Sunday, September 25, 2011

How Many Slaves Work For You? - Cathleen Falsani

While major brands continue to address issues like sweatshops in developing nations, many companies still do not know where the supplies come from for their products.

There are more people living in slavery today — an estimated 27 million people, more than at any other time in human history — but until now it’s been hard to comprehend just how many aspects of our everyday lives are dependent upon forced labor.

While major brands continue to address issues like sweatshops in developing nations, many companies still do not know where the supplies come from for their products — for instance, the cotton used to make a t-shirt or the beans in that grande soy latte.

The Slavery Footprint campaign launched Thursday (Sept. 22), which also happened to have been the 149th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, with the goal of personalizing “the issue of modern slavery by providing people with an assessment of just how much their lifestyle depends on forced labor — and the steps they can immediately take to help end it.”

The full article is available here