RE: buy nothing day
Deirdre Malfatto
Did you know that the majority of the clothes made by Nike, The
Gap (which includes Old Navy and Banana Republic), Guess, and
Oshkosh are made in overseas sweatshops that treat, often
underaged, workers miserably? When we buy clothes, toys,
housewares, gadgets, etc. that are made in China, Malaysia,
Vietnam, etc., etc., we are very often buying items made by workers
who are payed less in a month than we pay for a single Gap t-shirt
here? Workers are made to work incredibly long hours, often
seven days a week, in terrible conditions, and then can afford only
to go home to their rat-infested shantytown without running water or
electricity? The Gap, for one, says they are doing something about
this, but a little research (try Coop Americas site for a start --
http://www.coopamerica.org/) shows that what they are saying is
mostly doublespeak. Often even items that say they are made in
USA (and the Gap is a prime offender here) are made in Saipan,
which is under US rule, but still is home to many sweatshops.
And what happens to all the things we buy cheap in order to save
money? What happens to all the cheap plastic toys that break or
clothes that fall apart are too grungy after the kids have outgrown
them to pass on? What happens to all the plastic shopping bags
that we bring things home in and all the plastic that pretty new things
are wrapped in? We toss it all, and it adds to landfill and pollution.
And where does all this plastic come from? And where does the
energy come from to run the factories these things are made in?
Most often from our waning petroleum stores. And what about
wood toys and paper bags? Only a small percentage of that is
being taken from sustainably managed forests. The rest comes
from old forests that are being chopped down so that we can have
things cheap.
And why do we need all this stuff to begin with? Often because we
are told we need it. Commercials, advertisements, prominent
logos, peer pressure, etc. etc. all make us feel there is something
lacking in our lives if we dont have the latest this or enough that.
Our children are hit especially hard by this, and it wreaks havoc on
their self-esteem.
When we make do without or buy things used or buy products
made with sustainably managed materials and support companies
that treat their workers well, we are doing our part to support human
rights and a clean environment and a better world (a world at all) for
our children and our grandchildren to grow up in.
Buy Nothing Day reminds us of these things. If enough people
refuse to be coerced into buying new things on that day, it can send
a message to the big corporations that we dont want sweatshops
or child labor or so much waste and that we dont want them to
coopt our children. But even if only one person participates in Buy
Nothing Day, it can remind that person that there are things we can
do on a personal level to remove ourselves from the cruelties being
inflicted on other human beings and our planet.
Stepping off my soapbox :-)
Deirdre in NYC
Gap (which includes Old Navy and Banana Republic), Guess, and
Oshkosh are made in overseas sweatshops that treat, often
underaged, workers miserably? When we buy clothes, toys,
housewares, gadgets, etc. that are made in China, Malaysia,
Vietnam, etc., etc., we are very often buying items made by workers
who are payed less in a month than we pay for a single Gap t-shirt
here? Workers are made to work incredibly long hours, often
seven days a week, in terrible conditions, and then can afford only
to go home to their rat-infested shantytown without running water or
electricity? The Gap, for one, says they are doing something about
this, but a little research (try Coop Americas site for a start --
http://www.coopamerica.org/) shows that what they are saying is
mostly doublespeak. Often even items that say they are made in
USA (and the Gap is a prime offender here) are made in Saipan,
which is under US rule, but still is home to many sweatshops.
And what happens to all the things we buy cheap in order to save
money? What happens to all the cheap plastic toys that break or
clothes that fall apart are too grungy after the kids have outgrown
them to pass on? What happens to all the plastic shopping bags
that we bring things home in and all the plastic that pretty new things
are wrapped in? We toss it all, and it adds to landfill and pollution.
And where does all this plastic come from? And where does the
energy come from to run the factories these things are made in?
Most often from our waning petroleum stores. And what about
wood toys and paper bags? Only a small percentage of that is
being taken from sustainably managed forests. The rest comes
from old forests that are being chopped down so that we can have
things cheap.
And why do we need all this stuff to begin with? Often because we
are told we need it. Commercials, advertisements, prominent
logos, peer pressure, etc. etc. all make us feel there is something
lacking in our lives if we dont have the latest this or enough that.
Our children are hit especially hard by this, and it wreaks havoc on
their self-esteem.
When we make do without or buy things used or buy products
made with sustainably managed materials and support companies
that treat their workers well, we are doing our part to support human
rights and a clean environment and a better world (a world at all) for
our children and our grandchildren to grow up in.
Buy Nothing Day reminds us of these things. If enough people
refuse to be coerced into buying new things on that day, it can send
a message to the big corporations that we dont want sweatshops
or child labor or so much waste and that we dont want them to
coopt our children. But even if only one person participates in Buy
Nothing Day, it can remind that person that there are things we can
do on a personal level to remove ourselves from the cruelties being
inflicted on other human beings and our planet.
Stepping off my soapbox :-)
Deirdre in NYC
Lynda
Old Navy and The Gap are owned by one of the worst offenders of clear
cutting and poor forest management practices. They bought up L-P land last
year and subbed it to Palco and went in with one of those cute machines that
appear in the kiddy movie "Fern Gully" (yes, those things are real, not
imaginary, although they don't quite look the same <g>) and clear cut and
destroyed several 1000 square miles of land. And then laid off or just
plain fired hundreds of employees.
Lynda
cutting and poor forest management practices. They bought up L-P land last
year and subbed it to Palco and went in with one of those cute machines that
appear in the kiddy movie "Fern Gully" (yes, those things are real, not
imaginary, although they don't quite look the same <g>) and clear cut and
destroyed several 1000 square miles of land. And then laid off or just
plain fired hundreds of employees.
Lynda
----- Original Message -----
From: "Deirdre Malfatto" <yafael@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, November 27, 2000 6:47 PM
Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] RE: buy nothing day
> Did you know that the majority of the clothes made by Nike, The
> Gap (which includes Old Navy and Banana Republic), Guess, and
> Oshkosh are made in overseas sweatshops that treat, often
> underaged, workers miserably? When we buy clothes, toys,
> housewares, gadgets, etc. that are made in China, Malaysia,
> Vietnam, etc., etc., we are very often buying items made by workers
> who are payed less in a month than we pay for a single Gap t-shirt
> here? Workers are made to work incredibly long hours, often
> seven days a week, in terrible conditions, and then can afford only
> to go home to their rat-infested shantytown without running water or
> electricity? The Gap, for one, says they are doing something about
> this, but a little research (try Coop America's site for a start --
> http://www.coopamerica.org/) shows that what they are saying is
> mostly doublespeak. Often even items that say they are made in
> USA (and the Gap is a prime offender here) are made in Saipan,
> which is under US rule, but still is home to many sweatshops.
>
> And what happens to all the things we buy "cheap" in order to save
> money? What happens to all the cheap plastic toys that break or
> clothes that fall apart are too grungy after the kids have outgrown
> them to pass on? What happens to all the plastic shopping bags
> that we bring things home in and all the plastic that pretty new things
> are wrapped in? We toss it all, and it adds to landfill and pollution.
>
> And where does all this plastic come from? And where does the
> energy come from to run the factories these things are made in?
> Most often from our waning petroleum stores. And what about
> wood toys and paper bags? Only a small percentage of that is
> being taken from sustainably managed forests. The rest comes
> from old forests that are being chopped down so that we can have
> things cheap.
>
> And why do we need all this stuff to begin with? Often because we
> are told we need it. Commercials, advertisements, prominent
> logos, peer pressure, etc. etc. all make us feel there is something
> lacking in our lives if we don't have the latest this or enough that.
> Our children are hit especially hard by this, and it wreaks havoc on
> their self-esteem.
>
> When we make do without or buy things used or buy products
> made with sustainably managed materials and support companies
> that treat their workers well, we are doing our part to support human
> rights and a clean environment and a better world (a world at all) for
> our children and our grandchildren to grow up in.
>
> Buy Nothing Day reminds us of these things. If enough people
> refuse to be coerced into buying new things on that day, it can send
> a message to the big corporations that we don't want sweatshops
> or child labor or so much waste and that we don't want them to
> coopt our children. But even if only one person participates in Buy
> Nothing Day, it can remind that person that there are things we can
> do on a personal level to remove ourselves from the cruelties being
> inflicted on other human beings and our planet.
>
> Stepping off my soapbox :-)
>
> Deirdre in NYC
>
>
>
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