justasque Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 .... And I just couldn't justify paying $40 for a onesie when I could buy used ones for almost nothing at garage sales, ... I think that when you buy used, you're off the hook for immoral labor practices. And a used shirt is better for the environment any day of the week than a brand new organic one. Buying used helps to create a second-hand market for those clothes that will hold up well and have qualities that help them hold their value (classic styles, thoughtful design, practical features). Which means that some of the people who couldn't afford the $40 onsie will be able to buy one on the second-hand market, and that some others will be able to buy new if they factor in the resale profit. And letting it be known that your wardrobe is second-hand helps to remove the stigma associated with buying used. All of which creates more demand for clothing made to high quality standards, which gives manufacturers incentive to pay higher wages to skilled workers. So one thing people can do is to shop the used market first, only purchasing new if an item can't be found on the used market, and then making sure any unwanted clothing in decent shape goes into the used market rather than the landfill. Ultimately, though, we've been living off the backs of third-world labor for a long time, and removing ourselves from that will lower our ability to afford many of the kinds of things that we have gotten used to having. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 My church runs a fair trade store every few months. The article in the OP has me a lot more interesting in going to it to learn more. They are going to show a documentary about the "dark side of chocolate," so I assume it will be about the slavery issue. I know the members of my Sunday School class have been feeling discouraged about the limited interest. Maybe they need to print out flyers or posters and hang them up on the bulletin boards. I certainly didn't know most chocolate uses child slave labor. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasperstone Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 Aldi here in Australia has fair trading chocolate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 I hate fair trade coffee, except the kind at Costco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brit29 Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 I'm so happy to see this issue getting attention. We haven't knowingly bought slave made chocolate in a few years, since I first heard about it. It was a huge shock the first time I read a report on the subject...I just truly had no idea. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 Here is a list of ethical chocolate companies. Surprised (because it's inexpensive chocolate, but also pleased) to see Aldi on the list, but puzzled that Trader Joe's is not, since they are owned by the same company... or are they? And Kirkland (Costco) is not on the list. But, who knows, really? Thanks for sharing this! I love Aldi's chocolate. It's cheap and has a short ingredient list, including real vanilla instead of artificial vanillin. Choceur Dark Hazelnut, yum... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 I wasn't aware, it's just one of those issues I haven't researched. But, thanks for bringing to my attention now. We'll be ordering fair trade chocolate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 Oh, and in that line of inquiry, if you buy fair trade chocolate from Amazon - in my area there is NO choice for this kind of thing so I have to order online - what do you recommend? I would need dark chocolate and milk chocolate if I can get it, and it would be nice if it was decent quality for candy making because ds makes a specialty toffee for the holidays, and some of it goes to a charity auction for Doctors Without Borders, and usually pulls very generous bids because it is so well known. But, if we can't get a good chocolate humanely, then we'll pull him off the auction list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 I'm confused. She asked for a chocolate without dairy, gluten, and soy, and the first Chocolove label I looked at has soy lecithin and the label indicates it may contain milk and wheat. :confused1: Am I missing something? Thanks and oops to that! I was focused on ethically produced and good tasting, not the ingredients. For me, dairy-free is necessary at certain times but possibly having a teensy weentsy trace of milk just because it was made on equipment that may have been used for ingredients including dairy doesn't matter so that didn't register with me either. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneezyone Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 Oh, and in that line of inquiry, if you buy fair trade chocolate from Amazon - in my area there is NO choice for this kind of thing so I have to order online - what do you recommend? I would need dark chocolate and milk chocolate if I can get it, and it would be nice if it was decent quality for candy making because ds makes a specialty toffee for the holidays, and some of it goes to a charity auction for Doctors Without Borders, and usually pulls very generous bids because it is so well known. But, if we can't get a good chocolate humanely, then we'll pull him off the auction list. I'm only familiar with what's produced locally. Do a search for "single origin" "bean to bar" chocolate. The first time I did a chocolate tasting with single-origin dark chocolates was life-changing. It's hard to go back to ol' Cadbury once you've tasted those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 if you buy fair trade chocolate from Amazon - in my area there is NO choice for this kind of thing so I have to order online - what do you recommend? I like Chuao chocolates, but I don't think they make a plain one. All theirs are flavored that I know of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 It's not really that shocking. Nearly everything you purchase has been tainted by slavery or exploited labor somewhere along the supply chain. We don't even quite know how many slaves there are. So, yeah. The chocolate industry by and large depends on child slavery. But in the end, most of the modern world runs on exploited labor of some form or another. Once you start looking down that rabbit hole, you find it never ends. There's always more of it. I try to make it a point to buy fair trade for "wants". For necessities, I don't worry so much - not because that suffering is less important, but because I can easily cut chocolate out of my budget if it's too pricey, but I can't just decide not to buy clothes for the children if I can't afford the less-likely-to-use-slaves brands of clothes. This. It's so disheartening. It's a full-time job to try to find things that aren't tainted by slave labor, and it's quite possibly impossible. It doesn't mean we give up, but it means that every single thing (Every Single Thing) you buy has probably been tainted. So, we think about chocolate right now, but what every single other thing you ever buy? How do we ever stop this madness? How can people enslave other people? Have they no sympathy or empathy? I don't understand. I'm so weary of this world, people. Just so weary. My Pollyanna glasses from my youth are gone and I'm just so sad when I look around at how the world really works. :( 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serenade Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 Major changes will not happen until Americans and other westerners are tired of being told how to live. Who taught us to be so busy that we can't grow food, or even cook dinners for our families? Who taught us to get on this merry-go-round, and why haven't more of us gotten back off? Who taught us to buy ourselves sick and amuse ourselves to death, when our progenitors valued frugality, efficiency, and community? Who taught us that we suddenly have zero interest in where anything comes from or why we want it? This. And it's so hard to break out of the cycle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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