rampant abuse.

Pictured: women working in desolate conditions in a textile factory in Bangladesh.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that of the 260 million children employed worldwide, 170 million children are engaged in what is known as "child labor", defined by the UN as "work for which the child is either too young - work done below the required minimum age - or work which, because of its detrimental nature or conditions, is altogether considered unacceptable for children and is prohibited." Child labor is particularly rampant in the fast fashion supply chain, where children work in slave-like conditions to satisfy consumer demand in developed countries.

Child labor does not only occur in desolate garment factories, but also on a large scale in the cotton industry, which supplies fast fashion factories. In fact, in countries like China, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan , governments actually sanction the removal of children from their schools and colleges to harvest the annual cotton crop. Throughout the cotton growing and harvesting process, children are constantly exposed to hazardous working conditions . They have to spray toxic fertilizers and pesticides, harvest and carry heavy loads of cotton by hand, inhale cotton dust in cotton ginning factories and reports show that child labor is being exploited in the manufacturing of clothing using cotton.

Pictured: Child laborers picking cotton by hand in Uzbekistan, a dangerous job that also prevents young children from receiving an adequate education. Children often work in extremely hot temperatures for up to 12 hours per day for less than a dollar per hour.

What can we do about it? Fast fashion creates the demand for cheap labor, however we are the ones who create demand for fast fashion. The only way to fight back is by promoting the slow fashion movement and eliminating the mass fashion consumption mentality. That means wearing and keeping your fashion longer, buying higher quality items that will last longer, buying pre-owned fashion and repairing or refashioning your dated garments . Instead of buying multiple throwaways, for the same money you can buy one pre-owned luxury item that you will keep and love for years. The difference in carbon footprint and clothing waste, especially over time and if thousands, or even millions of people do it, will be significant enough to disrupt the fast fashion industry.

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Home > A Day in the Life of a Fast Fashion Worker

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A Day in the Life of a Fast Fashion Worker

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By CODO Fashion Experts That cute top or pair of jeans you can buy for $20 has a serious impact on the environment. In fact, creating that pair of denim jeans releases as much carbon dioxide as driving a car 50 miles.

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Crude oil and other liquids produced from fossil fuels are refined into petroleum products that people use for many different purposes. Biofuels are also used as petroleum products, mostly in mixtures with gasoline and diesel fuel.

Petroleum has historically been the most-consumed energy source in terms of total annual U.S. energy consumption. We use petroleum products to propel vehicles, to heat buildings, and to produce electricity. In the industrial sector, the petrochemical industry uses petroleum as a raw material (a feedstock) to make products such as plastics, polyurethane, solvents, and hundreds of other intermediate and end-user goods.

In 2022, U.S. total petroleum consumption averaged about 20.28 million barrels per day (b/d), which included about 1.17 million b/d of biofuels (1.002 b/d of fuel ethanol and 0.164 b/d of biodiesel, renewable diesel, and other biofuels combined). ¹ U.S. total petroleum consumption was about 2% higher in 2022 than in 2021 and about 12% higher than in 2020, largely because the U.S. economy was returning to pre-COVID-19 pandemic activity levels. Consumption of nearly all petroleum products in 2022 was higher than in 2021.

What petroleum products do people consume most?

Gasoline is the most-consumed petroleum product in the United States. In 2022, consumption of finished motor gasoline averaged about 8.78 million b/d (369 million gallons per day), which was about 43% of total U.S. petroleum consumption. Finished motor gasoline includes fuel ethanol.

Distillate fuel oil is the second-most-consumed petroleum product in the United States. Distillate fuel oil includes diesel fuel and heating oil. Diesel fuel is used in diesel engines, which are often in heavy construction equipment, trucks, buses, tractors, boats, trains, some automobiles, and electricity generators. Heating oil, also called fuel oil, is used for heating homes and buildings in boilers and furnaces, for industrial heating, and for producing electricity in power plants. In 2022, total distillate fuel oil consumption averaged about 3.96 million b/d (166 million gallons per day), which was 20% of total U.S. petroleum consumption.

Hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGLs), the third-most-used category of petroleum in the United States, include propane, ethane, butane, and other HGLs that are produced at natural gas processing plants and oil refineries. HGLs have many uses. Total consumption of HGLs in 2022 averaged about 3.59 million b/d, accounting for about 18% of total petroleum consumption.

Jet fuel is the fourth-most-used petroleum product in the United States. Jet fuel consumption averaged about 1.56 million b/d (65 million gallons per day) in 2022, accounting for about 8% of total petroleum consumption.

Product

Annual consumption (million barrels per day)

Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Petroleum and Other Liquids-Product Supplied, as of June 2023
Note: Sum of individual products may not equal total because of independent rounding. Finished motor gasoline includes fuel ethanol. Biofuels includes biodiesel, renewable diesel, and other biofuels. Miscellaneous other products includes all finished petroleum products not classified elsewhere, including petrolatum, lube refining byproducts (aromatic extracts and tars), absorption oils, ram-jet fuel, petroleum rocket fuels, synthetic natural gas feedstocks, and specialty oils.

How much petroleum does the world consume?

In 2021, total world petroleum consumption was about 97.26 million b/d.

What is the outlook for U.S. petroleum consumption?

In the Annual Energy Outlook 2023 Reference case, the U.S. Energy Information Administration projects U.S. total consumption of petroleum and other liquids in 2050 to be nearly equal to the projection for 2023. Petroleum and other liquid fuels will decline from about 37% of total U.S. energy consumption in 2023 to about 34% of total annual U.S. energy consumption in 2050.

Also in the Reference case, liquid fuels continue as the main energy source for the transportation sector, but transportation sector liquid fuels consumption on an energy-content basis is projected to be about 10% lower in 2050 than in 2023.
Last updated: August 22, 2023, with data available from source reports as indicated; data for 2022 are preliminary.

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Use of oil - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

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The types and amounts of petroleum products consumed annually in the United States, and a list of the top 5 gasoline consuming states.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60867042

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The football fans who will soon arrive in Qatar for the World Cup finals will stay in hotels and watch matches in stadiums which were built by tens of thousands of migrant workers.
Qatar has come under intense scrutiny for the way it treats these workers.

Qatar has built seven stadiums for the World Cup finals as well as a new airport, metro system, series of roads and about 100 new hotels.

An entire city has been constructed around the stadium which will host the final match.

The number is based on figures provided by the countries' embassies in Qatar.

However, the Qatar government has said the total is misleading, because not all the deaths recorded were of people working on World Cup-related projects.

It said that many of those who died had worked in Qatar for several years, and could have died from old age or other natural causes.

However, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) says this is an underestimate. Qatar doesn't count deaths from heart attacks and respiratory failure as work-related - even though these are common symptoms of heatstroke, brought on from doing heavy labour in very high temperatures.

It has compiled its own figures for World Cup related incidents, collected from government-run hospitals and ambulance services in Qatar.

BBC Arabic has also gathered evidence which suggests Qatar's government has under-reported deaths amongst foreign labourers.

How are foreign workers treated?

Ever since Qatar won the rights to host the World Cup in 2010, human rights groups have criticised its treatment of foreign workers.

It said many workers lived in squalid accommodation, were forced to pay huge recruitment fees and had wages withheld and their passports confiscated.

Since 2017, the government has introduced measures to protect foreign labourers from working in very hot weather, limit their working hours, and improve the conditions in workers' camps.

Qatari companies used to operate a system called "kafala", under which they sponsored foreign workers to come to the country but then prevented them from leaving their jobs.

Working in conjunction with the ILO, the Qatari government has introduced a number of reforms.

These include a wage protection scheme designed to ensure employers pay their staff on time.

A government spokesperson told the BBC its reforms are improving the working conditions of most foreign labourers in Qatar.

"Significant progress to ensure the reforms are effectively enforced has been made," said the spokesperson.

"The number of rule-breaking companies will continue to decline as enforcement measures take hold."

The issue is likely to remain in the spotlight during the finals.

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World Cup 2022: How has Qatar treated foreign workers?

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Qatar has been criticised for the treatment of foreign workers who built its World Cup facilities.

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Fair play, fair pay, Fairtrade. Angus Coull explores how Bala's Fairtrade sport balls are transforming lives as they "bounce" from Pakistan to the UK.

On 10 July, Glasgow's George Square will be transformed into an open, accessible venue for 64 teams from 52 countries to compete against each other in the 2016 Homeless World Cup. The free week-long event is bound to attract over 100,000 spectators, with many more watching the tournament via live streaming online.

At this life changing tournament, just about every shot of action is sure to feature a Bala sport ball bearing the FAIRTRADE Mark. Yes, it will be the first time when a sport tournament of this calibre will be played with Fairtrade balls. This is a fantastic legacy for the Fairtrade movement and a major step forward in bringing Fairtrade sports balls out of the doldrums and into the mainstream on a worldwide scale.
A ball can change lives
Mel Young, the Homeless World Cup co-founder, has transformed the impact football can have on the lives of homeless people around the world. In line with his message "a ball can change lives", 77% of the men and women who were homeless because of a range of issues have turned around their lives thanks to street football programmes and participating in the Homeless World Cup.

Last summer during my trip to Amsterdam, I witnessed those transformations and the impact the Homeless World Cup event has on its participants. It was emotional to watch women and men play football, all having experienced some of the worst things life can throw at us. They proudly lined up representing their nation in an international football tournament, and despite being of mixed ability and agility on the park they all played their very best. There was definitely a sense of pride in their teams and of that all-important self-esteem and confidence.
Meanwhile in Pakistan...
Fairtrade has had an equally significant impact on the lives of the men and women behind the sport balls - the football makers. The football workers and stitchers behind the Bala sport balls work at Fairtrade-certified factories in Sialkot, Pakistan, where 70% of the world's hand-stitched footballs are made.

Each year, around 40 million footballs are made in Sialkot - this rises to around 60 million in a World Cup year. Despite this, football makers, like many workers in developing countries, are often forgotten across the supply chain, living in poverty, working in poor conditions and earning low wages.

Last October, I visited our workers in Sialkot and I saw first-hand once again the impact of Fairtrade. As well as earning viable wages and working in safe conditions with access to union representation, the workers at both factories and rural hand-stitching centres used by Bala Sport receive the extra Fairtrade Premium, a 10% cash sum. Then, they decide amongst themselves how to invest the Premium money.

Free eye tests, subsidised treatment and free diabetes checks, as well as free transport to and from work, are some of the projects funded by the Fairtrade Premium. Administered by the Fairtrade Joint Body, which includes an equal amount of men and women, these projects are a vital boost to the workers' incomes.

One of the most impressive projects that is part funded by the Premium are water purification plants at both factories used by Bala Sport. In Pakistan, the vast majority of the population do not have access to drinkable water and so these plants, built outside the factory gates, have been made available for both the workers and people living in the area.

Although the number of Fairtrade sports balls sold across the world has a long way to go to match that of Fairtrade food products, and so the amount of Premium generated is much smaller, Fairtrade certainly makes a difference for the football makers, and gives their children a better future.

Meet the workers and stitchers from Sialkot featured in a short film that the Fairtrade Foundation has recently produced for schools:
Short film about the workers and stitchers from Sialkot Fair play for everybody
Football is the world's most popular game, and one that unites people around the world. This sense of togetherness will certainly be present on the courts at the 2016 Homeless World Cup in Glasgow. And we are both honoured and delighted to be part of it.

The partnership with the tournament is a perfect fit for us. Fairtrade sport balls mean that the fairness and respect towards players and fans that is encouraged by football governing bodies is extended to the football makers. And that the values championed by Fairtrade - justice, equality and empathy - will be mirrored on the field.

But, most importantly, this wonderful tournament will help improve people's lives - both the players, and for the first time, the football makers. Watch it, engage with it - for some fair play, great action and great camaraderie.
Did you know?
The Homeless World Cup ball, the Bala Astro, was developed specially for the championship in consultation with CEO of Street Soccer Scotland, David Duke and his team. It is a tougher multi-surface version of the Bala Team ball, hand stitched in a durable PU material, made to the same standards as FIFA balls. All Bala balls are designed in Glasgow by Reflex Blue.

Bala Sport is the official partner of the 2016 Homeless World Cup.
Find out more about Bala Sport

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Fairtrade footballs make history at the 2016 Homeless World Cup - Fairtrade Foundation

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Fair play, fair pay, Fairtrade. Angus Coull explores how Bala's Fairtrade sport balls are transforming lives as they "bounce" from Pakistan to the UK. On 10 July, Glasgow's George Square will be transformed into an open, accessible venue for 64 teams from 52 countries to compete against each other in the 2016 Homeless World Cup.

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Madrid to Host Homeless World Cup Event and NEW Spanish Member country introduced

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Back of the net! Football fashion goes green

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From shirts made from recycled plastic to Fairtrade balls, supporting your team sustainably is easier than ever

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Welcome to Britannica School, a safe, up-to-date, and age-appropriate information resource for Elementary, Middle, and High School.

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Are electric car companies lying to you?

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Are electric car companies lying to you?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75JQTSFOy-Q

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Why Electric Cars Companies Are Lying To You

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFHvq-8np1o

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Gravitas Plus: The dark side of Electric Vehicles

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Clothing industry - Wikipedia

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The first true automobile was a machine that had three wheels and was powered by steam. It was built by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot of France in 1769. It was heavy and moved very slowly.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KESJk7c-VE

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The ugly truth about the cosmetics industry

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https://youtu.be/YhPPP_w3kNo

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What is the Clothing Industry? (with pictures)

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For most individuals all around the world, fashion is a fascinating subject. Fashion follows a person wherever they go. There is a lot to learn from deciding what to wear for the day to walking down the street and looking at what others are wearing, passing by fashion magazine stands, following fashion trends and accounts on various social media platforms, and copying favourite style icons about fashion. Fashion, like everything else, evolves with time.

In this context, we get an idea of How Fashion Industry Changed Over Time?

Fashion Industry Changed Over Time

Clothing was created to address the essential requirement for body covering, providing warmth or coolness, protection, and maintaining one's modesty in its original form, but it has evolved to more sophis~cated forms. Clothing is now utilised to express oneself aesthetically, draw attention to oneself, enhance bodily attributes, conceal insecurities, and display attractiveness. The invention of body covering by man laid the groundwork for the development of contemporary clothing. There is evidence that man's earliest clothes were made from twigs from tree branches, leaves, and even the hides and skins of hunted animals.

Clothing has also been utilized to signify man's religious views and inclinations, as well as the location he occupies, throughout history. Clothing has also been used to convey a people's political, cultural, and social ideals. Following the discovery of new raw materials in the textile industry, evolution has occurred as a result of man's desire to make products that provide him with better service in terms of garment structure and function.

Factors Impact on Fashion

Many factors have an impact on fashion. Location, era, financial capacity, personal taste, occupation, social occasion, gender, and other cultural and personal preferences all influence how clothing appears. Fashion allows you to express yourself in a variety of ways. Even in nations and eras where clothing choices are limited in terms of the amount of skin displayed, a person can sell experiments with colours, designs, and mix and match their clothes to suit their preferences and skills.

Fashion Industry Changed Over Time. Certain cultural boundaries, celebrities, trends, and what makes one stand out can all impact a person's dress choices. Students nowadays make it a point to plan out and design their college clothing before the school year begins. Most working adults who are not required to wear uniforms prefer to plan their outfits for the entire week ahead of time so that they are not concerned about what they will wear to work each morning.

Visiting tailors and seamstresses was the norm prior to the late nineteenth century. Clothes are tailored to an individual's body proportion rather than purchased in stores. Every item of clothes a person wore was designed precisely for them. This increased the cost of clothing, but it did not have a significant impact on the environment.

Sustainable Fashion

Sustainable fashion is the most popular in today's fashion world. Mass production is no longer acceptable, and consumers are urging others to abandon their devotion to firms that refuse to help save the environment. Consumers are becoming more concerned about what they buy, and ethical fashion companies that recycle plastic or unsold garments into new clothing are becoming more popular. Fashion has progressed from a necessity to something used for aesthetic purposes. Things are bound to turn out well in this new landscape that consumers have created for the fashion industry.

Advancement of Textile Production

Textile production began with the development of technology and techniques for converting plant and animal fibres, such as flax, wool, or cotton, into fabrics. It takes a lot of labour and skill to separate these raw materials into individual strands and tie them together to make fabrics. It is a complex, time-consuming craft that necessitates expertise and dedication. This is why it is considered artistic craftwork.

As expected, the first technological advances in the textile industry are focused on the processing and production of textile fibres. Textile processing tools made of wood or bone are used to combine, braid, or cut fibres into yarns and then into fabrics for clothing production.

Because the knotting and braiding processes were time-consuming and limited, our forefathers learned to spin, allowing them to produce more yarn in less time, with better quality and greater complexity. The invention of automatic spinning machines in the textile industry resulted in unprecedented productivity and agility, allowing for increased production. Numerous technological advances in machinery have revolutionized the fashion industry.

The majority of the advancements were in the areas of fibre extraction and processing, fabric manufacturing, and sewing machines. Technological advancements such as the development of artificial fibres, and nylon, as well as new dyeing and fabric cuffing processes, have given designers more creative flexibility. This symbolizes the beginning of fashion as we know it today, as well as the age that would elevate the fashion designer to a prestigious figure with respect and social standing.

With the idea of mass production, the twentieth century ushered in a new era in fashion. Initially established with the goal of producing military uniforms in Europe, it gradually spread to the rest of the industry, speeding up industrial automa~on. Fashion became a source of trends, and the emergence of ready-to-wear items changed our connection with clothing.

Many advancements, like laser cuffing, 3D printing, artificial intelligence, and robots, were made possible by digital technologies, which allowed for the automation and digitization of many production processes, transforming fashion design.

Automated Fabric Cutting Room

From fabric weaving decisions to size designs, from digital printing, laser cutters, and embroidery machines, all of these operations became totally automated with the introduction of Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM).

The ease with which computer technology enables more creative use of colours, forms, and patterns, extending the product lifecycle across the supply and production chains by displaying specific pattern needs such as seams, print layouts, fabric cuts, and colours.

The growing use of 3D design and digital technology is reshaping processes ranging from product design and development to supply and production chains, as well as distribution and sales of fashion items, while also empowering marketing activities. Design and production streamlining allows organizations to operate more swiftly and precisely, decreasing manufacturing costs and shortening the produc~on cycle.

The integrated use of digital technologies is driving a dramatic shi~ in corporate culture that necessitates the constant challenge of the status quo, stimulating brands to rethink their relationship with their consumers, disrupting the supply chain and reshaping apparel manufacturing, paving the way for more sustainable fabrics and production methods.
Fashion Industry Changed Over Time 1800-2020

Conclusion

Finally, the fashion industry will always be one of the best, largest, and most innovative in the world. The fact that fashion is a necessity ensures that the industry will never be considered obsolete. As a result, it will only continue to improve and revamp outdated looks in order to make it modern again.

Fashion will never go out of style, with so many people prioritizing self-expression these days. Fashion will continue to evolve and grow as long as there are people to dress and stylists who can find new ways to reinvent an old style. Fashion's evolution will always be exciting because it is an industry full of promise and limitless creativity. And the textile industry will continue to make strides in the manufacturing industry.

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How Has The Fashion Industry Changed Over Time?

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For most individuals all around the world, fashion is a fascinating subject. Fashion follows a person wherever they go. There is a lot to learn from deciding what to wear for the day to walking down the street and looking at what others are wearing, passing by fashion magazine stands, following fashion trends and accounts on various social media platforms, and copying favourite style icons about fashion.

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The dark side of the automotive industry

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The dark side of the automotive industry

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Have you ever spread ash across your eyelids? How about beeswax on your fingernails? Have you ever helped someone put white on their face? How about berry juice on their cheeks?

No? Okay, those aren't common practices today. But many centuries ago, people used these and many more ingredients as .

The earliest known users of were the ancient Egyptians. They used many plants and as . Some of the most common ingredients were almonds, copper, , and ash. They also used oils to protect their skin from the Sun.

Later, people in China and Japan used rice powder as . They also used henna dyes in their hair, as many people still do today. Chinese people also painted their fingernails. Their differently colored nails marked their social class.

In ancient Greece, women used white paint on their faces. They were also the first to use crushed berries to color their cheeks. Some people in Greece also wore fake eyebrows made of oxen hair.

has changed over the centuries. Today, people who use may not know everything that's in it. However, companies do have to follow rules about the ingredients they use. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has to approve all ingredients.

So, what IS modern made from? Most products have between 15 and 50 ingredients. Almost all of them have water, oil, and wax. The water other ingredients. This helps them mix together. Oil and wax help go on smoothly. They're both also often used to help skin stay soft.

Many other go into . Normally, an emulsifier is included. That's a chemical that makes oil and water mix. Most also has preservatives . Just like in food, these keep the usable longer. There are many that can do either of these jobs. Since people react to differently, many have to be careful about which products they buy.

Of course, most types of also have a coloring agent. Have you ever seen pink, red, or purple lipstick? How about blue or green eyeshadow? Any with a color contains a coloring agent. These come from , plants, and even animals.

Today, many people are paying closer attention to what goes in . Some buy "all-natural" . That means it isn't made from artificial ingredients. Others are turning to . To be , it can't use anything that comes from animals.

Okay, so can be made of many different things. How do you know what's in each bottle? Your best bet is to read the label. If you see anything in the ingredients list that you're not sure about, learn more about it.

Have you ever used ? Are there any ingredients that you look for? What about the ones you avoid? ingredients affect everyone differently. You should always be careful about what you put on your skin!

NGSS.PS1.A, CCRA.L.3, CCRA.L.6, CCRA.R.4, CCRA.R.1, CCRA.R.2, CCRA.W.2, CCRA.W.9, CCRA.L.1, CCRA.L.2, CCRA.R.4, CCRA.R.10, CCRA.W.4, CCRA.SL.1, CCRA.SL.2

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Have you ever spread ash across your eyelids? How about beeswax on your fingernails? Have you ever helped someone put white on their face? How about berry juice on their cheeks? No? Okay, those aren't common practices today. But many centuries ago, people used these and many more ingredients as .

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As you may have already noticed, finding sustainable, eco-friendly clothing materials and sharing them here has become one of my passions. In my hunt for these materials, besides sustainability and eco-friendliness, I also make sure to keep in mind another very important factor: ethics. For me, an ideal material is one that meets the three green commandments: sustainable, eco-friendly, and ethical, and there's one specific material that doesn't seem to get along very well with those factors: leather.

Ethics is the factor we question the most when it comes to this popular and controversial material. Although we dived into the world of vegan leather a while ago, we missed answering a common question about its counterpart: is leather ethical? Is leather even sustainable? Let's provide some answers!

Where does animal leather come from?

Animal leather has been used ever since humans began to dress, and now it's basically a globally traded commodity. From leather jackets to leather-covered books, this material is present in the homes of millions of people around the world. But where does leather come from?

Traditional leather can come from many animals. However, the majority of leather produced today ( about 65%) comes from cows, more specifically, cattle hides. There is also sheep, goat, and pig leather, courtesy of the cruel and unethical meat industry. Still, there's also leather from animals that are raised exclusively for their skins, such as snakes, alligators, ostriches, or even kangaroos. Ugh. More on this last atrocious point later.

As for where the leather comes from, most of it comes from developing countries like India and farms in China, where there are zero penalties for abusing animals on farms. It's also produced in Italy, South Korea, Argentina, Brazil, the U.S, and Russia, but India and China top the list. To be completely honest, that's where animal ethics are pretty much non-existent. While we're at it, let's discuss ethical issues with genuine leather.

Ethical Issues with Real Animal Leather

Animal leather can come from many different types of animals. When made from cows, it is usually sourced as a byproduct of the meat industry, which gives use to cow skin that otherwise would be discarded or destroyed. Once the skin is removed from the animal, it must be cleaned of flesh and then tanned. Tanning is the chemical process by which animal skin is coloured, made more durable, and made less decomposable through restructuring the natural protein structure in the animal skin.

Leather's impact on people

Studies done on leather-tannery workers in Sweden and Italy revealed that cancer risk was "between 20% and 50% above expected." The standard chemicals in tanning include chrome, ammonium salts, and arsenic. These are toxic through inhalation or through its irresponsible disposal, leading to runoff into public water sources, affecting communities near the tanneries as well as the employees.

Leather's impact on animals

As has been publicized more recently, the meat industry is not a happy experience for the livestock. So even if the cattle for leather would have been slaughtered regardless, when one buys by-product leather from unethical cattle farms, one is still condoning animal abuse.

Animals raised solely for leather production, mostly exotic animals, are raised and caged in horrendous conditions. For example, as reported by the Los Angeles Times and cited by PETA, one Georgia farmer had 10,000 alligators living in four buildings. According to the Los Angeles Times, "undreds and hundreds of alligators fill every inch of each room." Animals for leather are killed prematurely because they only need to reach a certain size.

Alligators, for example, are killed at age 2 for leather but live in the wild for up to 50 years. Fetal leather is leather from fetuses that are cut out of the womb for the extremely soft texture of their skin; this is mostly done to cows and sheep.

Leather is sometimes made from animals that have been skinned alive. This is most common in reptiles. In one skinning practice, snakes are nailed to a tree, pumped with air, and then skinned, all before dying. Alligators are sometimes skinned and then still alive two hours after the process. Even cows can sometimes be bled out and dismembered without being fully unconscious.

Are animals raised and killed specifically for leather?

Cows are rarely raised specifically for leather as it's only worth about 5% of the overall value of the cow. However, as I mentioned above, there are animals that are raised only for their skin. Exotic animals are only slaughtered for leather because the other parts of the animal have virtually no value.

The real value of these exotic animals lies in the fact that they're clearly not common. Cows are everywhere. They can reproduce easily and are evenly balanced in the supply-demand scale. On the other hand, there's a lot of demand for exotic animals, but little supply. Processing these skins requires elaborate methods, the animals are rare, and they are usually not as large as cows.

Of course, none of this justifies killing an animal. Raising animals just to kill them to wear their skins is one of the worst human whims, and that's precisely why we should start making the switch to ethical leather.

Is all Real Leather Byproduct of the Meat Industry?

When it comes to cow leather, yes, it's usually a byproduct of the meat industry. If leather only constitutes 5% of the total value of the cow, it wouldn't make sense to throw away the other 95% of the cow. So, are cows killed just for leather? Not really, but there are places where the birth, life, and death of cows are traumatic. The factor of whether or not it is a byproduct of the meat industry matters little compared to the animal cruelty factor. If you haven't seen videos of PETA going into a cow or exotic animal farms, DON'T WATCH THEM, but I'll just say that they are hard-hitting, to say the least.

Either way, is it ethical to use a material of animal origin when the breeding and death of it were merely for food? If you're a dedicated vegan, of course, you won't consider it ethical. But if you are a person who wishes to continue using real leather, those that truly are a byproduct of the meat industry, you might consider it a bit more ethical. If you want to opt for the last route, don't worry. Later in this post, I'll mention brands that use real ethical leather, no greenwashing nor animal cruelty allowed.

Is making leather from Wild-Caught Animals Ethical?

Deers are heading in the direction of overpopulation in both Europe and the U.S. They are not in danger of extinction (a factor that exists in exotic leather production), but does that mean making leather from wild-caught deer ethical? If we take into consideration the fact that if deers do become overpopulated, they can end up unbalancing the ecosystem or simply dying from starvation, can I say that it is more ethical? I am not sure...

Also, many impoverished rural communities in South America, Indonesia, Australia, and near the Nile River in Africa make their ends meet by hunting local wildlife for leather production. But if killing animals for any reason crosses your ethical line, then wild-caught deer and other wild animal's leather is still not ethical.

Can animal leather ever be considered ethical?

Going by my previous example, a vegan person will most likely consider any type of animal leather as unethical, but a non-vegan person may consider animal leather ethical if it's a byproduct of cruelty-free farms. The answer to the question "can animal leather ever be considered ethical?" depends on whom you ask, but if you ask me, I would say that as long as the leather is 100% a byproduct of proven cruelty-free farms, it has a point in the ethics department.

What Types of Leathers Are Ethical and Sustainable?

Would you believe me if I told you that the fruit salad you make as an afternoon snack might contain one or two vegan leather ingredients? And what if I told you there are leathers made from Italy's favourite alcoholic beverage? Yes, there are many types of ethical and sustainable leathers with unexpected origins, but those that meet the ethical and sustainable qualities fall into the same category: vegan leather. Allow me to dispel any skepticism you may have by introducing you to a few vegan types of leather:

Apple skin leather: Believe it or not, apples are our first protagonist in the world of vegan leather. Made from apple peels and cores, this innovative bio-based alternative was created in 2008 by Frutmat. This Italian company decided to recycle waste from the apple juice and apple compote industry to create an ethical and sustainable material. You can find it in notebooks, clothes, handbags, and many other leather goods.

Pineapple leather (Piñatex): As if apples were not enough, from Ananas Anam comes Piñatex, a vegan leather made from the fiber of pineapple leaves. Many environmentalists and famous brands like Hugo Boss believe it's the future of eco-friendly fashion because Piñatex requires no water, fertilizers, or additional land for its production, and, honestly, so do I. Plus, the residue that remains as biomass after processing the material can be used as fertilizer. What more could we ask for?

Cork leather: If, in addition to the traditional leather-like appearance, you need resistance, waterproof qualities, and lightweight, vegan leather made from cork is for you. Its origin comes from the bark of the cork tree, which is periodically stripped in sections without cutting or damaging the tree in any way, shape, or form. But the best thing about this alternative is not only its characteristics, but it's also the fact that it is a super sustainable material. What do I mean by that? Well, stripping the bark of the tree encourages its regeneration process, increasing the tree's lifespan. How cool is that?

Mushroom leather: Food seems to be topping this list, and I love it! In addition to fruits, mushrooms also work as a source for vegan leathers, and Bolt Threads proved it. They developed Mylo, a soft, antibacterial leather made from the caps of the Phellinus ellipsoideus mushroom that can grow in small spaces and biodegrade. Will the fungi kingdom become the flagship of sustainable and ethical leathers? We hope so!

Wine leather (VEGEA): Did you know that Italy is a leading wine exporter? Yup, and apparently, it's also a leading vegan leather creator since they achieved the impossible: creating a leather made from wine! This is not a drill. An architect named Gianpiero Tessitore created VEGEA, a sustainable and ethical leather made of leftover grape skins and seeds after winemaking. Zero harmful chemicals, zero pollution or water waste, and zero animal abuse, that's what I'm talking about!

Brands that use Ethical Leather in their products.

ABLE, an affordable ethical brand uses leather, which is a byproduct of the meat industry and minimizes their waste by making small leather goods out of leather scraps. Their tanneries in Ethiopia follow strict safety and ethical guidelines and use 100% recycled water in their tanning process. And if you can't make it to their store in Nashville, you can order online and receive your item in their 100% recyclable and repurposed packaging.

Nisolo is a groundbreaking ethical and sustainable fashion brand, they exemplify transparency and educate readers on why other fashion companies have contributed so much to environmental degradation. You can donate your shoes to souls to soles through their website, an organization that refurbishes and recirculates your unwanted shoes. Their leather is not vegan but is sourced from tanneries that use vegetable-based tanning solutions without toxins and follow ethical and sustainable social and environmental production guidelines.

Christy Dawn leather goods only use upcycled leather and purposefully design each piece with timeless style so that you would never consider exchanging them for a newer style. Not only do they made some of the most beautiful dresses, but they are also leaders in regenerative agriculture.

Hozen is a female-founded company that puts the earth first, using only vegan leather for all of its products, it's why we included them in our sustainable backpack roundup! The items are small-scale manufactured in Los Angeles, guarantee fair wages, and are guaranteed cruelty-free by PETA. Additionally, 10% of profits are donated to mercy for animals.

Vejas takes responsibility for every single step (hello sustainable sneakers) of their leather production. They have cow leather fed only native vegetation, vegan leather options, and tilapia leather made from discarded Tilapia parts! Crazy, I know! All of their leather products are vegetable-tanned and 100% Chrome-free.

While Looking For Ethical Leather Is Like Finding A Diamond In The Rough It Can Be Done!

Finding true ethical leather is not an easy task as not many brands are transparent when it comes to their suppliers. However, the best alternatives can come from the most unexpected sources. Who would've thought that vegan leather made from fruit or mushrooms could exist? Those are excellent alternatives! But while their use spreads in the mainstream industry (there are only a few brands that use vegan leather nowadays), the best we can do is to get our leather products from reliable sources.

Last but not least, if for some reason you still continue to buy furniture or clothing made of leather without verifying their source of origin, I encourage you to ask yourself this question that I had to ask myself a few years ago: how can I connect with nature while simultaneously wearing clothes and buying things that destroy it? We have to be a little more conscious and responsible with our purchases since the future of wildlife and the environment is in our hands, don't you think?

If you found this post helpful, please help someone by sharing this article - sharing is caring 🙂 !

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Is Leather Ethical? The Full Story Behind The Popular Material - The Eco Hub

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As you may have already noticed, finding sustainable, eco-friendly clothing materials and sharing them here has become one of my passions. In my hunt for these materials, besides sustainability and eco-friendliness, I also make sure to keep in mind another very important factor: ethics.

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Famous luxury fashion brands-Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Michael Kors, and dozens of others-had more than 5,600 items made from illegal wildlife products seized by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service at U.S. ports of entry from 2003 through 2013, National Geographic has learned from researchers who recently published their work in the journal EcoHealth.

The analysis doesn't implicate luxury fashion companies in intentionally smuggling illegal goods, nor does it say which companies may be linked to more recent illegal imports; since 2013 the U.S. government no longer discloses to the public the names of businesses importing wildlife products, a move that's been challenged in court.

But lead researcher Monique Sosnowski, a doctoral student in criminal justice at the City University of New York (CUNY), says the seizures spotlight a lack of adequate controls throughout the entire supply chain. "We're not trying to point out Gucci and be like, 'You're so awful for using these things,' but [rather] point out this mass system failure," she says. "There's all these protections in place, but these companies [were] still somehow importing goods that are illegal."

For their analysis, Sosnowski and Gohar Petrossian, a criminologist at CUNY, used the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to obtain seizure records from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from 2003 through 2013. They identified 474 luxury fashion-related seizures comprising 5,607 individual items, nearly 70 percent of which were exotic leather products. Reptiles accounted for 84 percent of all items, many of which were belts, watch bands, wallets, shoes, and purses.

Those numbers almost certainly understate the gravity of the problem. Law enforcement studies routinely find that U.S. officials manage to interdict fewer than one in 10 illegal wildlife shipments, notes Bruce Weissgold, a former reptile trade intelligence analyst and senior international trade specialist at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The CUNY study, published in January, reveals that despite multiple layers of control by countries and companies, illegal wildlife products have tainted the supply chains of some of the most prominent fashion brands in the world, whether or not the fashion companies were aware. Though the study focuses on law enforcement records from 2003 through 2013, aggregate figures from 2008 through 2019 analyzed by Sosnowski indicate that wildlife trafficking remains a serious problem in the U.S. More than 4,000 shipments of illegal wildlife products were seized last year.

Molly Morse, a spokesperson for LVMH, which owns a number of companies on the list-including Louis Vuitton, Loro Piana, Marc Jacobs, Christian Dior, Givenchy, and Fendi-said in an email that the seizures connected to LVMH "were many years ago and generally related to paperwork and labelling processes."

"We have rigorous internal training and processes in order to comply with all regulations...and we are in ongoing contact with regulators around the world regarding emerging laws," Morse said.

Neha Wadhwa, a spokesperson for Ralph Lauren, called the company's inclusion on the list of seizures "misleading and flawed," adding in an email, "We have a long history and commitment to animal welfare. We were one of the first luxury brands to ban fur nearly 15 years ago, and remain committed to ensure all species are sustainably sourced."

Representatives from Michael Kors, Jil Sander, and Coach did not respond to requests for comment about the seizures. The Kering Group, which owns Gucci and other companies cited, including Alexander McQueen, Bottega Veneta, and Yves Saint Laurent, acknowledged National Geographic's query, but ultimately did not provide comments.

Though most companies did not comment on the seized products, many have corporate social responsibility policies in place that promote traceability, animal welfare, and sustainable use of wildlife, and some have banned the use of certain wildlife products.

Household names

The CUNY team omitted the names of the companies linked to the seizures from their paper published in EcoHealth because, Sosnowski said, the purpose of sharing research in scientific journals is not to name or shame parties who may have been associated with illegal activities-whether they're countries, companies, or individuals-but rather to identify larger trends. Sosnowski says she shared the list with National Geographic exclusively to "bring the issue closer to home" for consumers.

According to the official seizure records, Ralph Lauren accounted for 29 percent of the seized items, followed by Gucci (16 percent), Michael Kors (10 percent), Jil Sander (6 percent), and Coach (5 percent). Gucci had the highest number of individual seizure incidents-50-followed by Yves Saint Laurent at 41.

International trade data shows that 11.7 million products made from reptiles were imported into the U.S. from 2003 to 2013, meaning that the 5,607 luxury fashion seizures reported in the study represent just 48 out of every 100,000 imported items made from reptiles, says Daniel Natusch, a conservation biologist at Macquarie University, in Australia, and member of several reptile specialist groups and the Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the body that sets the conservation status of wild animals.

Wildlife products, including exotic leathers and fur, are often used in high fashion, though an increasing number of companies have sworn off their use in response to pressure from consumers concerned about animal welfare and conservation. Diane von Furstenberg, Chanel, and Jil Sander, among others, no longer use exotic leathers. Stella McCartney, Versace, Michael Kors, and Gucci are among brands that no longer use fur. The fashion industry often defends its use of legal wildlife products by saying those goods support livelihoods. They also say their efforts are crucial for conservation because they provide an economic incentive to manage and protect species and their habitats for sustainable use.

As in many industries engaged in the trade of wildlife and wildlife products-which range from exotic pets and timber to health supplements and traditional medicines-the legal and illegal often exist side by side. And there are many ways that illegal products or practices can enter the supply chain in the fashion industry.

In some exporting countries where animals used in the fashion industry originate, including Indonesia and Malaysia, there is ample evidence of corrupt officials giving cover to illegally acquired wildlife by issuing legal permits to exporters. That makes it "virtually impossible to know whether the shoes in the shipping crate are of legal origin," says Weissgold, the former reptile trade intelligence analyst at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Another common violation is when animals illegally captured in the wild are mislabeled as "captive bred."

While some companies have made efforts to improve their wildlife-related practices, Weissgold says more must be done. "Given their resources, reach, and expertise, I believe it is incumbent upon fashion companies to be good corporate citizens," Weissgold says. "They have a unique position to influence their suppliers."

Some seized products are from endangered animals

Nearly 58 percent of the seizures documented in the EcoHealth report pertained to animals caught in the wild rather than those bred in captivity on farms.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which regulates country-to-country wildlife trade, strictly bans the trade in 13 of at least 60 species that were identified in the seizures. They include Nile crocodiles and broad-snouted caimans, unless they're captive-bred with proper permits. Two species-the saiga antelope and the Siamese crocodile-are critically endangered. Researchers estimate that only between 500 and 1,000 Siamese crocodiles remain in the wetlands of Southeast Asia.

CITES affords different levels of protection for species depending on how threatened they are. In cases where trade is allowed, countries are supposed to grant export permits only if scientific evidence shows that trade won't undermine the animals' survival in the wild.

Thirty-six of the species, including reticulated pythons, are listed as species of "least concern"-in other words, not in danger of extinction-but most of the others, including African rock pythons, sunbeam snakes, and several species of cobra, have not been assessed by the IUCN or granted protections under CITES. It's not known how many of these animals are left in the wild, whether their populations are increasing or decreasing, or whether trading them is sustainable.

"The fact that more than 50 percent of the seizures made were of animals taken from the wild should set off some alarm bells," says Chris Shepherd, executive director of Monitor, a nonprofit group that works to reduce illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade. "Very little is known of the status of many of these species in the wild, and therefore the impact of the illegal trade-and the legal trade, for that matter-is largely unknown."

The data also revealed the international nature of wildlife trade, Sosnowski says, and the fact that illegal products often cross multiple borders before being discovered. More than half the U.S. seizures were imports from Italy, France, and Switzerland, though most of the animal products originated in Southeast Asia.

Only a fraction of illegal products get caught

U.S. enforcement officials estimate that only 10 percent of illegally imported wildlife products are even confiscated, according to Weissgold, the retired Fish and Wildlife Service agent. As a result, "It's a 'buyer beware' world," he says. "You can never be 100 percent sure that the product you're purchasing has been legally acquired."

Natusch disagrees. "These are some of the world's largest and most responsible companies, with a significant brand image to protect," he says.

Natusch believes most of the 5,607 seizures cited in the study were likely mistakes by the exporting or importing companies-"paper violations, clerical errors, or simple and perfectly reasonable misunderstandings," such as a company forgetting to declare shell buttons on a blouse.

Weissgold, for his part, says that based on his nearly 25 years of experience working as an intelligence analyst at a federal enforcement agency, paperwork violations are "quite symbolic of large-scale fraud in the industry."

When you pair that with a U.S. judicial system that has high standards of proof, "wildlife inspectors are frequently just staring into a crate without any idea what can be done about it," Weissgold says.

Animal welfare concerns

Even when trade in animal products for the fashion industry is legal, there are still animal welfare concerns, Weissgold says. A 2016 investigation carried out by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an advocacy organization known for sometimes controversial tactics, concluded that Vietnamese farms that allegedly supplied crocodile skins to a tannery owned by LVMH confined crocodiles for up to 15 months in small concrete cages before slaughtering them for skins. PETA investigators videotaped tannery workers severing the crocodiles' spines-paralyzing them but not killing them-before skinning them alive.

Asked about the PETA investigation for this story, LVMH did not dispute the findings, but said that by 2016, Heng Long, the Singapore-based tannery in question, no longer sourced crocodiles from the Vietnamese farms featured in the PETA video.

Shepherd, of the Monitor group, says inhumane treatment and suffering is the norm for captured wildlife in Southeast Asian countries. Another investigation, carried out by PETA, found that snakes are commonly skinned alive. Karl Ammann, an investigative filmmaker, documented large-scale "laundering" of wild-caught reptiles, a process in which suppliers falsely passed off wild animals as captive-bred in Laos, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Ammann also recorded pythons and water monitors being hit on the head with hammers and skinned alive in Indonesia. A 2013 report by the Swiss Federal Veterinary Office on the reptile skin trade concluded that many methods for killing the animals-including decapitation, freezing, heating, suffocation, drowning, and cutting jugular veins-were inhumane.

In 2019, LVMH launched a certification system for crocodile farms in an attempt to strengthen its ability to trace skins and track animal welfare. Other companies have gone even further.

In 2018, Diane von Furstenberg banned the use of exotic skins in its products, and Chanel did the same two months later, citing the difficulty of obtaining ethically sourced products. Jil Sander followed suit.

In several opinion pieces, Natusch and others, however, have condemned exotic skin bans as well-meant but "too simplistic" and "not supported by evidence." He and other researchers are working with companies including the Kering Group, which owns Gucci and other luxury fashion houses, in an effort to better control the supply chain.

In 2017, the Kering Group opened a python farm in Thailand, to provide a sustainable, more humane source of skins, a company representative told the Guardian at the time. The group also continues to source animals from the wild.

Four years earlier, the Kering Group teamed up with the IUCN's Boa and Python Specialist Group and the International Trade Center, a multilateral agency with joint mandates from the World Trade Organization and United Nations, to launch a group called the Python Conservation Partnership. The Partnership's mission is to improve sustainability of the python trade and promote transparency, animal welfare, and local livelihoods.

The first of several reports commissioned by the Python Conservation Partnership between 2014 and 2016 recommended replacing all the methods used to kill pythons in China, Thailand, and Vietnam-including decapitation, drowning, and taping snakes' mouths and anuses shut and then using an air compressor to pump air into their bodies-with less cruel practices. Another report from Indonesia and Malaysia by the same group in 2016 concluded that assertions about inhumane python-slaughter practices in in those countries "cannot be substantiated" because traders destroy snakes' brains before skinning them.

All three of the reports concluded that wild harvesting and farming of pythons can be sustainable and support local livelihoods, aiding conservation by giving people who catch pythons in the wild an incentive to protect reptiles and their habitats.

"Without the luxury industry, many of the species being used would be in a much worse position," says Natusch, who co-authored the Python Conservation Partnership reports. "The benefits of this trade far outweigh any negatives."

The Indonesia and Malaysia report did confirm, though, that python skins are illegally traded between Southeast Asian countries at significant levels, and that misuse of international permits allows for laundering wild-caught animals by labeling them as "captive-bred." The study found that the high levels of illegal trade are fueled by poverty and the opportunity presented by abundant python populations. The authors also said that the trade quotas are excessively restrictive and suggest either increasing or eliminating them.

Jon Paul Rodriguez, chair of the IUCN's Species Survival Commission, defends the group's funding from industry groups as a common practice in science. The sustainable use of wildlife is one of his organization's pillars, he says, and IUCN researchers are required to adhere to an evidence-based approach, regardless of who funds the study. "You cannot buy the science," he says. "My mantra as chair is always evidence first."

All IUCN publications, including those funded by the Kering Group, also undergo an internal peer review, he adds. "Like any scientific paper, [these are] available for others to contradict if they have better evidence."

Critics counter that the IUCN's focus on "sustainable use" has gone too far, to the point that "even the use of endangered species has been advocated by the IUCN," says Mark Auliya, a herpetologist at the Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig, in Bonn, Germany. Auliya is one of those critics and also a member of the IUCN's Boa and Python Specialist Group. He says studies, including IUCN's, commonly underestimate the complexity of the wildlife trade and its frequent ties to organized crime; findings about sustainable trade often don't reflect the reality on the ground for species.

The Boa and Python Specialist Group's industry-funded reports, Auliya continues, were published without consulting the entire group-something Auliya says he's been critical of in internal meetings. "Not every scientist with field experience would support those studies' findings," he says.

Concealed company names

The CUNY study doesn't shed light on whether measures taken by Diane von Furstenberg, Chanel, Jil Sander, the Kering Group and others have reduced luxury fashion-related seizures at U.S. borders. That's because after 2013, the Fish and Wildlife Service started redacting the names of importers linked to seizures documented in public records requests.

Weissgold, who was working at the service when the restrictions went into effect, says he asked many times for an explanation, but never received an adequate answer. He suspects that the decision was at least partly spurred by companies complaining that competitors could glean trade secrets from seizure records.

Whatever the reason, the lack of transparency in all government wildlife import and export records "is absolutely handcuff[ing] the conservation and criminality communities from evaluating the trade data," Weissgold says.

The Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of the Interior, which oversees the service, did not provide a comment about why the service began redacting companies' names from seizure records.

Weissgold adds that he has no reason to believe that illegal imports tied to luxury fashion have declined since 2013. Monitor's Chris Shepherd also believes that the problem is ongoing. For him, the message for consumers is clear: "Buying wildlife products may be contributing to the decline of a species in the wild and may be contributing to the illegal trade. If in doubt, do not buy."

Sosnowski hopes the study provides an opportunity for greater transparency and improvements in the supply chain and legal enforcement from source to finished product. "We want people to see that these are the brands we all know and love, so they see that they as consumers can help move the industry towards more sustainable practices," she says.

Ultimately, consumer demand is what makes companies take animal welfare and conservation into consideration, Weissgold says.

"I think if buyers knew that the python skin used in their handbag may have been pulled off of a live animal, some might squirm or slither away from the retailer," he says. "But let's face it, many only look at it as a handbag."

Wildlife Watch is an investigative reporting project between National Geographic Society and National Geographic Partners focusing on wildlife crime and exploitation. Read more Wildlife Watch stories here, and learn more about National Geographic Society's nonprofit mission at nationalgeographic.org. Send tips, feedback, and story ideas to ngwildlife@natgeo.com.

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Fashion brands had thousands of exotic leather goods seized by U.S. law enforcement

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Famous luxury fashion brands-Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Michael Kors, and dozens of others-had more than 5,600 items made from illegal wildlife products seized by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service at U.S. ports of entry from 2003 through 2013, National Geographic has learned from researchers who recently published their work in the journal EcoHealth.

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As someone who cares deeply about the subject of sustainable fashion, I'm often fiercely questioned when I wear or promote something made of leather.

I'll concede that, at first glance, it seems hypocritical that I don't eat beef but have several well-loved, cow leather shoes and accessories.

Animal agriculture is notoriously polluting and damaging. You know that. It is not in fact responsible for half of the world's emissions as the documentary Cowspiracy claims -- that figure came from one 2009 un-peer-reviewed article that was quickly debunked and never replicated. The number is actually at most 18% of worldwide emissions. Still, other research shows that avoiding meat and dairy is the single biggest way to reduce your personal impact, and getting the world to switch from beef to beans could get us almost all the way to meeting our emissions targets. Most notably, livestock is the leading cause of deforestation in the Amazon. And most of the meat produced there does indeed get shipped to North America and Asia for our consumption.

So, it must follow that switching from cow leather to vegan leather would also be the sustainable choice, right? According to Kering's Environmental Profit and Loss Report, leather does have an outsized impact compared to other materials. But there is one problem with this analysis.

It assumes that if the fashion industry stopped buying leather, that farmers would stop raising animals. In other words, this argument that environmentally, leather is the worst hinges on the idea that leather causes -- or is responsible for -- animal agriculture.

RELATED: Visiting Peru proved to me that alpaca is the most sustainable and ethical wool.

This is why much of the debate around the sustainability of leather centers on whether leather is a byproduct of the meat industry. If it's a byproduct, that means animals are raised for meat and the leather is extra. Ranchers will sell it if they can, because they will take any bit of extra income and don't like to see parts of an animal wasted. If they can't sell it, however, they will throw it away, or burn it. Obviously, that would be very wasteful and very polluting.

If it's not a byproduct, then ranchers are raising animals for the main purpose of selling the leather. And then our leather accessories are directly causing animal suffering, greenhouse gas emissions, and deforestation.

So which is it? Is it a profitable and important income source for cattle ranchers? Or is leather a side gig?

Will a Farmer Raise Cattle Just for Leather?

My great aunt and uncle actually raised beef cattle in North Carolina for many years. They were grass fed -- I know, because I was always picking my way around the cow patties in the pasture. They sold them to a local canned chili manufacturer. I don't remember them ever talking about skins in this equation. But that's just an anecdote. Let's talk about facts.

According to this 1992 analysis, cow skins represented 6% to 8% of an American cow's total cow's value. When prices for cow hides go up, profit margins improve, and ranchers are incentivized to buy and raise more cattle. OK, great! If we all wear less leather, than there will be fewer cows bought, right? And if we all wear no leather, than the beef industry goes out of business!

Actually, we can see what happens when we all wear less leather, because it's already happened. Demand for leather has been plummeting in the past decade, as consumers switch from leather shoes to synthetic and wool footwear. Leather prices have also dropped. Unfortunately, global demand for beef has been rising. So, now with high demand for beef, and low demand for the hides, there is a huge glut of cow hides.
(Want to learn more about vegan leather alternatives?)
In short, not buying leather isn't going to save any cows from being slaughtered, it will just lead to a hide being wasted. In South America, which supplies China's growing appetite for steak, an artisan designer told me piles of cow hides are even getting burned for disposal, because of their lack of use.

RELATED: I visited a handmade leather shoe factory in Peru, and now I want all my shoes to be from there!

This doesn't just apply to South America. Leather comes from all over the world - anywhere you have animal agriculture, and BIPOC (black and indigenous) communities. The artisan brand Raven + Lily sources from an eco-friendly tannery in Ethiopia, a country that, "is actually a bustling hub for the leather industry, and our tannery works specifically with byproduct materials," the brand director Katie Chaput told me via email. "Not only does the tannery use byproduct leather, but they also have a water recycling system to prevent pollution and use vegetable dyes instead of harmful chemical dyes."

"It's a byproduct of the industry," says O My Bag founder Paulien Wesselink. "It's stuff that would otherwise be thrown away, literally." O My Bag sources from the area round Kolkata in India, which has a significant Muslim population. And unlike Hindus, Muslim families will raise a cow or three not just for the milk, but also the meat, which is important for their nutrition, income, and religious celebrations. The leather, which is worth about 5% of the overall value of the cow, is just a bonus.

"The leather industry will never keep the meat industry going," Wesselink says. "People there live in poverty, so it doesn't make sense for them to disregard the 95% of the cow. There is always an industry for meat. As long as that is the case, we had better do something with the leather."

This calculus doesn't apply to fine calf leather from Europe for luxury brands, however. As veal consumption has dropped in European countries, and demand from China has spiked, there has been a shortage of that particular kind of leather, and luxury brands are buying up leather suppliers to ensure their supply.

So yes, you can buy most cow leather from Asia, North and South America without guilt over the loss of a cow life -- you can even feel good about using all parts of the animal and preventing waste! But be more careful about luxury purses that use calf and lamb leather. Lamb and veal are definitely two meat industries, but the value of the leather to meat is much higher in these situations, so buying luxury calf and lamb leather items might lead to the suffering of more (adorable) animals. It's too bad, because luxury leather tanneries in Europe are the best in terms of social and environment.

Convinced? Here are some v egetable-tanned and upcycled leather fannypacks, the best ethical and sustainable fall and winter boots, and a selection of sustainable watches with leather bands.

Are Exotic Leather Skins Ethical and Sustainable?

Ironically, the argument here is completely flipped on its head for skins like python, crocodile, and other reptiles. These skins are definitely the most valuable part of the animal.

So at first, I was cheered by Chanel's ban on exotic skins. That is, until a group of conservationists spoke out against it. It turns out that many exotic skins are provided to luxury companies by BIPOC and POC communities all over the world, from South American tribes to Indonesian tribes, Mayan locals in Mexico and locals who live next to the Nile in Africa. They are motivated to conserve and protect habitats and wild populations of these reptiles because of the income luxury skins provides. And when that income goes away, they might be forced through their poverty to take up other common forms of rural income, such as logging, slash-and-burn farming, or gold mining. I've actually visited a crocodile farm in Australia run by an aboriginal community. It's important to them.

So exotic skins: not a byproduct, but definitely environmentally beneficial. Buy that python purse.

I know, so weird.

Is Wild-Caught Deer and Other Wild Animal Leather Ethical?

The Austrian brand Natural Nuance actually sources fish oil-tanned deer leather from hunters in Austria. Could leather from wild animals be considered sustainable and ethical?

Well, native wild-hunted deer are certainly not from factory farms, which is a mark in the favor of deer leather. Deer are overpopulated both in Europe and North America, so there's no risk of extinction.

Most importantly, if responsible land owners don't plan for careful hunting of deer on their property, there is the risk of damage to the ecological system and other native species from too many browsing deer. The deer can become overpopulated and end up suffering and dying from starvation. Much of the land tracts are not big enough to support the reintroduction of big cat and wolf predators. For land that is seeing predators move in, the government has to compensate ranchers for the loss of livestock, or else ranchers will advocate for the culling of predators.

In conclusion, Europe hasn't had real wilderness for a thousand of years or more. (Elizabeth Kolbert's The Sixth Extinction is a good read for more on that.) Humans are a part of Europe's ecosystem now, and we have a duty to act responsibly as predators to keep the ecosystem in balance. We cannot abdicate that responsibility because of our squeamishness about the circle of life. Would it be better if we had fewer humans, and less development into former forest areas? Absolutely. That's why I donate to family planning organizations. But until then, this is the best solution we have for the current situation.

So you can consider deer leather not a meat byproduct (though you can absolutely find veal in many farm-to-table restaurants in Europe) but as a byproduct of ecological management of forest.

Osklen is another brand using animal byproducts that would otherwise go to waste. When they discovered that the skin of Pirarucu fish were being discarded and creating biological pollution, they decided to use the skin to create leather bags and other pieces. Pirarucu fish are one of the largest freshwater fish on the planet, and they are a crucial piece to Brazilian ecosystems and communities, who use the fish as both food and income. Not only are they using a natural, biodegradable material that would otherwise be thrown out, but they're also creating jobs for locals in Brazil as well.

Or you could make it double eco, and buy something from the Brazilian brand Volta Atelier. This brand makes purses and bags out of leather offcuts from leather goods factories, including pirarucu, and employs Haitian refugees in their atelier.

What Types of Leathers Are Ethical and Sustainable?

Go for cow leather, responsibly-sourced exotic leathers, and deer leathers. Avoid lambskin and calfskin leathers in luxury accessories.

And eat less beef!

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Is Leather Truly a Byproduct of the Meat Industry? - Ecocult

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As someone who cares deeply about the subject of sustainable fashion, I'm often fiercely questioned when I wear or promote something made of leather. I'll concede that, at first glance, it seems hypocritical that I don't eat beef but have several well-loved, cow leather shoes and accessories.

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Is there fair trade in electronics

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Ecologist : Eco-sportswear: what to wear and how to buy it

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Ecologist : Eco-sportswear: what to wear and how to buy it

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The last week has been a memorable one for sports fans. The new football season kicked off with a welter of goals, thrills and spills, and although England's rugby team were on the wrong end of a Welsh drubbing, the cricketers are on top of the world. In preparation for this, fans in their thousands have been flooding into shops to pick up the latest strips, scarves and hats. But all the new gear exacts a heavy toll on the planet.

Football kit has traditionally been made from polyester; an entirely synthetic fabric made from chemicals found in petroleum via an energy-intensive and environmentally damaging process. Making the polyester fibres involves burning large quantities of crude oil, which releases harmful pollutants into the atmosphere such as volatile organic compounds (VOC's). The majority of football strips are still made from this material, often with a small amount of pesticide-treated cotton blended in. Happily, some clubs have opted for a more eco-friendly approach in recent years, using kit made from recycled plastic bottles. Although Nike hasn't always been the best in terms of ethics; as Ecologist commentator Dan Box has said, the company has been making an effort in recent years to promote a greener lifestyle, particularly in the US. Shirts in the Considered Design range ( www.nike.com) use up eight recycled bottles each, and Inter Milan, FC Porto and Arsenal (pictured bottom right) all wear them. Although the strips are still made from polyester, they do help reduce the amount that goes to landfill.

Shirts might be problematic but genuinely eco-friendly balls are easier to come by. The Ethletic Greenstar eco-football (£20.41, www.nigelsecostore.com) is Fairtrade certified and an extra premium is paid to ensure that good quality health and welfare projects are in place for the workers and their families. The special Greentips rubber used is Fairtrade, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified and comes from responsibly managed plantations. Ethletic also make a number of other balls; so if rugby, netball, volleyball or basketball is more your scene, then you can still have a game knowing you've done your bit for the planet.

There are also numerous brands out that make eco-friendly alternatives to general sportswear and where better to start than the sporty skin-tight baselayer? Designed to boost sweat evaporation when you're too hot and insulate the body when you are too cold baselayers are multi-purpose sports kit that come in handy all year round. But, once more, manufacturing the synthetic spandex and polyester fibres in these garments is environmentally damaging. BAM has the solution, with its zip neck baselayer (£45, www.bambooclothing.co.uk) that ticks all the performance boxes and is made from bamboo that's 100 per cent sustainable and pesticide free. They also provide matching leggings for those times when you need the complete look. For general purpose training tops and bottoms there are plenty of brands to choose from, but for something truly innovative, take a look at Singtex ( www.scafefabrics.com). Based in Taiwan, the clothes (pictured above) are made from a mixture of recycled polyester and two per cent recycled coffee grounds. Also worth checking out is Patagonia ( www.patagonia.com) who make brilliant ski, surf and trail wear from recycled plastic bottles.

For eco-friendly shoes, check out Brooks ( www.brooksrunning.co.uk) who have a wide variety of marathon, sprint trainers and athletic spikes that use recycled packaging, are sourced responsibly, contain non-toxic dyes and really look the part. They have developed an innovative new midsole called Biomogo, available in most of their range, which is up to 50 times more biodegradable than the Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) standard. Models such as the Green Silence trainer are also made from 75 per cent recycled materials, including tracksuits, CDs and even sofas.

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Eco-sportswear: what to wear and how to buy it

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The last week has been a memorable one for sports fans. The new football season kicked off with a welter of goals, thrills and spills, and although England's rugby team were on the wrong end of a Welsh drubbing, the cricketers are on top of the world.

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Computer manufacturing requires a ton of resources. Actually, it requires a couple of tons. In fact, a United Nations University study found that it takes about 1.8 tons of raw materials to make one desktop PC, meaning each computer requires about 10 times its weight in materials and chemicals before it's ready to go to work. That means computers are more demanding in terms of materials than say, a much bigger appliance, such as an oven or refrigerator, or even an automobile, which require roughly one to two times their own weight in materials.

A single computer chip, for instance, requires a significant number of materials for successful product. Fossil fuels that power the energy needed for all of the production processes are vital. And for each chip, around 3.5 pounds of fossil fuels are necessary.

Before it can leave the production line, each chip must be cleaned carefully with water. This flushing procedure for one chip can consume about 9 gallons of water [source: EnviroLiteracy]. It's no wonder, then, that more than 400 gallons of water are needed to make the entire computer.

Your computer also requires significant amounts of aluminum. Aluminum is great for devices, such as laptops and smartphones, which required rugged but lightweight cases or framework. In order to obtain aluminum, we have to mine for bauxite, which is then converted into aluminum oxide through an energy-intensive process.

Manufacturers could reduce the energy need to make one laptop, for example, by around 90 percent if they would use only recycled aluminum. However, in the United States, only about 30 percent of aluminum is recycled, meaning there's much less of this material to go around to various companies that want to use it.

The list of resources needed for electronics construction goes on and on. That's a primary reason that this organization encourages consumers to upgrade outdated computers instead of discarding them [source: InfoWorld].

It's definitely worth noting that there's also a human cost to massive production levels. As with all high-demand products, companies vie for price advantages by finding inexpensive labor wherever possible, even if it means using foreign workers. Sometimes those employees work intense hours at meager wages and in poor conditions [source: PCGlobal].

So long as our hunger for computers, tablets and smartphones grows, so too will the resources and labor needed to make them. It's a testament to the ingenuity and hard work of electronics makers that so many millions of devices make it retail outlets around the world every month of every year.

Author's Note: How Are Computers Made?

I landed my first job out of college at the headquarters of a major computer manufacturer. As part of my orientation, the human resources manager took me on a tour of the entire facility, including the factory floor. It was there that I first began to understand the sheer enormity of the tasks involved in computer making.

Hundreds of people scurrying to and fro, gathering parts, assembling components, in a ceaseless hum of activity designed to sate our desire for digital tools and toys. It's almost hard to believe that the end result of all of that labor and material cost, at most, maybe a couple of thousand dollars. Seeing it up close not only helped me appreciate the materials that go into each machine, but also the sweat and hard work of each person on the factory lines.

Related Articles

Sources

Arthur, Charles. "PC Sales Dip Year-on-Year as Ultrabooks Fail to Stave off Economic Woes." The Guardian. July 12, 2012. (Sept. 7, 2012) http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2012/jul/12/pc-sales-dip-ultrabooks-windows-8

Arthur, Charles. "How Tablets are Eating the PC's Future - But Might Save the Desktop Computer." The Guardian. April 25, 2012. (Sept. 7, 2012) http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/apr/25/tablet-pc-market-analysis

Bedford, Mike. "How Motherboards are Made: A Miracle of Modern Electronics." Techradar.com. Aug. 15, 2010. (Sept. 7, 2012) http://www.techradar.com/us/news/computing-components/motherboards/how-motherboards-are-made-a-miracle-of-modern-electronics-709366

Cangeloso, Sal. "WD Factory Tour Shows How Hard Drives are Manufactured." Geek.com. Feb. 16, 2010. (Sept. 7, 2012) http://www.geek.com/articles/chips/how-hard-drives-are-manufactured-20100216/

Chan, Jenny and Charles Ho. "The Dark Side of Cyberspace: Inside the Sweatshops of China's Computer Hardware Production." PCGlobal.org. December 2008. (Sept. 7, 2012) http://www.pcglobal.org/files/Cyberspace_final(2).pdf

Clay, Jason. "Forest Trail: Changing the Way You Think about Your Laptop." The Guardian. Oct. 4, 2011. (Sept. 7, 2012) http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/changing-behaviour-sustainable-electronic-goods

Dowler, Mike. "How Motherboards are Made: A Gigabyte Factory Tour." PCSTATS. Aug. 28, 2008. (Sept. 7, 2012) http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=1722

Higginbotham, Stacey. "Building a Blade Server: The HP Factory Tour." GigaOM. Sept. 29, 2008. (Sept. 7, 2012) http://gigaom.com/2008/09/29/building-a-blade-server-the-hp-factory-tour/

Intel Newsroom. "From Sand to Silicon - the Making of a Chip." Nov. 11, 2011. (Sept. 7, 2012) http://newsroom.intel.com/docs/DOC-2476

Intel. "Introduction to Computers." (Sept. 7, 2012) http://educate.intel.com/en/TheJourneyInside/ExploreTheCurriculum/EC_IntroductionToComputers/ICLesson1/

Microsoft. "Introduction to Computers." (Sept. 7, 2012) http://windows.microsoft.com/en-PK/windows-vista/Introduction-to-computers

Panasonic. "Manufacturing." (Sept. 7, 2012) http://www.panasonic.com/business/toughbook/why-reliable-computer-manufacturing.asp

Prasad, Anurag. "How Dell Conquered India." CNN Money. Feb. 10, 2011. (Sept. 7, 2012) http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/02/10/how-dell-conquered-india/

Rapoza, Kenneth. "Foxconn Shows Why Apple Devices Will Never be Made in America." Forbes. Feb. 25, 2012. (Sept. 7, 2012) http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2012/02/25/foxconn-shows-why-apple-devices-will-never-be-made-in-america-okay/

Shettar, Manju. "Branded Computers Now as Cheap as Assembled." Mid-Day.com. June 2, 2009. (Sept. 7, 2012) http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/jun/020609-Computer-Prices-Branded-Assembled-Compaq-Dell-Acer-Bangalore-Cheap-prices.htm

Swinburne, Richard. "How PC Cases are Made: In-Win Factory Tour." Bit-Tech.net. June 7, 2009. (Sept. 7, 2012) http://www.bit-tech.net/bits/events/2009/06/07/how-pc-cases-are-made-in-win-factory-tour/3

Williams, Martyn. "UN Study: Think Upgrade Before Buying a New PC." InfoWorld. March 7, 2004. (Sept. 7, 2012) http://www.infoworld.com/t/hardware/un-study-think-upgrade-buying-new-pc-601

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Computer manufacturing requires a ton of resources. Actually, it requires a couple of tons. In fact, a United Nations University study found that it takes about 1.8 tons of raw materials to make one desktop PC, meaning each computer requires about 10 times its weight in materials and chemicals before it's ready to go to work.

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It is World Fair Trade Day again! A chance to celebrate, and reflect, on the opportunities we have every day to shape how trade works.

Does this sounds too idealistic? Think again. No matter who you are, every time you buy a banana, or every time your business decides what to source, you play a role. The same applies if you need to decide how you farm, or even what messages or policies to stand for as a government representative, or an activist. We are all interconnected. Cause and effect.

Instead of this being a barrier to social justice, let's make this connectedness a strength. Because we are connected, we can actually join forces to shape, not only the future, but the present.

Positive impact is even greater when we work across our sphere of influence. Producers with brands, consumers with organisations, governments with businesses, and beyond.

-

One farmer or worker alone may struggle, but together she and her neighbors can form a cooperative to have a better stance in negotiations, improving their business and their community.

One company working alone to do business more sustainably, may help a few hundred farmers or workers, but challenging the sector they work in, making their partners and competitors do the same, changes hundreds of thousands of lives.

One person on their own, changing habits and shopping fairer can stand for something, but that person inspiring another one who inspires the next person soon becomes a community that demands for change.

The effect is even greater when we work across our sphere of influence. Producers with brands, consumers with organisations, governments with businesses, and beyond.

Below are some inspiring cases of people breaking silos around the world to make fair trade the norm. Will you join?

From India to Sweden: changing the fashion world, one pair of jeans at a time.

A cold, rainy street in downtown Gothenburg, Sweden could not be much further from the hot, dusty cotton fields of Yavatmal in central India - yet there's a strong thread which links the two communities.

Gothenburg is home to Nudie Jeans, a fashion brand set up in 2001 which sources organic cotton for its range of jeans and other clothing from the Fairtrade certified Chetna Organic company in Yavatmal.

"What makes Nudie Jeans so special is our core focus on sustainability issues. Since day one, we've been working very hard to create a modern, sustainable business model," says CEO and co-founder Joakim Levin. "Fairtrade is an important piece of how we work with our supply chain, since the cotton industry is a problematic industry. Working with small farmers who are generally quite poor, Fairtrade gives them stability of course, and it can help them out and create a more sustainable and healthy supply chain, that's something we are very interested in."

Gothenburg is home to Nudie Jeans, a fashion brand set up in 2001 which sources organic cotton for its range of jeans and other clothing from the Fairtrade certified Chetna Organic company in Yavatmal

"When we travel to India to visit the farmers and the villages, we see what a difference it makes," says Jenny. "Of course, once you've done that, you want to do more and you want to do better. If you've been to these small villages and seen the impact it has for the farmers and their families - especially for the girls - then you'll never want to buy any other sort of cotton."

"Our aim has always been to work in a sustainable way with organic cotton, but when we started that was quite a new concept in the textile market. For a long time now we've tried to work sustainably in all aspects of the business, both socially and environmentally," says Jenny. "We always try to work with sustainable fabrics, and we've come a long way. Our hope is that more companies will follow us in the future, that they will start buying organic and Fairtrade cotton. That's the future - other alternatives are not as sustainable and they don't help the cotton farmers."

Behind strong coffee lies a strong community

High in the hills above Salamina in the stunningly beautiful Caldas coffee growing country in Colombia, a quiet revolution has taken place. In this corner of Latin America, women are challenging gender stereotype, running a successful coffee farms and managing a cooperative with around 2,300 members.

"I think that as a woman, my role in the cooperative is very special," says Liliana, Liliana Andrea Valencia Duque, President of the Cooperativa de Caficultores del Norte de Caldas. "Very few women get the opportunity to represent coffee growers. I want the world to know about our work to make women visible, performing jobs where they feel valued and stimulated."

Besides their strong coffee, the cooperative is especially proud of its work promoting women's health.

Besides their strong coffee, the coop is especially proud of its work promoting women's health. About four years ago they started a day of promotion and prevention for women's health. "Last year we expanded the programme so that around 150 women could have breast examinations. It's been a really beautiful experience for the women, they feel very loved by the coop, they feel valued and they known that women are important for the organisation." explains Liliana.

Lindelia Quintero Suarez, Director of the coop adds: "It's important because previously they had to go to another city to have these breast examinations, and they were very expensive. Now they are done here and I'm very happy and encouraged that women will continue to have them."

"If we did not have Fairtrade certification we would not have received the extra resources from a growing market which allowed us to develop the healthcare programme," says coop manager Cesar Julio Díaz Lasso. "Fairtrade certification generates additional resources which are very important for the farmers and cover many of their needs which the money from conventional coffee farming would not meet."

Scoring for a fairer future

An excited bunch of girls and boys kick up clouds of dust as they chase footballs on a training pitch in Goa, India. Some of them are so small their football shirts reach down to their knees. Just another bunch of soccer-mad youngsters enjoying a kick-about? Not quite - these are the kids of the Forca Goa Foundation, and they're playing with Fairtrade footballs.

The Foundation was set up by Forca Goa FC, one of India's top football clubs which competes in the Indian Super League and last year won the Indian Super Cup. The aim is simple - to use the power of football to transform the lives of youngsters in Goa.

President and co-owner Akshay Tandon takes up the story. "We decided to use football as a way to bring people together and create a state-wide grassroots programme," he says. "We set up the Forca Goa Foundation on three pillars - sustainability, empowerment and football."

Forca Goa strives to raise awareness about the importance of using sustainable products and kids being champions of sustainability.

From the beginning, the Foundation has been guided by Fairtrade principles. "Fairtrade can be seen as a set of values or virtues, on the basis of which we conduct ourselves," says Akshay. "We believe that Fairtrade is the right value system to use, so that when these children grow up, they have the same values that Fairtrade represents."

From embracing the use of Fairtrade products - not just footballs but t-shirts and football jerseys as well - the Foundation focuses on empowering girls and young women through sport.

"With our campaign we make sure that girls are not only developing on the field but that also they have all-round development," says Josline Dsouza, who works for the Foundation. "We not only look to develop the footballing skills of the children, but we look at the social aspect as well. We try to get the children aware about social issues and environmental issues."

"We run daily training sessions but it's not just about playing football," says Ishita. "After every training session we have something called a Learning Pitch, where we teach our children about sustainability, gender equality and good health and nutrition. We strive to educate all the children about the importance of using sustainable products and being champions of sustainability."

From a coffee farmer choosing climate resilient methods, to someone choosing to buy sugar made under fair working conditions, everyone's decisions matter and ultimately influence how trade works.

On World Fair Trade day, let's remember together we can make this cause-and-effect a strength by choosing accordingly.

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On World Fair Trade Day ask yourself: What kind of trade am I a part of?

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It is World Fair Trade Day again! A chance to celebrate, and reflect, on the opportunities we have every day to shape how trade works. Does this sounds too idealistic? Think again. No matter who you are, every time you buy a banana, or every time your business decides what to source, you play a role.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It is World Fair Trade Day again! A chance to celebrate, and reflect, on the opportunities we have every day to shape how trade works.

Does this sounds too idealistic? Think again. No matter who you are, every time you buy a banana, or every time your business decides what to source, you play a role. The same applies if you need to decide how you farm, or even what messages or policies to stand for as a government representative, or an activist. We are all interconnected. Cause and effect.

Instead of this being a barrier to social justice, let's make this connectedness a strength. Because we are connected, we can actually join forces to shape, not only the future, but the present.

Positive impact is even greater when we work across our sphere of influence. Producers with brands, consumers with organisations, governments with businesses, and beyond.

-

One farmer or worker alone may struggle, but together she and her neighbors can form a cooperative to have a better stance in negotiations, improving their business and their community.

One company working alone to do business more sustainably, may help a few hundred farmers or workers, but challenging the sector they work in, making their partners and competitors do the same, changes hundreds of thousands of lives.

One person on their own, changing habits and shopping fairer can stand for something, but that person inspiring another one who inspires the next person soon becomes a community that demands for change.

The effect is even greater when we work across our sphere of influence. Producers with brands, consumers with organisations, governments with businesses, and beyond.

Below are some inspiring cases of people breaking silos around the world to make fair trade the norm. Will you join?

From India to Sweden: changing the fashion world, one pair of jeans at a time.

A cold, rainy street in downtown Gothenburg, Sweden could not be much further from the hot, dusty cotton fields of Yavatmal in central India - yet there's a strong thread which links the two communities.

Gothenburg is home to Nudie Jeans, a fashion brand set up in 2001 which sources organic cotton for its range of jeans and other clothing from the Fairtrade certified Chetna Organic company in Yavatmal.

"What makes Nudie Jeans so special is our core focus on sustainability issues. Since day one, we've been working very hard to create a modern, sustainable business model," says CEO and co-founder Joakim Levin. "Fairtrade is an important piece of how we work with our supply chain, since the cotton industry is a problematic industry. Working with small farmers who are generally quite poor, Fairtrade gives them stability of course, and it can help them out and create a more sustainable and healthy supply chain, that's something we are very interested in."

Gothenburg is home to Nudie Jeans, a fashion brand set up in 2001 which sources organic cotton for its range of jeans and other clothing from the Fairtrade certified Chetna Organic company in Yavatmal

"When we travel to India to visit the farmers and the villages, we see what a difference it makes," says Jenny. "Of course, once you've done that, you want to do more and you want to do better. If you've been to these small villages and seen the impact it has for the farmers and their families - especially for the girls - then you'll never want to buy any other sort of cotton."

"Our aim has always been to work in a sustainable way with organic cotton, but when we started that was quite a new concept in the textile market. For a long time now we've tried to work sustainably in all aspects of the business, both socially and environmentally," says Jenny. "We always try to work with sustainable fabrics, and we've come a long way. Our hope is that more companies will follow us in the future, that they will start buying organic and Fairtrade cotton. That's the future - other alternatives are not as sustainable and they don't help the cotton farmers."

Behind strong coffee lies a strong community

High in the hills above Salamina in the stunningly beautiful Caldas coffee growing country in Colombia, a quiet revolution has taken place. In this corner of Latin America, women are challenging gender stereotype, running a successful coffee farms and managing a cooperative with around 2,300 members.

"I think that as a woman, my role in the cooperative is very special," says Liliana, Liliana Andrea Valencia Duque, President of the Cooperativa de Caficultores del Norte de Caldas. "Very few women get the opportunity to represent coffee growers. I want the world to know about our work to make women visible, performing jobs where they feel valued and stimulated."

Besides their strong coffee, the cooperative is especially proud of its work promoting women's health.

Besides their strong coffee, the coop is especially proud of its work promoting women's health. About four years ago they started a day of promotion and prevention for women's health. "Last year we expanded the programme so that around 150 women could have breast examinations. It's been a really beautiful experience for the women, they feel very loved by the coop, they feel valued and they known that women are important for the organisation." explains Liliana.

Lindelia Quintero Suarez, Director of the coop adds: "It's important because previously they had to go to another city to have these breast examinations, and they were very expensive. Now they are done here and I'm very happy and encouraged that women will continue to have them."

"If we did not have Fairtrade certification we would not have received the extra resources from a growing market which allowed us to develop the healthcare programme," says coop manager Cesar Julio Díaz Lasso. "Fairtrade certification generates additional resources which are very important for the farmers and cover many of their needs which the money from conventional coffee farming would not meet."

Scoring for a fairer future

An excited bunch of girls and boys kick up clouds of dust as they chase footballs on a training pitch in Goa, India. Some of them are so small their football shirts reach down to their knees. Just another bunch of soccer-mad youngsters enjoying a kick-about? Not quite - these are the kids of the Forca Goa Foundation, and they're playing with Fairtrade footballs.

The Foundation was set up by Forca Goa FC, one of India's top football clubs which competes in the Indian Super League and last year won the Indian Super Cup. The aim is simple - to use the power of football to transform the lives of youngsters in Goa.

President and co-owner Akshay Tandon takes up the story. "We decided to use football as a way to bring people together and create a state-wide grassroots programme," he says. "We set up the Forca Goa Foundation on three pillars - sustainability, empowerment and football."

Forca Goa strives to raise awareness about the importance of using sustainable products and kids being champions of sustainability.

From the beginning, the Foundation has been guided by Fairtrade principles. "Fairtrade can be seen as a set of values or virtues, on the basis of which we conduct ourselves," says Akshay. "We believe that Fairtrade is the right value system to use, so that when these children grow up, they have the same values that Fairtrade represents."

From embracing the use of Fairtrade products - not just footballs but t-shirts and football jerseys as well - the Foundation focuses on empowering girls and young women through sport.

"With our campaign we make sure that girls are not only developing on the field but that also they have all-round development," says Josline Dsouza, who works for the Foundation. "We not only look to develop the footballing skills of the children, but we look at the social aspect as well. We try to get the children aware about social issues and environmental issues."

"We run daily training sessions but it's not just about playing football," says Ishita. "After every training session we have something called a Learning Pitch, where we teach our children about sustainability, gender equality and good health and nutrition. We strive to educate all the children about the importance of using sustainable products and being champions of sustainability."

From a coffee farmer choosing climate resilient methods, to someone choosing to buy sugar made under fair working conditions, everyone's decisions matter and ultimately influence how trade works.

On World Fair Trade day, let's remember together we can make this cause-and-effect a strength by choosing accordingly.

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On World Fair Trade Day ask yourself: What kind of trade am I a part of?

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It is World Fair Trade Day again! A chance to celebrate, and reflect, on the opportunities we have every day to shape how trade works. Does this sounds too idealistic? Think again. No matter who you are, every time you buy a banana, or every time your business decides what to source, you play a role.

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Playing Fair - The story of Fairtrade footballs

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Garment factory workers stitching up, sewing and moulding Ronaldo's football boots in place don't earn a living wage in their respective countries.

FOUL PLAY IN GARMENT FACTORIES: You think Nike doesn't exploit workers anymore? Think again. Germany may be repeat World Cup champions in football history, but shunning responsibility for your supply chain (again) can't be a record you can be proud of.

1298 words; 6.5 min read.

Remember the controversy Nike was embroiled in in 1992? For those of us lucky enough to have grown up adoring Radiohead or banging our heads to Alanis Morrisette's Ironic, we were also lucky to have been introduced to the term 'sweatshops', and in this case, there literally were dozens of them, in Indonesia, filled with human labour, mostly women, but also children, working under terrible conditions - making, moulding, and sewing your Nike runners into place. The thing is, since that time, bar increasing monitoring and auditing their factories, and notwithstanding efforts to clean up their image by publishing a detailed report of labour conditions in Nike factories (including publishing them), the problem never went away. It's still there, but it comes in different variations, according to a recent report authored by Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) and Éthique sur l'étiquette.

In matters of labour violations, responsible companies need to keep looking out for them in any situation or country at risk, be nimble enough to adjust their payment and employment model, and become part of the solution to ensure fair and equitable sharing of prosperity. Sounds like companies have been light-footed enough: apparently, Nike and Adidas have slowly moved most of their sourcing to Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam over the years (not just shoes, but clothing too), where wages are lower and labour abuses are rife.

The 2018 report by CCC and Éthique sur l'étiquette, a follow up report of the same content from two years ago, highlights that although Nike and Adidas are spending more money than ever on sponsorships and marketing, working conditions for the individuals that make their products remain shaky. For example, comparing the current production costs of Nike and Adidas sports shoes with those from 25 years ago, when the initial sweatshop scandal broke, the worker's share of the price of each pair shoes sold has dropped by 30 percent.

"These businesses are quick to increase profits by shifting their manufacturing to lower-cost countries, but won't share in any of that wealth with their workers".

Shifting to lower production hubs has been a trend for many sportswear companies at the back of continued increases in labour costs in China. However, these countries are reporting an increase in human rights violations and garment workers' average salaries are between 45 percent and 65 percent below the living wage, leaving workers with largely insufficient funds to provide for their families' basic needs, thereby trapping them in extreme poverty. For example, in Indonesia, where 80 percent of garment workers are women, most workers earn between 82 euros and 200 euros a month. This does not even cover the basic needs to live a decent life according to calculations from the Asia Floor Wage, who estimates a living wage to amount to 363 euros (570 AUS dollars, or 1,863 Malaysian ringgits.)

Due to this, the Clean Clothes Campaign has challenged sportswear and fitness labels like Nike and Adidas to ensure workers in their Asian supplier factories are paid a fair wage as their share of the production cost dwindles. Both Nike and Adidas are collectively kitting out 22 of the 32 teams going against each other at the 2018 Russian World Cup, which started last week.

Millions will cheer football players over the next few weeks, but the workers who make their team jerseys and football boots have been left on the sidelines. Photo: Sam Wermut via Unsplash.com.

The not-for-profit organisations are also calling on Nike and Adidas, and all sportswear brands, to create a time-bound roadmap with targets to guarantee the payment of a living wage earned in a standard working week, adopt more responsible purchasing practices to enable the payment of living wages and publish the actual monthly wages of the workers in its supplier factories, as well as the results of their social audits. In summary, they are urging Nike and Adidas to make good on their promises made to unions and civil society, as well as to the Indonesian government, made in 2011, to address job security and living wages.

Both Nike and Adidas have succeeded in yielding impressive growth for their shareholders over the past decade. These businesses are quick to increase profits by shifting their manufacturing to lower-cost countries, but won't share in any of that wealth with their workers. Sounds like the term 'slave labour' just got redefined over time, but never really died.

"[Nike and Adidas] are, technically speaking, within a game's reach to change the world for good. And what better way to do this than in the spirit of the multicultural camaraderie of the most celebrated international sport in the world?"

Anyone reckons some of the star football players are overpaid and overpriced? Well, you're not wrong there, because even though both Nike and Adidas generate sufficient revenue to be able to pay living wages to all of their workers that stitch and sew, they chose to spend their money on football sponsorships instead.

Over the past few decades, Nike and Adidas budgets for marketing and sponsorships have doubled in value. In a record-breaking new contract, the German football team is set to receive 65 million euros (75 million USD; 102 million AUD) per year from Adidas until the next World Cup, which is three times as much they previously received under the previous contract which expires this year. The French national football team negotiated a deal for a 50.5 million euro sponsorship with sports giant Nike. Millions will cheer football players over the next few weeks, but the workers who make their team jerseys and football boots have been left on the sidelines.

Adidas will kit out 12 teams in the 2018 World Cup, while Nike kits out 10.

And who can forget the based on his earnings of 93 million USD in 2017.) lifetime sponsorship deal struck by Nike and Ronaldo, back in 2016? It's worth almost 1 billion USD. And that's only sportswear sponsorship, which doesn't include his other endorsements and earnings from football! On average, your Indonesian garment worker earns 210 USD (844 Malaysian ringgits)

The next time you're feeling excited about your favourite football team or player, perhaps be a little adventurous and highlight this unresolved issue with them. Write to the football team or footballer that you support (snail mail, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook), and ask them to raise this issue with Nike or Adidas, or whichever company is sponsoring them. They are, technically speaking, within a game's reach to change the world for good. And what better way to do this than in the spirit of the multicultural camaraderie of the most celebrated international sport in the world?

Personally, I'd love for our local clubs (district/university) to step up to the challenge. You don't have to stop at celebrities, though. Have a chat with your coach at school about who makes your sportswear, and find a way to talk about it with your friends while enjoying some of the World Cup matches. Who knows, you could be a force of change for good, too.

All the best to the teams competing! per month. Ronaldo: a staggering 7.75 million USD (31 million Malaysian ringgits -

Clean Clothes Campaign brings together trade unions and NGOs covering a broad spectrum of perspectives and interests, such as women's rights, consumer advocacy and poverty reduction. Read the report, Foul Play, here.

Join us in our Slow Fashion movement with the hashtag #ConscientiousFashionista and #wardrobetruths on Instagram, and follow us at @fashinfidelity .

Tags: #soccer #football #worldcup2018 #worldcup #russiaworldcup #nike #adidas #garmentworkers #foulplay #cleanclothescampaign #fairwages #conscientiousfashionista #fastfashion #slowfashion #ethicalfashion #ecofashion #sustainablefashion #greenfashion #sustainability #wardrobetruths #fashioneducation #fashionisnolongertrendy #fashion #saynotofastfashion #kualalumpur #australia #malaysia #russia

Further reading:

Hendriksz, V., Fashion United, 11 June 2018, "The Darker Side of Nike & Adidas World Cup sponsorships: Poverty Wages", from https://fashionunited.uk/news/business/the-darker-side-of-nike-adidas-world-cup-sponsorships-poverty-wages/2018061130139 , last accessed 19 June 2018.

Nisen, M., Business Insider, 9 May 2013, "How Nike Solved Its Sweatshop Problem", from http://www.businessinsider.com/how-nike-solved-its-sweatshop-problem-2013-5/?IR=T , last accessed 19 June 2018.

Wazir, B., The Guardian, 20 May 2011, "Nike Accused of Tolerating Sweatshops", from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/may/20/burhanwazir.theobserver , last accessed 19 June 2018.

Wikipedia, "Nike sweatshops", from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike_sweatshops , last accessed 19 June 2018.

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Foul Play in Nike and Adidas Garment Factories

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Garment factory workers stitching up, sewing and moulding Ronaldo's football boots in place don't earn a living wage in their respective countries. FOUL PLAY IN GARMENT FACTORIES: You think Nike doesn't exploit workers anymore? Think again. Germany may be repeat World Cup champions in football history, but shunning responsibility for your supply chain (again) can't be a record you can be proud of.

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Sunera Saba Khan | Published: January 12, 2020 20:10:47

Child labour in different industries across the world is common. However, one would not even think about presence of child labour in the makeup industry. Generally, any ethical issue in therewould relate to animal testing or unfamiliar ingredients. Therefore, it is shocking to know the use of child labour in this industry.

Children are involved in Mica mining. Mica, a mineral, is an ingredient that is widely used in makeup, automotive and electronics industries. Mica adds the sparkle in makeup.

A major chunk of the mica that enters the makeup industry comes from India- mainly from Bihar and Jharkhand. Madagascar is also one of the world's largest exporters of mica.

A trail of shimmery dust leads to the mica mines where kids as young as four years are seen to be working. An army of children can be seen pouring in and out of the makeshift mines.These children are covered in pretty dirt and are equipped with ice picks, hammers, and baskets. With the help of these tools these children collect the glittery mica from narrow mine shafts. It is easy for small children to enter the mines and their nimble fingers also act as an added advantage for sorting small pieces and shards of mica. None of the children have any clue where all the mica they collect goes. They just work in the mines as a means of survival. After collection, the mica is taken by the broker who sells it to an exporter and is responsible for giving it to manufacturers in China. From there the mica goes into both high-end as well as drugstore makeup.

A similar situation is also observed in Madagascar. In India, children engaged in mica mining receive 20-30 rupees a day which is equivalent to 29-43 cents. Adult and child miners in Madagascar are paid just 34p a kilo which is less than half of what is paid in India.

Mica mining is not only linked to illegal child labour but at the same time is depriving children of learning at school. Children working in mica mines are exposed to risks of death, respiratory problems, injury, aching muscles, back pain and open sores.Majority of the deaths of children are not reported. Despite knowing the dangers the children work in the mines as a means of survival. Family mining is also quite popular.

A number of initiatives have already been taken in order to eliminate the use of child labour in the makeup industry. In order to ensure a clean supply chain, Lush, a UK-based company, started using synthetic mica in their makeup products. L'Oréal ensures a transparent supply chain by sourcing mica from independently-verified, gated mines where there is no use of child labour.

Still, it is difficult to ensure transparency since mica is exported from illegal mines using the license of legal mines. Therefore, it is challenging to keep track of what happens between raw mining and purchase of mica. However, the solution is not an opaque supply chain and moving away from makeup products that use mica because this will further enhance poverty. The wayout lies in engaging with communities to ensure that profits derived from the work of mica miners are reinvested back into the community which can yield opportunities for the children of these communities.

In order to address this problem a number of brands have joined hands to form the Responsible Mica Initiative (RMI), a cross-industry "do tank" that was launched in 2017 with the aim of building a transparent and ethical supply chain by 2022. L'Oréal, Estée Lauder Companies, LVMH, Coty, Chanel, and Shiseido and other cosmetic conglomerates are part of this initiative. RMI is helping by providing schooling for children, access to healthcare for children and women, and taking initiatives to support villages so that they can expand their means of livelihoods beyond mica mining.

However, some companies prefer to substitute mica in their products by engaging with communities, so that profits from sales of their makeup are reinvested back into the community.

Despite lower profits, makeup companies need to take responsibility for adverse impacts in their supply chain. Governments and the global business community need to take action in order to put an end to child labour in the mines. In Madagascar, Terre des Hommes is focusing on providing safe childcare at the mine sites. UNICEF is helping by offering education to the children near mica mines in Madagascar, including at mica processing centres. In order to end child labour in mica mining, social development initiatives such as schooling facilities for children, along with provision of meals for family members can be a fruitful investment.

The minimum wages of mica miners need to be raised so that they can support their families and send their children to school. This will also help raise income levels of the local population and reduce poverty. The issue of child labour may also be addressed if the governments take initiatives to stimulate an increase in legal mining leases. Therefore, there is pressing need for elimination of child labour and it is the responsibility of brands, consumers and the governments to join hands and work together.
Sunera Saba Khan is a Research Economist at SANEM.

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Child Labour: The dark side of makeup industry

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Child labour in different industries across the world is common. However, one would not even think about presence of child labour in the makeup industry. Generally, any ethical issue in therewould relate to animal testing or unfamiliar ingredients. Therefore, it is shocking to know the use of child labour in this industry.

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exposing the beauty industry's dark side

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exposing the beauty industry's dark side

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Yes, the company may make over one thousand lipsticks within an hour, but what you don't know is that it's all thanks to the tiresome, physical work of employees that are paid only minimum wage. 'I feel like ColourPop sugar-coats everything,' explains Morton after several of her questions are shut down. 'They encouraged us to ask anything and then they were weird about it.'

What appears to have resounded with viewers the most however, is that Beauty Laid Bare shows how candelilla - although marketed as a vegan and 'ethical' alternative to beeswax - is produced in totally unethical circumstances, with workers handling sulphuric acid without any form of protection or safety equipment. 'They're using sulphuric acid to create candelilla wax which is then going into beauty products that I am using on my sulphuric acid burns to cover it up,' says Khan. 'I think that's really ironic.'

It's moments like this that really make you think, particularly when presented by those who don't have the same self-consciousness or detachment of a professional reporter. The earnest and enthusiastic Zers have no qualms about saying exactly what's on their mind, and it certainly gets the message across that young consumers are at the forefront of change. Essentially: don't underestimate Gen Z or their passionate commitment to the issues our world is currently facing because they're wholeheartedly prepared to stand up for what they believe in and their voices are being heard.

'Brands really need to talk to the consumers, if you don't, you're gone,' says Jane Larkworthy, beauty editor of The Cut. 'Rome was not built in a day and the rumblings of the revolution are getting louder. The industry is now more inclusive than ever, and Gen Z should be commended for asking for utter transparency from brands.'

Beauty Laid Bare is one of those documentaries you simply can't unsee, so trust me when I say I'll be sticking with non-plastic packaging, ethical ingredients, and refills from now on because we're rather a long way off from an industry that operates in a fair way for both people and the planet.

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The documentary exposing the beauty industry's dark side - Thred Website

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Yes, the company may make over one thousand lipsticks within an hour, but what you don't know is that it's all thanks to the tiresome, physical work of employees that are paid only minimum wage. 'I feel like ColourPop sugar-coats everything,' explains Morton after several of her questions are shut down.

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https://www.voguebusiness.com/beauty/whats-driving-the-chinese-boom-in-cosmetics-for-children

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What’s driving the Chinese boom in cosmetics for children?

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A growing market for children’s cosmetics in China is being fuelled by beauty bloggers and supported by a new generation of parents. Safe ingredients are a priority.

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When you choose Fairtrade coffee, not only can farmers build a better quality of life for their families and communities, they can invest in growing better quality beans too.

Fairtrade coffee farmers invest at least 25 percent of their Fairtrade Premium in improving productivity and quality.

Choose Fairtrade coffee and you're also supporting farmers to fight the challenges they may face. These include the effects of a changing climate, low and unpredictable incomes and in some coffee growing communities, there may not be enough food available for three to four months a year.

Being part of Fairtrade has meant better knowledge about protecting the local environment and the chance to plant other crops and buy livestock to put more food on the table.
Read more about coffee farmers and workers
Where to buy Fairtrade Coffee

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When you choose Fairtrade coffee, not only can farmers build a better quality of life for their families and communities, they can invest in growing better quality beans too. Fairtrade coffee farmers invest at least 25 percent of their Fairtrade Premium in improving productivity and quality.

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Electric car companies are lying to you (the "Zero Emission" scam)

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Apple and Microsoft apparently most ethical tech companies in latest list.

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Apple and Microsoft apparently most ethical tech companies in latest list.

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Ethisphere has released its annual edition of the most ethical companies from a variety of industries.

The 2022 edition of most ethical companies list saw some heavy hitters in the tech industry named as honorees as selected by the Ethisphere Institute. Apple, Microsoft, Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HP Inc., LinkedIn and Western Digital were among the companies named most ethical in the tech field by the advisory panel. This year's edition saw Apple named as one of the most ethical tech companies in its field for the first time ever, while Dell was honored for the 10th time since the award was created in 2006.
SEE: Top keyboard shortcuts you need to know (free PDF) (TechRepublic) Must-read CXO coverage
Apple's entry is in contrast to the revelation in late 2020 that its supplier, Suyin Electronics, used child labor in the manufacturing of electronics. Apple allegedly took more than three years to discontinue its relationship with Suyin, despite knowing the Chinese-based company employed children as young as 14.

In the telecommunications field, only AT&T was selected for the third time to the list. Within the software industry, Salesforce and Terada were named one of the most ethical companies for the 13th time in 16 years, and Workday was named an honoree, joining for the third time. The category of semiconductors saw ARM, Intel Corporation, Micron Technology and onsemi as being tabbed for the accolade.

"It is an honor for Micron to be named as one of Ethisphere Institute's Most Ethical Companies," said Micron president and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra via press release. "This recognition reflects the dedication of our more than 44,000 team members in 17 countries to hold ourselves to the highest standards of ethics and environmental and social responsibility. Micron believes that a culture of inclusion, unyielding integrity and accountability is the foundation for our continued success, and we will continue to pursue these ideals with passion."

How the most ethical companies are selected

According to Ethisphere's website, the 12-person advisory committee looks at a number of factors when selecting an organization for the award, via 200 data points across five categories:

Ethics and compliance program, which accounts for 35% of an organization's overall score

Culture of ethics, which accounts for 20% of the overall score

Environmental and societal impact, which accounts for 20% of the overall score

Governance, which accounts for 15% of the overall score

Leadership and reputation, which accounts for 10% of the overall score

Using the guidelines, the institute then evaluates these criteria via answers to its Ethics Quotient (EQ) questionnaire along with submitted supplemental documentation. When necessary, independent research and follow up with a candidate are also part of the evaluation process.

According to Ethisphere's website, "A company's final Ethics Quotient score is evaluated relative to those of its peers within the context of its structure, size and operating environment. Those companies demonstrating the strongest application across our methodology receive the designation of being one of the World's Most Ethical Companies."

SEE: Google Workspace vs. Microsoft 365: A side-by-side analysis w/checklist (TechRepublic Premium)

This year, 136 companies across 45 industries were selected for the honors, including 14 first-time honorees such as Apple. Ethisphere's website states that while any company can apply to be one of the most ethical companies, the awards are typically reserved for larger organizations that boast over $250 million in revenue.

Some of the benefits for organizations named to the list as outlined by Ethisphere were enjoying better long-term business performance, the ability to self-assess and identify gaps in company processes, and being able to compare internal ethics processes with past honorees.

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Apple, Microsoft top list of most ethical tech companies

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Ethisphere has released its annual edition of the most ethical companies from a variety of industries. The 2022 edition of most ethical companies list saw some heavy hitters in the tech industry named as honorees as selected by the Ethisphere Institute.

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Good On You Directory - Search Thousands of Fashion Brand Ratings

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Search sustainability ratings for thousands of fashion brands. Learn their impact on people, planet and animals. Discover new ethical clothing labels.

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It is World Fair Trade Day again! A chance to celebrate, and reflect, on the opportunities we have every day to shape how trade works.

Does this sounds too idealistic? Think again. No matter who you are, every time you buy a banana, or every time your business decides what to source, you play a role. The same applies if you need to decide how you farm, or even what messages or policies to stand for as a government representative, or an activist. We are all interconnected. Cause and effect.

Instead of this being a barrier to social justice, let's make this connectedness a strength. Because we are connected, we can actually join forces to shape, not only the future, but the present.

Positive impact is even greater when we work across our sphere of influence. Producers with brands, consumers with organisations, governments with businesses, and beyond.

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One farmer or worker alone may struggle, but together she and her neighbors can form a cooperative to have a better stance in negotiations, improving their business and their community.

One company working alone to do business more sustainably, may help a few hundred farmers or workers, but challenging the sector they work in, making their partners and competitors do the same, changes hundreds of thousands of lives.

One person on their own, changing habits and shopping fairer can stand for something, but that person inspiring another one who inspires the next person soon becomes a community that demands for change.

The effect is even greater when we work across our sphere of influence. Producers with brands, consumers with organisations, governments with businesses, and beyond.

Below are some inspiring cases of people breaking silos around the world to make fair trade the norm. Will you join?

From India to Sweden: changing the fashion world, one pair of jeans at a time.

A cold, rainy street in downtown Gothenburg, Sweden could not be much further from the hot, dusty cotton fields of Yavatmal in central India - yet there's a strong thread which links the two communities.

Gothenburg is home to Nudie Jeans, a fashion brand set up in 2001 which sources organic cotton for its range of jeans and other clothing from the Fairtrade certified Chetna Organic company in Yavatmal.

"What makes Nudie Jeans so special is our core focus on sustainability issues. Since day one, we've been working very hard to create a modern, sustainable business model," says CEO and co-founder Joakim Levin. "Fairtrade is an important piece of how we work with our supply chain, since the cotton industry is a problematic industry. Working with small farmers who are generally quite poor, Fairtrade gives them stability of course, and it can help them out and create a more sustainable and healthy supply chain, that's something we are very interested in."

Gothenburg is home to Nudie Jeans, a fashion brand set up in 2001 which sources organic cotton for its range of jeans and other clothing from the Fairtrade certified Chetna Organic company in Yavatmal

"When we travel to India to visit the farmers and the villages, we see what a difference it makes," says Jenny. "Of course, once you've done that, you want to do more and you want to do better. If you've been to these small villages and seen the impact it has for the farmers and their families - especially for the girls - then you'll never want to buy any other sort of cotton."

"Our aim has always been to work in a sustainable way with organic cotton, but when we started that was quite a new concept in the textile market. For a long time now we've tried to work sustainably in all aspects of the business, both socially and environmentally," says Jenny. "We always try to work with sustainable fabrics, and we've come a long way. Our hope is that more companies will follow us in the future, that they will start buying organic and Fairtrade cotton. That's the future - other alternatives are not as sustainable and they don't help the cotton farmers."

Behind strong coffee lies a strong community

High in the hills above Salamina in the stunningly beautiful Caldas coffee growing country in Colombia, a quiet revolution has taken place. In this corner of Latin America, women are challenging gender stereotype, running a successful coffee farms and managing a cooperative with around 2,300 members.

"I think that as a woman, my role in the cooperative is very special," says Liliana, Liliana Andrea Valencia Duque, President of the Cooperativa de Caficultores del Norte de Caldas. "Very few women get the opportunity to represent coffee growers. I want the world to know about our work to make women visible, performing jobs where they feel valued and stimulated."

Besides their strong coffee, the cooperative is especially proud of its work promoting women's health.

Besides their strong coffee, the coop is especially proud of its work promoting women's health. About four years ago they started a day of promotion and prevention for women's health. "Last year we expanded the programme so that around 150 women could have breast examinations. It's been a really beautiful experience for the women, they feel very loved by the coop, they feel valued and they known that women are important for the organisation." explains Liliana.

Lindelia Quintero Suarez, Director of the coop adds: "It's important because previously they had to go to another city to have these breast examinations, and they were very expensive. Now they are done here and I'm very happy and encouraged that women will continue to have them."

"If we did not have Fairtrade certification we would not have received the extra resources from a growing market which allowed us to develop the healthcare programme," says coop manager Cesar Julio Díaz Lasso. "Fairtrade certification generates additional resources which are very important for the farmers and cover many of their needs which the money from conventional coffee farming would not meet."

Scoring for a fairer future

An excited bunch of girls and boys kick up clouds of dust as they chase footballs on a training pitch in Goa, India. Some of them are so small their football shirts reach down to their knees. Just another bunch of soccer-mad youngsters enjoying a kick-about? Not quite - these are the kids of the Forca Goa Foundation, and they're playing with Fairtrade footballs.

The Foundation was set up by Forca Goa FC, one of India's top football clubs which competes in the Indian Super League and last year won the Indian Super Cup. The aim is simple - to use the power of football to transform the lives of youngsters in Goa.

President and co-owner Akshay Tandon takes up the story. "We decided to use football as a way to bring people together and create a state-wide grassroots programme," he says. "We set up the Forca Goa Foundation on three pillars - sustainability, empowerment and football."

Forca Goa strives to raise awareness about the importance of using sustainable products and kids being champions of sustainability.

From the beginning, the Foundation has been guided by Fairtrade principles. "Fairtrade can be seen as a set of values or virtues, on the basis of which we conduct ourselves," says Akshay. "We believe that Fairtrade is the right value system to use, so that when these children grow up, they have the same values that Fairtrade represents."

From embracing the use of Fairtrade products - not just footballs but t-shirts and football jerseys as well - the Foundation focuses on empowering girls and young women through sport.

"With our campaign we make sure that girls are not only developing on the field but that also they have all-round development," says Josline Dsouza, who works for the Foundation. "We not only look to develop the footballing skills of the children, but we look at the social aspect as well. We try to get the children aware about social issues and environmental issues."

"We run daily training sessions but it's not just about playing football," says Ishita. "After every training session we have something called a Learning Pitch, where we teach our children about sustainability, gender equality and good health and nutrition. We strive to educate all the children about the importance of using sustainable products and being champions of sustainability."

From a coffee farmer choosing climate resilient methods, to someone choosing to buy sugar made under fair working conditions, everyone's decisions matter and ultimately influence how trade works.

On World Fair Trade day, let's remember together we can make this cause-and-effect a strength by choosing accordingly.

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On World Fair Trade Day ask yourself: What kind of trade am I a part of?

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It is World Fair Trade Day again! A chance to celebrate, and reflect, on the opportunities we have every day to shape how trade works. Does this sounds too idealistic? Think again. No matter who you are, every time you buy a banana, or every time your business decides what to source, you play a role.

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When it comes to electronics, what Malaysia makes matters. According to a 2014 study " virtually every device on the market today " - from tablets to laser printers to microwaves - is likely to have involved Malaysia in some way.

Once a colonial outpost, the country has radically transformed itself into a key player in the global manufacture and trade of advanced electronics. The south-east Asian nation hosts more than 5,000 international businesses from 40 countries, thanks to 500 nationwide industrial estates and "free zones" for trade.

Malaysia has rebranded itself as a "heaven for foreign companies", describing itself as "cost-competitive", "pro-business" and "market-oriented".

But these company-friendly policies come with a major human cost, said Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch in Asia.

"Many of those working on the factory lines are migrant workers brought to the country on the promise of decent work but who are facing a system of exploitation that has deepened and expanded over the years," he said.

"While a lot of this might look like normal work, when you consider the position that many of these workers are in, where they have paid extortionate fees for their jobs, have had to work as long as three years to pay off that debt, and have no access to personal identification documents or any control over terms or conditions of work, then this isn't decent work - it is akin to modern slavery."

Migrant workers are the fuel driving Malaysia's electronics boom. Campaigners believe that as much as 40% of Malaysia's workforce is made up of migrant workers, up to a third of whom are undocumented.

Many global brands operating in the country rely on subcontractors or third-party recruiting agents to fill factories with workers.

"Malaysia is one huge assembly plant," said Bruno Pereira, of the Malaysian Trades Union Congress. "The who's who of the electronics industry is here, yet the labour supply companies and subcontracting companies are a law unto themselves. There is no minimum wage, no overtime rate and no inspection. They operate under the radar."

A 2014 report by supply chain specialists Verité found that as many as one in three foreign workers in Malaysia's electronics sector were working under conditions of forced labour. It concluded that poor living conditions, unlawful passport retention, deceptive recruitment, huge debts, no freedom of movement and penalties for leaving a job before the contract ends are just some of the conditions many workers face.

Forced labour has also been well documented in other sectors in Malaysia from domestic work to construction, agriculture, manufacturing and mining (an industry that actually depends on North Korean slave labour).

Migrant workers are routinely harassed by Rela - an armed paramilitary civilian volunteer corps with nearly 4 million members nationwide - who are granted "certain powers" by the government to tackle illegal immigration.

Complicated and outdated trade union laws mean that Malaysia has still not adopted the basic International Labour Organisation convention allowing freedom of association, and legal protection for migrants - should they need it - can be wholly inadequate.

The US State Department, which grades countries according to their efforts to curb trafficking, has repeatedly ranked Malaysia on the lowest level of its Trafficking in Persons (TiP) report, pointing to frequent forced labour, child labour and sex trafficking issues. The discovery last year on the Thai-Malaysian border of mass graves of suspected trafficking victims - who are believed to have been trafficked with the help of corrupt officials - pointed to a worrying level of collusion at the highest level in a country in which corruption among immigration and police officers is already well documented.

In last year's TiP report the State Department upgraded the country to the "tier 2 watch list", a move campaigners believe allowed Malaysia to become signatory to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a 12-country trade-liberalisation pact with the US and Canada, among others.

While TPP theoretically prohibits the use of child and forced labour, and promises to combat the trade in goods made by forced labour both inside and outside of TPP , how Malaysian employment law will adapt to these changes - particularly when it comes to foreign workers - is unclear.

In a keynote speech to British investors this year in London, Malaysia's prime minister, Najib Razak, made no mention of any employment changes, nor did he discuss his country's commitment to human rights.

Instead, he thanked notable UK companies such as Tesco, HSBC, Rolls Royce and BT for investing in the country, and pleaded with those at the Malaysia-UK Investor Showcase to follow their lead.

"Malaysia has built a resilient, sustainable and inclusive economy," Najib said. "You can count on us as your ideal partner for doing business in the region."

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Malaysia: forced labour casts dark shadow over electronics industry

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When it comes to electronics, what Malaysia makes matters. According to a 2014 study " virtually every device on the market today " - from tablets to laser printers to microwaves - is likely to have involved Malaysia in some way.

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G5- Economic Activities Book Collection on Epic

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View the G5- Economic Activities collection on Epic plus over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids.

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Fairtrade works with farmers and workers so they can improve their living standards, invest in their
communities and businesses, and protect our shared environment.

Fairtrade achieves this by rallying a global community of millions - farmers and workers, supply chain partners, brands, retailers, shoppers, schools, government - to pay fair prices and uphold fair production standards and practices.

Fair prices provide an immediate lifeline for farmers and workers struggling with low incomes and disadvantaged by global trade.

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What is Fairtrade? - Fairtrade Foundation

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With Fairtrade you have the power to change the world every day. With simple shopping choices, you can get farmers a better deal.

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How fast fashion adds to the world's clothing waste problem (Marketplace)

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The Problem With Fast Fashion | Teen Vogue

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HOW TO BE A FASHION REVOLUTIONARY - Fashion Revolution

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Fashion Revolution and British Council's revisited How to be a Fashion Revolutionary booklet. It's full of inspiration and ideas about how you can use your voice and your power to transform the fashion industry as we know it.

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FASHION FACTS - Sustainable Fashion Matterz

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Fashion industry facts you need to know!!! Find statistics and graphics about women, slave labor, water polution, fashion waste, fast fashion companies and consumer impact!

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Newsela | Deadly factory collapse calls into question the cost of cheap clothes

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The collapse of a garment factory in Bangladesh has forced retailers and lawmakers to take a long, hard look at the human cost of cheap clothes.

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Why run an ad in The New York Times on Black Friday telling people, "Don't Buy This Jacket"?

It's time for us as a company to address the issue of consumerism and do it head on.

The most challenging, and important, element of the Common Threads Initiative is this: to lighten our environmental footprint, everyone needs to consume less. Businesses need to make fewer things but of higher quality. Customers need to think twice before they buy. [Editor's note: The Common Threads Initiative has evolved and expanded into Our Footprint.]

Why? Everything we make takes something from the planet we can't give back. Each piece of Patagonia clothing, whether or not it's organic or uses recycled materials, emits several times its weight in greenhouse gases, generates at least another half garment's worth of scrap, and draws down copious amounts of freshwater now growing scarce everywhere on the planet.

We're placing the ad in the Times because it's the most important national newspaper and considered the "paper of record." We're running the ad on Black Friday, which launches the retail holiday season. We should be the only retailer in the country asking people to buy less on Black Friday.
But we're in business to make and sell products. Everyone's paycheck relies on that. Moreover, we are a growing business, opening new stores and mailing more catalogs. What do we tell customers who accuse us of hypocrisy?
It's part of our purpose to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis. [Editor's note: In 2018, we changed the company's purpose to: We're in business to save our home planet.]

It would be hypocritical for us to work for environmental change without encouraging customers to think before they buy. To reduce environmental damage, we all have to reduce consumption as well as make products in more environmentally sensitive, less harmful ways. It's not hypocrisy for us to address the need to reduce consumption. On the other hand, it's folly to assume that a healthy economy can be based on buying and selling more and more things people don't need-and it's time for people who believe that's folly to say so.

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Don't Buy This Jacket, Black Friday and the New York Times - Patagonia

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Why run an ad in The New York Times on Black Friday telling people, "Don't Buy This Jacket"? It's time for us as a company to address the issue of consumerism and do it head on. The most challenging, and important, element of the Common Threads Initiative is this: to lighten our environmental footprint, everyone needs to consume less.

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The Stories We Wear: Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll

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The Stories We Wear: Tom Doidge-Harrison

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[Patagonia Korea] Worn Wear: a Film About the Stories We Wear (KOR)

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Fashion Fridays on The Good Trade | Week Two: Slow Fashion On A Budget

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Welcome to Fashion Friday on The Good Trade where we explore some of the most frequently asked questions about sustainable and slow fashion! Thanks to our host, youtube creator, Dearly Bethany for hosting Fashion Fridays! Let us know in the comments any topics you'd like to discuss!

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Watch the film to discover more about Foncho, a banana farmer from Colombia and see how Fairtrade makes a real difference to the lives of Foncho, his family and their community. Length: 3 mins 30 secs To download this film, click on the link to Vimeo on the right hand side and there is [...]

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Freddy & Flora's Quest for Fairness - Fair Trade teaching resource for preschool children

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Listen to any discussion about supermarkets, food and the benefits of locally sourced produce and it won't be long before you hear the words "food miles." Although the expression was first coined back in the 1990s, over recent years those two words have really passed into the public consciousness and today, it seems, everyone is talking about them - but why, and what exactly are "food miles" anyway?

A Simple Idea

The idea behind the whole food miles thing is a very simple one - and the clue is, obviously, in the name; it is a way of expressing just how far the food we eat travels from the farm where it is first produced, before it ends up on our tables. In practice, however, it is not necessarily a straightforward thing to work out, since the journey from field to plate is not always a direct one. As a result, this distance may also include any number of other trips along the way, from farm to processor, from one processor to another, from processors to distribution centres, from there to the retailer and then finally to our homes. Worst of all, some of the journeys are very long indeed; in the fishing industry, for instance, there are tales of some of the fish caught in the North Sea travelling as far as China for processing, before making its way back to European tables.

Cutting the Carbon Cost

Transporting food around the UK represents nearly 25 per cent of all the trips made by heavy goods vehicles on the country's roads, according to DEFRA, and adds up to around a staggering 20 billion miles a year. That's an awful lot of fuel - and an equally big amount of carbon.

Just moving food up and down the country already represents huge distances travelled, but add all that's involved in bringing much of it into the UK by air, rail or ship in the first place, and it quickly becomes very clear that what we eat, eats up a lot of resources before ever we get our teeth anywhere near it. Cut the food miles, cut the carbon - or so the thinking goes; but is it really that simple?

Too Simple?

There are many who would say no - not because they don't care about the plight of the planet, but because they feel that there are just too many other factors that need to be taken into consideration when it comes to food.

For one thing, avoiding food produced in developing countries a long way away can have a catastrophic effect on the local economy and the people who may rely on export horticulture for their livelihoods. In some cases, it might even drive local farmers back to unsustainable agriculture methods to make ends meet, if their export market dwindles.

It is also important to think about the wider carbon costs involved in food production; locally produced food, it seems, may not automatically have the edge. A DEFRA study, for instance, concluded that it was less environmentally friendly to grow tomatoes in the UK than to import them from Spain, because heating British greenhouses used more energy than the transport. There are other examples too, which show that when you factor in things such as energy usage, fertilisers, feed and pesticides, the embodied energy balance does not always favour local produce.

It is a complex issue and perhaps looking at food just in terms of how far it has travelled risks missing a lot of other equally important things along the way; it's a good idea, but some people ask if it runs the danger of being just a bit too simple.

The Value of Food Miles

So where does all this leave the whole food miles idea? Is it a valuable guide to environmental impact, or an overly simplistic example of sound-bite science? The honest answer is that it's probably a bit of both; it mostly depends how you look at things. It is undoubtedly a good way to get people thinking about the whole idea of how and where our food is produced, and as a factor in the wider decision-making process over what you chose to buy and eat, "food miles" certainly have a part to play - but only a part. Clearly, there are other ethical and environmental concerns to consider too.

One of the hardest things that anyone who really cares about the planet has to realise is that the world isn't a simple place - it's really very complicated - and that can often make it very difficult to know for sure what to do for the best. The bottom line is, there are times when being eco-friendly isn't easy, but it's still worth trying, all the same!

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Listen to any discussion about supermarkets, food and the benefits of locally sourced produce and it won't be long before you hear the words "food miles." Although the expression was first coined back in the 1990s, over recent years those two words have

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They are the distance that your food travels from the grower to your plate, including travel to and from processor and retailer.

Why should I want to reduce them?

Because transporting your food long distances involves lorries and aeroplanes. And lorries and aeroplanes use lots of fuel and emit tons of CO2 emissions, contributing to global warming. But that's just the starting point. Other reasons why we should be reducing food miles wherever possible include wanting to eat fresher food, in season; supporting local and regional producers and the economy; and preventing 3rd world countries from cutting down forests and losing their own food, because big companies see food as a commodity, rather as a way to feed the people of that country.

How to reduce food miles:

1. Buy food that is grown or produced locally. When shopping in supermarkets, check the labels. If the product you're buying isn't grown locally, look at the options and buy the product that comes from the nearest source, i.e. if you live in the UK, choose French rather than South African apricots. Carry a small world map in your handbag or pocket for these occasions.

2. Eat what's in season. It won't have travelled as far as out-of-season fruit and vegetables. To find out what's in season, have a look at the Eat The Seasons website.

3. Visit your local Farmers' Market. Most towns have one, and they are a great source of truly local produce, not to mention a fun outing. Click here to find your local Farmers' Market.

4. Find your local farm shops, producers and pick-your-own farms at Big Barn.

5. Get a veg box delivered to your door. Big Barn can help you find your local supplier.

6. Grow your own. Get an allotment, or start a veggie patch in your back garden. If you have leftover seeds, consider swapping with friends or neighbours.

7. Support your local greengrocer, butcher and fishmonger, and ask them to stock more local produce.

8. Visit your local Country Market (used to be WI Market) for really local produce.

9. Some rare breeds farm parks and city farms offer their local, non-intensively reared meat for sale. If you have one near you, ask them.

10. Walk, cycle or take the bus to your local shops. This way you won't add to the food miles already accrued.

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What on earth are food miles? They are the distance that your food travels from the grower to your plate, including travel to and from processor and

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7 benefits of eating local foods

Questions about this information? Contact us.
Updated from an original article written by Rita Klavinski, Michigan State University Extension.
Eating locally grown foods has many benefits for the consumer, grower and the community.

Soon farmers markets and roadside stands will be open and offering early spring crops such as rhubarb and asparagus. Also, growers who have greenhouses or hoop houses can offer greens early in the growing season. After what seemed like a long, cold winter season the chance to have locally grown food available to add to meals is irresistible.

Having the option to purchase locally grown food has many benefits. Michigan State University Extension suggests the following benefits of buying locally grown food.

Locally grown food is full of flavor. When grown locally, the crops are picked at their peak of ripeness versus being harvested early in order to be shipped and distributed to your local retail store. Many times produce at local markets has been picked within 24 hours of your purchase.

Eating local food is eating seasonally. Even though we wish strawberries were grown year round in Michigan, the best time to eat them is when they can be purchased directly from a local grower. They are full of flavor and taste better than the ones available in the winter that have traveled thousands of miles and picked before they were ripe.

Local food has more nutrients. Local food has a shorter time between harvest and your table, and it is less likely that the nutrient value has decreased. Food imported from far-away states and countries is often older, has traveled and sits in distribution centers before it gets to your store.

Local food supports the local economy. The money that is spent with local farmers and growers all stays close to home and is reinvested with businesses and services in your community.

Local food benefits the environment. By purchasing locally grown foods you help maintain farmland and green and/or open space in your community.

Local foods promote a safer food supply. The more steps there are between you and your food's source the more chances there are for contamination. Food grown in distant locations has the potential for food safety issues at harvesting, washing, shipping and distribution.

Local growers can tell you how the food was grown. You can ask what practices they use to raise and harvest the crops. When you know where your food comes from and who grew it, you know a lot more about that food.

As the growing season starts and gets into full swing, you should think about how you can add more locally grown foods to your menus. By doing so you are supporting the many benefits of locally grown food.

MSU Extension has educators working across Michigan who provide community food systems educational programming and assistance. For more information, you can contact an educator by conducting a search with MSU Extension's Find an Expert search tool and using the keywords, "community food systems."

Did you find this article useful?

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Eating locally grown foods has many benefits for the consumer, grower and the community.

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What's Your Food Footprint? | Earth Science

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Three ways to reduce the impact of your diet

1. Eat more plant-based meals

Meat and climate change

Meat and dairy production account for 83 per cent of all agricultural land use, take up 30 per cent of the planet's land surface and are responsible for 18 per cent of greenhouse gases, including methane and nitrous oxide.

Growing animals for food is also inefficient. It takes about five to seven kilograms of grain to produce one kilogram of beef. Each of those takes energy and water to produce, process and transport.

As global meat consumption increases, so does its climate impact. By lowering your food-related emissions, moving to a mostly plant-based diet will greatly reduce your annual carbon footprint.

A Boston Consulting Group report found that, for each dollar, investment in improving and scaling up production of meat and dairy alternatives resulted in three times more greenhouse gas reductions compared with investment in green cement technology, seven times more than green buildings and 11 times more than zero-emission cars.

What you can do

Try going meat-free one day each week.
Skipping meat for one day a weekcan reduce your annual carbon footprint as much as not driving your car for a whole month. If you're already doing that, gradually increase the number.

Plan ahead.
Do some research and find recipes before you go shopping. Check out vegetarian or vegan cookbooks and websites.

Choose vegetarian and vegan restaurants and meatless menu alternatives.

2. Eat organic and local foods whenever possible

The problems with chemical agriculture

Synthetic pesticides and fertilizers are often made from fossil fuels. Manufacturing and transporting them uses energy and produces greenhouse gases.

Studies show that chemical farming uses more energy per unit of production than organic farming. Synthetic nitrogen fertilizers in soils produce nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas about 300 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.

Food produced closer to home

The average meal travels 1,200 kilometres from the farm to plate. Food grown locally produces fewer transportation emissions, is fresher and supports local farmers. As the distance food travels decreases, so does the need for processing and refrigeration to reduce spoilage.

Is it better to buy local or organic?

"Food miles" (the distance food travels from grower to consumer) actually make up a small percentage of its overall carbon footprint - about 11 per cent on average. How the food is grown makes up roughly 83 per cent.

One study showed that lamb raised in New Zealand and shipped 18,000 kilometres to the U.K. produced less than one-quarter of the greenhouse gases of locally raised British lamb. Local flocks ate grains, which take a lot of energy to grow, while the New Zealand flocks grazed on grass. Shipping the lamb to the U.K. was responsible for only five per cent of greenhouse gases; 80 per cent were from farm activities.

One packaged orange juice assessment found that more than one-third of lifecycle emissions came from the synthetic fertilizer used on the groves.

Choosing to buy organically grown food can be a better choice for the climate. But if possible, buy food that that's organic and local.

What you can do

Vote with your fork by supporting local, organic producers.
Organic food is better for the climate. Organic meat, poultry, eggs and dairy come from animals that aren't fed antibiotics or growth hormones. And because they're grown in healthy soils, organic foods are typically more nutritious, containing more vitamins and minerals. Organic farms promote genetic diversity, create less water pollution and soil damage, and result in fewer poisonings of farm workers and less harm to wildlife.

Read labels.

Tell the produce manager at your grocery store (and restaurant staff) what you want and why.

Grow your own food. Growing fruit, vegetables and herbs at home makes their trip to your table shorter. You can also grow your food without chemicals. Turn your yard or even the smallest of spaces - such as a balcony, windowsill or patio - into a food garden!

3. Don't waste food

Close to half of all food produced worldwide is wasted after production, discarded in processing, transport, supermarkets and kitchens. When people throw food out, all the resources to grow, ship, package and produce it are wasted too, including massive amounts of water.

Unused food in landfills is a significant source of greenhouse gases. About 20 per cent of Canada's methane emissions (a potent greenhouse gas) come from landfills.

What you can do

Learn how you can help end food waste.

Eat everything you buy. And only buy what you need.

Find creative uses for food scraps. Get ideas and inspiration from cookbooks, websites and social media. The more use you get from your food, the less you'll need to grow or buy.

Start a food sharing club. Food sharing clubs encourage healthy eating, reduce waste, build connections, create belonging and provide opportunities to learn about each other.

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What you eat affects the climate! Learn about meat's impact on climate change, the problems with chemical agriculture, the benefits of eating local and/or organic and tips for planning meals, shopping or ordering in a restaurant.

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Where Children Must Work  - Tropic Of Cancer - Episode 5 Preview - BBC Two

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10 years ago, journalist @simon_reeve met a little boy, Jehangir, who worked in a glass bottle factory, living an unimaginable life.

Simon had no idea this would happen 10 years later 👇👇👇

w/ @BBCTwo

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10 years ago, journalist @simon_reeve met a little boy, Jehangir, who worked in a glass bottle factory, living an unimaginable life.

Simon had no idea this would happen 10 years later 👇👇👇

w/ @BBCTwo https://t.co/xCE85l42m0

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10 years ago, journalist @simon_reeve met a little boy, Jehangir, who worked in a glass bottle factory, living an unimaginable life.

Simon had no idea this would happen 10 years later 👇👇👇

w/ @BBCTwo pic.twitter.com/xCE85l42m0
— UNICEF Bangladesh (@UNICEFBD) February 2, 2021

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.text
10 years ago, journalist @simon_reeve met a little boy, Jehangir, who worked in a glass bottle factory, living an unimaginable life.

Simon had no idea this would happen 10 years later 👇👇👇

w/ @BBCTwo https://t.co/xCE85l42m0

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
10 years ago, journalist @simon_reeve met a little boy, Jehangir, who worked in a glass bottle factory, living an unimaginable life.

Simon had no idea this would happen 10 years later 👇👇👇

w/ @BBCTwo https://t.co/xCE85l42m0

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
10 years ago, journalist @simon_reeve met a little boy, Jehangir, who worked in a glass bottle factory, living an unimaginable life.

Simon had no idea this would happen 10 years later 👇👇👇

w/ @BBCTwo

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Find out where you can buy Fairtrade chocolate and make a huge difference to the lives of cocoa farmers and their families around the world.

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Beauty and wellness - Fairtrade Foundation

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Fairtrade has got you covered - you can now incorporate Fairtrade products into nearly every part of your beauty and wellness routine.

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Every Fairtrade banana bought in the UK makes a significant difference to the 36,000 Fairtrade farmers and workers who grow them - and their communities.

For farmers and workers in countries like Colombia and the Dominican Republic, growing bananas for a living has always been challenging.

Buying Fairtrade bananas means that producers are guaranteed a minimum price, get an extra premium to invest and have improved workplace conditions and protection.
Read more about Fairtrade banana farmers and workers.
Where to buy Fairtrade bananas

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Find out where to buy Fairtrade bananas and the difference it will make to farmers and producers.

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Dr. Bronner's Fair Trade Palm Oil: Animated

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Protect Paradise: An Animation about Palm Oil

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Come On In to Coobana Fairtrade Banana Plantation | Fairtrade

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The Issue | No Child For Sale | World Vision Canada

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There are 152 million child labourers in the world today. But this isn't just a problem over there. It's a Canadian issue. Learn more about child labour.

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Child labour is a term used to describe work that deprives children of their childhood, endangers their health and well-being, and hinders their personal development. Canadians might categorize child labour as something that happens in the dark corners of far-off places, but the reality is, child labour remains a rampant issue today, both at home and abroad.

At the beginning of 2020, 1 in 10 children aged 5 and over were engaged in child labour worldwide. This is equivalent to 160 million children - 69 million of whom were girls and 97 million boys. As of 2022, an estimated 79 million of these children are engaged in dirty, dangerous and degrading work.

Africa tops the list of regions with the highest prevalence of child labour, accounting for 72 million of all child labourers globally. Since 2012, Sub-Saharan Africa has seen the largest increase in the number of children involved in child labour - the region has more child labourers than in the rest of the world combined. Asia and the Pacific ranks second-highest with 62 million child workers. The two regions account for nearly nine out of 10 children involved in child labour worldwide.

The numbers are alarming despite significant progress in reducing child labour in the last twenty years. Furthermore, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising poverty was predicted to push an estimated 9 million additional children into child labour by the end of 2022.

And while child labour may be illegal in Canada, that doesn't mean we don't have our own child labour problem.

Keep reading for more child labour facts and how you can help.

1. What is child labour?

2. What are the causes of child labour?

3. What are the effects of child labour?

4. Is there a problem with child labour in Canada today?

5. What is Canada doing to stop child labour?

6. You mentioned supply chains - what are those?

7. How can I stop child labour?

8. Quick read: child labour facts

1. What is child labour?

Child labour is defined as the use of children in industry or business, especially when illegal or considered inhumane.

The work that these children do is often harmful to their health, interferes with their education, or inhibits their physical mental, spiritual, moral or social development.

As recently as 2021, 4.3 million children were working in forced labour, which includes children in situations of debt bondage, slavery and commercial sexual exploitation.

A child's age, the type of work and the hours of work performed are determining factors in whether a particular form of work can be classified as child labour.

Generally, unsafe child labour practices are defined in part by the number of working hours for a specific child's age. Unsafe child labour includes:

any of the worst forms of child labour: including excessively long hours, night work, work with heavy machinery or work that takes place underground or underwater.

any labour performed by a child under the age of 12

more than 14 hours of work, per week, by a child aged 12-14

more than 43 hours of work, per week, by a child aged 15-17

In its most extreme forms, child labour causes children - at very young ages - to be separated from their families, exposed to hazardous work, left to fend for themselves or enslaved.

Pinky, age 10, was forced to drop out of school and start working at a factory due to lockdowns brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. At work, she has to handle machines that are too big for her fingers, a condition considered unsafe, especially for children. World Vision Bangladesh

2. What are the causes of child labour?

Poverty
​Like so many other issues in the world, the root cause of child labour is poverty. Unemployment and the need to survive often lead families to make desperate decisions. Lack of education can also impact children - since their parents may not understand or see the short and long-term value of their child receiving an education instead of working.

Crisis
​Natural disasters or the death of one of both parents can force children into hazardous work to help their family survive day-to-day.

Chronic emergencies
Things like repeat drought or famine can leave families in dire circumstances where working to survive is one of the few options.

Conflict
War or government corruption can turn the lives of children upside down, forcing them to abandon schooling and regular routines to earn a living.

Demand
​The demand for low prices and cheap obedient labour can trap children in hazardous work.

3. What are the effects of child labour?

There are many ways that child labour can affect children, and these can vary depending on which industry the child is working in. Generally, child labourers can suffer from long-term health problems due to malnutrition, exposure to chemicals, abuse, injuries, exhaustion and psychological harm.

In agriculture, children may be exposed to toxic pesticides or fertilizers. They work with dangerous blades and tools and carry heavy loads.

In mining, children may use poisonous chemicals, face the risk of mine collapse, and sometimes work with explosives.

In construction, children may carry heavy loads, work at heights without safety equipment, and risk injury from dangerous machinery.

In manufacturing, children may use toxic solvents, perform repetitive tasks in painful positions, and risk injury from sharp tools.

In domestic work, children risk abuse, work long hours, and often live in isolation from their families and friends.

It is also true that children who work often don't get a proper education. Long, strenuous work days can leave kids exhausted and unable to attend classes or do their homework. For parents who are struggling to keep their families afloat, sending kids to school is a luxury they cannot afford.
4. Is there a problem with child labour in Canada today?

Unfortunately, yes. Child labour laws in Canada were enacted at the beginning of the 20th century and outlawed the employment of children. But Canadians continue to be affected by child labour today.

Research published in 2016 and updated in 2021 found that over 1,200 companies operating in Canada are known to be importing goods at a high risk of being produced by a child or through forced labour. The majority of these companies are disclosing very little information, if any, on the policies, practices and processes they have in place to address these risks.

This means that the average Canadian is likely to be connected to child labour through the everyday products we buy and consume.

5. What is Canada doing to stop child labour?

In 2021, the government of Canada pledged to conduct a risk assessment of federal procurement supply chains. This aims to identify goods that may have been made or produced through child labour, forced labour or human trafficking.

Bill S-211, otherwise known as the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act, was passed on May 3, 2023 after receiving unanimous support in the Senate earlier in the year. This bill would require Canadian companies to check that none of their goods or components are produced in sweatshops employing children or people forced to work in dangerous conditions for meagre pay. They must also report on their efforts to prevent and mitigate the risks of child and forced labour in their operations, enabling Canadians to have confidence that their purchases are ethical.

Canada is a leader in promoting the respect and dignity of all people, regardless of where they live. But we're not yet doing our part to call for greater transparency in global supply chains. With a growing number of jurisdictions taking legislative action, it's time for Canada to uphold their commitment to introduce more legislation build on the meaningful progress generated by Bill S-211.

Read more about how Canadians have stepped up and spoken out against child labour.

6. You mentioned supply chains - what are those?

A supply chain is the system of organizations, people, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from the supplier to the customer. Supply chains can include many touchpoints and be very difficult to follow. For example, a shoe might have its sole glued on in one factory, travel elsewhere to get laces, be packaged in a different facility and make a few additional stops before being shipped to Canada. A child labourer involved in any step of this lengthy process can connect the product, and the consumer, to child labour.

Suldana, a 15-year-old girl in Somalia, hikes to the nearby town of Doolow to wash dishes for long hours. She's working to support her family, who faces major food insecurity due to severe drought. Photo: Gwayi Patrick

7. How can I stop child labour?

After everything you've read, you may be wondering how to stop child labour? As a Canadian consumer, you have more power to demand change than you think.

In 2021, Canada imported at least 98 "risky" products like electronics, garments, and textiles - an increase of nearly 30 per cent since 2016. These products have well-documented cases of worker exploitation and may contain high instances of child and/or forced labour in some countries. A scroll through our updated list of risky imports may surprise you at how many items you've recently purchased may be linked to child labour.

Now that you're better equipped with information that can help you identify goods that may be linked to child labour, you can purchase goods that are ethically sourced, ethically made and ethically distributed. When consumers shop in a conscious way, companies are more likely to take notice and address their supply chain practices. These tips can help you become a more ethically conscious shopper.

8. Quick read: child labour facts

Here are some child labour facts to help you understand the issue:

It's estimated that there are 160 million victims of child labour, worldwide.

79 million child labour victims work in dirty, dangerous and degrading jobs.

Almost half of all child labourers are between ages 5 and 11.

Approximately 4.3 million children work in forced labour, including debt bondage, slavery and commercial sexual exploitation.

Over 1,200 companies operating in Canada are known to be importing goods at a high risk of being produced by a child or through forced labour.

Canada imports more than $43 billion worth of everyday products that may have been produced by child or forced labour annually as of 2020

61 per cent of child labour victims are boys, however the number of girls is underreported because they're often involved in "hidden" forms of work, such as domestic labour.

71 per cent of child labour victims are in agriculture: fishing, forestry, livestock herding, commercial farming.

17 per cent of child labour victims are in services: sex trafficking and tourism, domestic services, food services and housekeeping.

12 per cent are in industry: sweatshops, factories, mining, brick making, stone quarries.

The number of children involved in child labour has declined by one third since 2000.

By 2025, UN member states-which includes Canada-are committed to ending all forms of forced labour, modern slavery and child labour.

For so many families, having their children work is an inevitable reality - one that could change if parents had reliable income-earning opportunities in their communities, and children had the stability and resources needed to attend school.

Updated by Melanie Ramos

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What is child labour and what is Canada doing about it? Get the facts on what causes child labour, the global supply chain and what you can do to help stop it.

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From farm to factory to your closet: how to help fight child labour in the fashion industry.

We are calling for transparency across the fashion Industry

The act of buying clothes used to be an infrequent event, something you did for a special occasion, or when the seasons changed. Clothing was intentional, durable and made to last. Then, in the late 20th century, things began to change. Trends sped up, clothing became cheaper to make, and people began making more frequent purchases.

Enter fast fashion, cheap and trendy clothing inspired by celebrities and the runway. It required a cheaper workforce to keep up with the demand, leading to lower labour standards and problems like child labour in production. Children are employed because they are easier to exploit, and their hands are smaller for finer work. More inexpensive clothing options meant more clothing produced, thus more waste.

Twelve-year-old Kanya (pictured) sits on the roof of her home every day from morning to sunset, sewing pieces of thick leather together to form shoes. She earns less than $1 for each pair of shoes made.
Recently, some organizations began fighting to bring sustainability back into supply chains through increased transparency, accountability around social and environmental impacts and fair wages. Terms like ethical fashion and sustainable fashion are now trending as the world works to correct its path.

Here at World Vision Canada, we believe every child should live life to its fullest. With an estimated 73 million children working in jobs that are dirty, dangerous and degrading, including the garment industry, there is a great deal of work needed to achieve this vision.

The U.S. Department of Labour's "List of Goods Produced by Child or Forced Labour", estimates that child labour or forced labour touches at least 148 products. This includes cotton, textiles, silk thread and leather goods from 76 countries.

This means that the likelihood that you own a piece of clothing made by a child is high.

Want a practical way to make a difference? We've put together a list of companies that are taking positive steps towards ethical supply chains.

This is just the beginning. A quick search will give you even more results from other bloggers and influencers who have compiled lists of their fave places to shop. You can also download apps like, Good on You, where you can look up your favourite brands before you buy.

An awesome West Coast company, Silver and Gold clothing sources their stock only in B.C. or a women-run, ethical facility in Cambodia (check it here). Their clothing is natural and organic, which means you can feel good about the environment too!

This Toronto-based company works with family-run farms in Egypt to safeguard fair pay and safe working conditions. A portion of their profits is donated to build primary schools in farming communities focused on girls' education with a 2:1 female/male ratio.

Outdoorsy? Just want to be cabin-chic? MEC is an excellent place to start. They have set goals around accountability, product manufacturing, Fair Trade and environmental impact. They expect their factories to meet criteria around these goals.

The focus of Girlfriend Collective/Reformation centres around a commitment to a smaller environmental impact and fair treatment of workers. Looking at factors such as quality, price, speed, reduced environmental impact and working conditions, this company strives for a system built on sustainability, accountability and transparency.

Based primarily online, thredUP re-circulates second-hand clothing, either in their central store locations, online, or in pop-up shops. thredUP's goal is to publicize the holistic social and environmental impact of second-hand fashion to achieve sustainability within this industry.

Tonlé uses scrap fabric waste from mass manufacturers to create handmade clothing and accessories with Cambodian workers. Through this supportive setting, Tonlé seeks to address both social and environmental issues.

Christy Dawn pieces are all manufactured by local artisans in Downtown Los Angeles using leftover fabric in order to minimize environmental impact. Further, instead of creating thousands of garments at a time, Christy Dawn sews together a limited number of pieces in order to put the environment first and prioritize quality and vintage craftsmanship.

In response to the collapse of the Bangladesh factory in 2013, PACT Organic Apparel, based in the U.S., works to facilitate a socially sustainable option for clothing production within the confines of Fair Trade, while also respecting environmental resources through ways of not using harmful dyes and pesticides. PACT also works with farmers to grow organic cotton!

tentree helps you become a more ethical consumer, paying close attention to environmental stewardship and responsibility. tentree inspires people to look at not just what goes in one's body, but also what is worn on one's body!

Local Women is a fair trade textile and handicraft collective in Kathmandu, Nepal. They focus on empowering and educating disadvantaged/marginalized women using sustainable methods. All products from Local Women are ethically produced, providing fair wages and working conditions for the women who make them. They also have social business programs which seek to uplift women, their children and their communities.

1. How are children involved in child labour in the fashion industry?
Child labourers are found in the production of textiles, leather, footwear and farming. They are used at every stage of the clothes-making process - from harvesting raw materials to sewing for large brands. Regardless of the stage, this work can take a mental, physical, social and emotional toll on children. When children are forced to work, they are often unable to attend school. A lack of education means poor job opportunities leading to abuse by employers. All of this perpetuates the cycle of poverty.

2. What are clothing brands doing to stop child labour?
Fighting child labour within the fashion industry is a difficult task.Global supply chains are complex and often, child labour is hidden and connected to a range of other labour abuses within supply chains.

3. Why don't brands know if there are children working for them?
Clothing companies often do not own the factories where clothing is manufactured. Instead, companies contract out a factory to produce their garments. The company may vet the factory, but due to cost and time pressures, factories further sub-contract out the work. In fact, a pocket can be made by one factory and buttons in another factory.

4. What can I do to contribute to ethical fashion?
Lots! There are many ways you can begin your journey as an ethical consumer!

Put your money where your ethics are

1. Before you buy, find out if your favourite retailer publishes information about their supply chain. Do a quick online search and see if they come up in the news alongside terms such as "fast fashion" or "ethical fashion" or tweet at a company to get the answers you need.

2. Is it certified as ethical?

Always research companies, but you can also keep your eye out for sustainability labels like Fairtrade, B Corp, Canada Trade Organic Association and Ecocert. Certifications such as these require companies to stick to specific ethical standards to keep their accreditations.

Check your closet. Chances are you're buying most of your clothing from the same brands over and over again. The tag inside your clothes may be a good starting point for further research.

When you're shopping, ask yourself...
Where is this from?
Who made it?
Under what conditions?
Does it seem this company has a handle on these issues?

In today's world, fast fashion has taken over as trends come and go quickly. Here are a few ways to keep up your style and your ethics!

1. Shop second hand-thrift stores, charity shops and consignment shops are a great way to give an older piece of clothing new life, reduce waste and keep some money in your wallet.

2. Buy less, but better-perhaps you're looking to streamline your wardrobe and reduce waste. Go ahead, do a little research, take stock of your closet and buy basics that will last and can be combined with some of your older items for a new look.

3. Repair your clothes- "darn your socks" isn't a term damning your clothes to the nether world. It's a way to make sure those clothes that only need a stitch or two don't end up in the dump. Get to know your local dry cleaner (they usually have a seamstress) or jump on YouTube and learn to sew. Some stores will even repair their clothes for free or a small fee.

4. Consider a clothes swap! Getting together with friends and trading clothes is not only a great way to refresh your wardrobe (or Marie Kondo your closet), but it's also an excellent excuse for a little social time. Think grown up slumber party with all the things you couldn't have as a kid.

Use your social media for good

a. Use your Twitter to take action

Hi @_______, I recently learned that child labour can occur within supply chains and I want to be a more #ConsciousConsumer. To help me, can you share what you are doing to ensure your clothing and accessories are child labour-free? #NoChildForSale

b. Send an email to your favourite brand

Dear [company name],

I'm a customer and a fan of your clothing and accessories. Recently, I learned that child labour can occur within supply chains. To learn more about this issue, you can visit World Vision Canada's website. I want to support a brand that takes action against/on child labour. What are you doing to ensure your products are child labour-free and is this information publicly available? Specifically, do you:

Have established codes of conduct for suppliers that permit child labour?

Ensure employees are paid a decent wage so that families don't need to send their children to work?

Provide training for staff and suppliers that raises awareness and builds their capacity to monitor and implement these standards?

Make unannounced visits to audit third-party suppliers to measure compliance?

Set up formal, accessible grievance mechanisms to report violations of standards and a process to respond to these violations?

Thank you in advance for your reply.
Sincerely,
[Sender's Name]

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Ethical & Sustainable Fashion Guide | World Vision Canada

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We are calling for transparency across the fashion Industry The act of buying clothes used to be an infrequent event, something you did for a special occasion, or when the seasons changed. Clothing was intentional, durable and made to last. Then, in the late 20th century, things began to change.

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Deep inside the reserve forests of Bihar, India, the hot morning sun beats down at 40 degrees Celsius. Along the dry, muddy ground are flecks of mica dust, waiting to be collected. The mine is busy; too busy for a place that "officially shut-down" months ago.

Nearly 40 men, women and children are here hunting for mica, a mineral that will give paint, electronics and make-up that irresistible shimmer.

Six-year-old Roshni and her little brother Kamal, four, sit at the mouth of the pitch-black cave picking tiny flecks into a bowl.

Dig, sort, repeat.

They're paid 10 rupees ($0.15 US) per kilogram. The children treat it like a game to get through the day. "On an average day together, we collect 40 to 50 kilograms," says Karan.

So, why hand-pick the mica? Could machines not be used instead?

"If mica is collected using machines, it breaks into finer pieces, reducing its value in the market," says Rajendar, the group guide who once worked in this very mine. "Once it's broken down, the mica can only be collected using smaller tools and bare hands."

During a recent NGO coalition meeting on child labour, a Bihar government official said, "It is a law violation if people are mining without approval. If they are engaging in child labour, they're committing a double crime."

Though this mine is illegally operated, it employs people from nearby villages and communities, targeting those who don't have any other option for work.

The only alternative is to migrate to a bigger city in search of work. Karan tried this before. He traveled to Bangalore-over 2,100 kilometers away-but ended up as a daily wage labourer in the plastic scrap industry. He returned home six months later.

"I couldn't afford to take care of my expenses there and save enough to send money home as well," he says. "It was very difficult."

So here they are now: Karan and his family, living in a small, temporary hut, about 30 kilometers away from the mine. It takes a grueling three to four hours to commute to work on foot. Apart from this and the lack of proper housing, the family also could do with clean water, proper safety and health care facilities.

"My grandfather did this, my father did this, and now I do this," says Karan, solemnly. He hopes against all odds that one day, his future children won't have to say the same.

Roshni and Kamal's parents, Devi and Karan, take turns holding the torch while the other digs into the rocky, slushy earth. They toss the muddy mica mix into the cane basket, then swiftly sort the mica from the rest.

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Mica Mining: A Family Legacy | No Child For Sale | World Vision Canada

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The story of a family hand-picking mica. Learn more.