A walking advertisement for child abuse

My local grocery store finally got the memo about fair trade coffee and surprised me this afternoon with a wide selection to chose from. This made me very happy, as I've practically stalked those aisles for months now hoping that it would magically appear. Low and behold, on the top shelf in aisle 11, there were my fervently sought after coffee beans. Thank you for listening, Beacon St. Star Market.

Walking home with my husband Kyle, I was so excited to finally have it in my hands. (although in all honesty, I could have walked the extra mile to Whole Foods earlier and have been done with it, but whatever). Naturally, we started talking about other fair trade goods, until Kyle looked at me and said, "you know, you're excited about your coffee and chocolate, but you're still wearing clothes made from child labor."

Well, shit. I think I just got called out.

It's true, though. Looking at my clothing today, I realized I am a walking advertisement for child abuse. *Please ignore my shiny boob and puffy face*

-My shirt is from Banana Republic, a brand that is owned by Gap, Inc. In 2003, Gap was sued by a collective of sweatshop workers in Saipan, who alleged that the company denied overtime pay, failed to create safe working environments, and forced workers to undergo abortion procedures, among other things (source). Additionally, in 2007, an undercover reporter from the BBC obtained footage of child labor in Indian Gap factories. In both instances, Gap, Inc. saved their butts by paying obscene amounts of money to workers and by "destroying" all goods made in violation of child labor laws (source). The scandals caused them so much trouble that Gap, Inc. was compelled to add an additional page to their website that promotes their "social responsibility."

-That funky necklace I'm sporting is from Wal-Mart, themselves no stranger to child labor law violations (anyone else remember Kathie Lee Gifford's clothing line?). Wal-mart has routinely been accused of employing child labor to manufacture their goods, and they've been routinely called out for it.This article from 2007 spells out the troubling stories about Wal-mart's labor practices in developing countries. So while that necklace may only have set me back $10, I've bought into a much bigger problem. Somewhere, some child may have suffered to make this cheap piece of plastic, and how on earth can I justify needing something so pointless that badly?

-My jeans are Express. I couldn't find any outright slave labor accusations there, but I'm sure it's not out of the realm of possibility that they employ cheap labor, too.

As a teacher, naturally I'm horrified by child labor. It infuriates me that education is simply not an option in so many third world countries. The continued practice of child labor has been condemned by so many but tackled by so few. The International Labor Organization (www.ilo.org) recognizes child labor as any job that is mentally, physically, or emotionally harmful to children, and/or deprives them of an education. Without education, these children have no future, and more importantly, will cause further harm to the economies of the countries in which they live. Poverty is directly linked to a person's education. Without education, there is no drive to compete, produce quality goods, or generate income.

These children deserve to be cared for, not abused for a quick buck. It's obvious to me now that I have to start educating myself more about these problems, and what I can do to maybe prevent myself from exacerbating them.

So in short, I'm feeling pretty wretched right now, Fair Trade coffee be damned.