Animal Testing

Slightly off topic but still relevant. My New Year's Resolution was to not purchase any beauty products (makeup, lotions, shampoos, etc) that use animal testing. I found that this is literally the easiest resolution I have ever made. There are hundreds of brands that refrain from the mistreatment of animals for personal gain and actually don't cost any more than other brands.
     For me, animal testing is only necessary in terms of medicine. As much as I love animals I do believe that if a cure for cancer, diabetes, or other life altering or ending illness can be achieved through animal trials, I think Bentham's theory of greater good comes into play. Hypocritical, sure, but those are my thoughts. In terms of beauty however it is absolutely useless, unfair and unnecessary. My goal is to share the well known, convenient brands that refrain from animal testing in order to influence purchase decisions, Please share this list, use this list and add to this list in the comments!

For Makeup:
(There's hundred more, check http://features.peta.org/cruelty-free-company-search/cruelty_free_companies_search.aspx?Donottest=8&Product=0&Dotest=-1&Regchange=-1&Country=-1&Keyword= for a full list, these are the most recognizable names)

Aveda (Estee Lauder)
Bath & Body Works (My Go-To)
Elf
Urban Decay (Owned by L'Oreal)
wet n wild
Burt's Bees (Although owned by Clorox, who is not cruelty free.)
MUA
GOSH
Hard Candy
Marcelle
NYX (Although owned by L'Oreal, not cruelty free)
EcoTools
Kiss My Face
The Face Shop (My other Go-To)
LUSH (<3)

For Shampoo/Conditioner:
Full List: http://www.crueltyfreekitty.com/hair/best-cruelty-free-shampoo/
Kiss My Face
Jason
giovanni
Freeman (Dry Shampoo!!)
Paul Mitchell
Yes To Carrots
The Body Shop
Live Clean (My obsession-98% plant derived, leaves hair so light & soft-sold @ WalMart)
LUSH

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Nestle

I've been a little MIA lately with this blog but something that really got to me recently was the Nestle Fancy Feast scandal.

The full report is here and here

In summary however, 4 LA consumer filed a law suit against Nestle upon finding out that the main supplier of the seafood in the cat food is from a company in Thailand known for their mistreatment of people. The Thai supplier relies on human trafficking of young boys and men to sell them to captains who keep them at sea for as long as they need. Nestle has confirmed that these allegations are correct.

This really bothered me because in 2001 Nestle and other major chocolate brands promised to launch an investigation in order to end child labour, however 15 years later here we are, same company, same problem. Nestle wouldn't comment directly on the law suit, but they basically just played dumb. The only thing worse than supplying from a company who uses kidnapping tactics to sustain employees, is not caring enough to find out where your product is coming from.

A quote that is mentioned in one of the reports listed above says "It’s easy to own up to something that has already been uncovered,” he says. “By the time Nestlé owned up to slavery in the Thai seafood industry it was accepted knowledge. It’ll be a brave new world when companies are actually doing the real investigation to probe into part of their supply chains that have remained outside the public domain."

I will honestly not support Nestle and their products from now on, if Fancy Feast is derived from human trafficking and slave labour, what else are they not telling us? If you care as strongly about this as I do, here are a list of popular products produced by Nestle:

Nesquick

Nescafe

Nesspresso

Nestea

Coffee-Mate

Drumstick

Haagen-Dasz

Skinny Cow

Oreo

Gerber

Delissio Pizza

Lean Cuisine

Stouffer's

Aero

After Eight

Baby Ruth

Big Turk

Butter Finger

Chips Ahoy

Coffee Crisp

Kit Kat

Oh Henry!

Smarties

All 'Wonka' candy 

Fancy Feast

Friskies

Purina

It's inevitably difficult to stay away from all of these brands as they are all the top sellers in their market, and perhaps boycotting the company as a whole may seem drastic as Nestle is working to clean up their act, however I don't believe it should take them as long as it is to do so. Nestle is putting in minimal effort at best to have a cruelty free company- something that should be at the top of their list. 

What I keep reminding myself is that if these 4 consumers hadn't created a law suit, how long would Nestle have supplied from a slave labour company? 

Would they have ever cared enough to look into where there supplies are coming from?

With this knowledge in mind I feel I have enough basis to say that there is without a doubt more slave labour companies involved with Nestle, and that's not something I can consciously support. 

Do you agree? Let me know in the comments. 

  

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What's Stopping Us?

Besides the reasons I've previously listed about convenience and price, there is also a certain stigma that surrounds advocating against issues. Unfortunately we live in a time and have lived in a time for quite a while where not caring is cool. Advocating for causes and issues is not seen as something admirable, instead it is seen as pretentious and annoying. "Tree Hugger" "Bible Thumper" are a couple names tossed around for those who care more than most about certain topics. This prevents a large amount of people from standing up for what they believe in and speaking for a cause, it limits our ability to get involved when we're constantly bashed for doing so. I think this is a way to deal with our insecurities about the issue, instead of admitting that sweatshops are a major problem and that we contribute to it daily we ignore it and bash those that acknowledge it. Hopefully as trends change it becomes more accepted to advocate for causes or people become more willing to speak their minds, because there is no room for progression with muffled opinions and ignorant remarks.
Really the only thing stopping change is us, we're the only ones who get to decide how important an issue is to us and it's our responsibility to do something about it.
Do you care? Do these facts bother you? If the thought of sweatshops and people your age and younger being forced to work under grueling conditions daily bothers you, then why aren't you doing anything about it? Progress is simple and so is change, what isn't simple is getting everybody involved, but shouldn't that be the easiest part? If you're looking for a way to make a difference, start today. Do some research, find a company that really pisses you off and talk about it to anyone willing to listen, What's stopping you?

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What Can You Do About It?

1. Raise Awareness
No progress will be made if it's not a talked about issue. We have to all not be okay with what is going on and stop ignoring the problem. If we're not against the current system at our end, we can never expect change on their end. We can't accept what is currently happening as a norm and carry on purchasing freely as if this doesn't matter.

2. Boycott
This is an extreme action and has arguably less of an impact than expected, however it relates to #1 with spreading awareness. If enough people were publicly unhappy with a current company and the way they choose to manufacture their products eventually they would be forced to comply with our wishes and the laws as they fell under public radar. Companies could get away with less and would be more inclined to change their ways as the image of their brand declined.

3. Buy Fair Trade
This is also something that may not be the easiest solution but it really is one of the only ones. Buying fair trade ensures that the products you purchase don't come from these horrible places, however it's more money and less convenient. It's unrealistic to expect that everyone can afford, has access to and is willing to purchase all fair trade products. It's going to take a dramatic shift in the way fair trade is sold, marketed and made available before it becomes a more popular trend.

4. Buy Secondhand
The damage has already been done, buying secondhand not only saves you money but it also doesn't support the large brands that use sweatshops. This is of course a temporary fix, it doesn't stop the mass productions but it does lessen the amount of purchases you make. This is more of a solution to a guilty conscience than anything, but it is somewhat beneficial.

5. Don't Say You Can't Do Anything

"When pressured, companies have demonstrated they can deliver products at good prices while providing fair wages and working conditions, as the recent example of hand-stitched leather soccer balls proved.

Pakistani children 6-14 years old were crammed into dirt-floored shacks, laboring over tiny stitches that crippled undeveloped fingers sewing six sides of 32 panels to create one "handmade" soccer ball. The ball would sell for $30-50 in America, and the child would receive about 30 cents. Balls were sold by Nike, Reebok, Adidas and other familiar names.

Consumer pressure led to the world governing body of soccer signing a code of conduct forbidding child labor or forced labor in soccer ball production. As a result, now Nike and Reebok plan to build soccer ball factories in Pakistan employing only adults and developing education programs for children. These programs will also employ other members of the family when children are removed from the factory."

There may not be any quick fixes or ways to end it all at once, but like most things it's something you have to work at. If everyone just cared a little bit more these problems would eventually be solved, but they aren't going to solve themselves. 

The main solution to these problems is to educate everyone as much as possible and don't stop talking about it until something is changed. 

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Bangladesh

One of the more recent scandals that took place was the building collapse in Bangladesh which killed around 400 people. The factory was run by Loblaws who faced a string of complaints of unsafe working conditions. Police had ordered an evacuation of the factory the day before the collapse due to large cracks in the wall and yet more than 2,000 workers returned for work the next day at the owner's request who was later arrested for this decision

With this in mind it isn't the full responsibility of Joe Fresh for this tragedy, however they play the largest role in the lack of regulations for the factory. They apologized and offered compensation for the families affected however this does nothing to correct the problems. This relates a lot to the mindset that Forever 21 holds with 'we'll fix it later'. They don't regulate the factory, they don't do regular check-ins and play no role in maintaining the facility. If this happened in North America the outrage would be ridiculous, yet this is something that most people my age have never heard of. As I've mentioned in the past the problem doesn't lie solely at the consumer level however we do have the responsibility for lack of a better phrase to give a shit. Loblaw still made a tremendous income and those 400 families are still suffering a loss of income and family member. This was a completely preventable situation that should never have happened and the worst part is that it will likely happen again.

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Brands Not To Avoid

These websites have listed the companies that don't supply from sweatshops. Most of these brands are very small and are lacking almost all of the major companies. The fact that the most popular brands are involved in the worst sweatshop scandals is extremely concerning to all of us. Have a look at some of these brands if you're looking to avoid supporting sweatshops:

http://www.veganpeace.com/sweatshops/GoodCompanies.htm

http://www.groundswell.org/6-quality-clothing-stores-that-dont-use-foreign-sweatshops/

http://humaneeducation.org/blog/2013/04/03/5-tips-keeping-sweatshop-free-closet/

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/05/08/1978501/consumers-shop-retailers-bangladesh/

The problem is that these brands aren't easily accessible, well known, or affordable. They exist to those who make it their main priority to avoid supporting sweatshops but not to the general public who are slightly less passionate. There will never be a solution if we don't make one. Unless products become easier to get and afford the incentive to stop purchasing from big name brands will never be there because the alternative is nearly impossible to rely on. Personally I purchase 90% of my household products at WalMart,  I have no means or knowledge of how to avoid it and no funds to start purchasing anywhere more expensive. It isn't an option for me to spend more, I simply could not afford to spend $5-$10 more per product. As much as the world advocates for change we don't really do much about it at a business level.

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What changed?

"As its moniker implies, Forever 21 targets college students, who belong to the very age group of those who crusaded for higher pay and better working conditions at apparel factories in the nineteen-nineties. The grand opening of F21 Red, however, was marked not by picketers but by customers who lined up early for gift cards. What changed?"  


In 1911, 146 workers died as a part of sweatshop fire in New York. In 1995 an apartment was raided in in El Monte, LA which revealed 70 Thai workers being held in slavery conditions sewing garments for well-known retailers. Students were outraged with concern, staging sit-ins and rallies to protest the mistreatment of workers and demanded change. Even in 2009 nearly a hundred universities protested Russell Athletic's and insisted recent workers who had been let go had been rehired. In the most recent years however a certain silence has been surrounding sweatshops, with much more private protests and less public awareness. It seems as though we have given up, however there are several factors that influence the quietness of this issue. The main reason being the economy-students don't want to risk having clothing prices hired. As selfish as it sounds, the price for clothing is 3-5x higher when manufactured at a salary regulated factory which is enough to cause most people to ignore the issue further. With tuition prices raised and the cost of living increasing it's an issue that will be present for many years to come without much opportunity for change.


The only other reason besides prices that I can think of is that it isn't happening here. Both of the above examples took place within the US as did the rallies and protests. America isn't Canada, and the third world countries are even further away which starts lack of compassion because it isn't directly effecting us. It's one of those things that we think "that's horrible." and that's about as far as it goes because nothing in our world is affected. But all of it is our world, and it's happening to people the same age as us with the same thoughts and feelings and hopes and dreams and we refuse to acknowledge that this is a problem. We find ways to justify it to ourselves or completely let it slip our minds because it's not something we want to think about and address, but we have to. Students need to take the initiative, we make up so much of the consumer population and although we can't all fly to Bangladesh and shut down the factories ourselves we can let the companies know it's not alright. We can raise as much awareness as possible because half of the problem is not knowing, and everyone should know what is happening, even if isn't happening to you.

The sad reality is that nothing has changed, companies just got sneakier and students got quieter. We've gotten stuck in the mindset of 'what can I do about it?' and never bothered to find out the answer. But we are the answer, we are the only ones who can control what we buy and who we buy it from. How have we gotten so selfish that cheaper products have become more important than human lives? How are we able to justify wearing clothing that we know was manufactured in a place where human rights, lives and freedom are taken away every single day?

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