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Happy New Year and welcome to the first ever ACT Group email from Hope for Justice. We are so excited about what we can achieve together in 2009 as we pray and take action against issues of injustice in the world.
Already we have a growing number of over 300 ACT groups meeting across the UK, Europe and the USA. I truly believe that when the church joins together and rises up we will see rivers of justice flow on the earth, and we will see captives freed.
In this edition we want to take a look at the garment industry. Around the world millions of people work long hours in terrible conditions for little pay. Many of the clothes they make end up in Western shops, you may even be wearing some of them today. These people are being exploited and it’s time for us to draw attention to their plight and find out what we can do to make a difference.
Thank you for choosing to get involved in an ACT group. Please keep us in touch and let us know what is happening as you pray and take action. Together this year we will change the lives of others around the world.
Love in Him
Ben Cooley
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‘He who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth…will come to poverty’.
Proverbs 24:16
NEWSFLASH: On January 6, two young boys aged just 9 years old were rescued from a sweatshop in Calcutta by one of our partner organisations and the railway police as part of an ongoing investigation into child slavery. They had been sent to the city by their mother to look for work. Social workers are now trying to make arrangements for their future care.
These vulnerable children are some of the many thousands who are forced to work long hours in sweatshops, enduring difficult and even dangerous conditions for a few pence a day. Millions more men and women struggle to survive on low wages that don’t cover their basic needs of food, clean water, education and healthcare. In the West we can end up wearing the garments they toiled to produce without realising the terrible human price they paid.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone, ‘… is entitled to a job that pays “just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his (or her) family and existence worthy of human dignity.”’ Article 23 (3)
The clothing issue isn’t just about wages, it is about bringing justice and dignity to the lives of poor and exploited people around the world.
Boycott or Not?
It can be difficult to know what our response should be to the garment trade. Where should we shop? Are some brands more ‘ethical’ than others? How can we stand up against the injustice of sweatshops?
The fact is, the problems cannot be solved overnight, it will take time and the will of major clothing companies to bring change throughout the whole production process. It can be difficult to find clothes that are ‘100% ethical’. Even if clothing has been made from fair-trade cotton, it does not mean that the garment was produced ethically in a factory where workers are paid a decent wage and have good working conditions. This means that boycotting certain brands isn’t going to make much difference because the issue runs throughout the industry. So what can you do?
Discuss these questions about the garment trade with your ACT group:
Q: If the problem of sweatshops is throughout the garment industry is it really our responsibility to try to change it. Shouldn’t that be up to the clothing companies?
Q: Are there any high street stores or brands that you feel confident are ‘ethical’ in the way their clothing is produced?
Q: What can your ACT group do to make a difference about this issue?
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Write:
Write to your favourite clothing brand to ask them what they are doing to improve the conditions of workers in factories that supply their products. Writing shows that you as a consumer care about what they are doing and is a powerful way to put pressure on companies to improve working conditions. Write to their Chief Executive, raise specific questions and ask them for a response.
Eg
- Where are your clothes produced?
- What proof do you have that the working conditions in your factories are of an adequate standard?
- How much do you pay your workers?
Give:
Hope For Justice are currently looking at supporting frontline projects that are actively involved in rescuing women and children from slavery. This means that you can invest your money where it really counts, in seeing people set free. Please pray about investing financially in this by giving to Hope For Justice on a regular basis. More information about these exciting projects will be available on the web-site soon.
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- Pray for those involved on the frontline fighting against sweatshops and rescuing children from them.
- Pray that as a nation we will put in place policies to protect men, women and children who are being exploited in the garment industry.
- Pray for children around the world who are being exploited in sweatshops. Ask God to give them hope for the future.
- Pray for the success of the new projects that Hope For Justice are currently setting up.
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