------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date: Thu, 27 Nov 1997 08:31:25 -0800 (PST) To: CLR All Campaigns e-mail list <clr@igc.org> From: Mike Rhodes <clr2@igc.apc.org> Subject: Holiday Shopping with a Conscience
Holiday Shopping with a Conscience **************** LABOR ALERTS: A SERVICE OF CAMPAIGN FOR LABOR RIGHTS To receive our e-mail labor alerts, send a message to CLR@igc.apc.org Phone: (541) 344-5410; Web Site: http://www.compugraph.com/clr Become a member and receive our (hard copy) newsletter. Send $35.00 to Campaign for Labor Rights, 1247 "E" Street SE, Washington, DC 20003. Sample newsletter available on request; include your postal address. ***************** "No one would deliberately give a Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa present to a loved one that is stained with the lifeblood of sweatshop or child laborers, " declared James E. Hug, S.J., Director of the Center of Concern in Washington, DC. The Center of Concern is one of several organizations providing information for consumers on how to make this season a "holiday of conscience." The Center has set up a "virtual mall" on their web site at <www.coc.org/coc/> where shoppers can click on the names of alternative trade organizations which sell goods not made in sweatshops. For more information, contact Kristen Jones at the Center of Concern at (202) 635-2757. The National Labor Committee has printed hundreds of thousands of copies of a small index-sized "I care" shopper's card to be given to store managers or clerks wherever you shop. The cards ask about the conditions under which the products sold in the store were made. In observance of the Holiday of Conscience, the NLC and other endorsing organizations have called for "candlelight vigils for conscience" on December 11th. For shopper's cards or for more information about the candlelight vigils, contact the National Labor Committee at (212) 242- 3002 or by e-mail at: <natlabcom@aol.com> The 1998 Garment Workers Calendar from Sweatshop Watch includes photographs from the "Faces behind the Labels" traveling photo exhibit about the people behind the brand-name labels. Robert Gumpert and David Bacon photographed garment workers across the United States at
work, at home and on the picketline. Twelve of their black and white photographs are included in the calendar. Proceeds from the sales of the calendar will benefit Sweatshop Watch and participating member organizations, including labor and community groups. Calendars are $13.50 each plus $2.00 for shipping and handling. Make checks payable to Sweatshop Watch and send to 720 Market Street, Fifth Floor, San Francisco, CA 94102; Tel: (415) 391-1655, ext. 36. Allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery. Buy your gifts from an alternative trade organization. In order to qualify as a "fair trade" company, the products the company sells must be made under the following conditions as established by the Fair Trade Federation: A living wage in the local context Equal opportunity for all people, particularly the most disadvantaged Environmentally sustainable practices Open to public accountability Healthy and safe working conditions Financial and technical assistance to workers when possible The companies and organizations listed below try to follow the above criteria. You can call them or check their web sites, ask for more information and order their catalogs. Associacion Maya (503) 334-0299 Bridgehead (800) 565-8563 Christian Cottage Imports (800) 953-2700 Earth Care (800) 347-0070 Equal Exchange (617) 830-0303; www.equalexchange.com/ Ganesh Himal Trading (509) 448-6561 Greenpeace (800) 916-1616 Inkanyezi Rainbow Project (207) 374-2405 Marketplace: Handwork of India (800) 726-8905 Native Treasures (616) 428-3464 Natural Bedroom (800) 365-6563 The Natural Choice (800) 621-2591 Nicaraguan Cultural Alliance (301) 699-0042 Northern Sun (800) 258-8579 Pueblo to People (800) 843-5257 Real Goods (800) 762-7325 Reflections Organics (800) 852-9273 Rugmark www.laborrights.com/rugmark.htm Seeds of Change (800) 957-3337 SERRV International (800) 423-0071; www.serrv.org/ Seventh Generation (800) 456-1177 Sounds True (800) 333-9185 Sundance (800) 422-2770 Ten Thousand Villages (formerly SELFHELP Crafts) www.villages.ca/ The Council on Economic Priorities (CEP) examines corporate responsibility issues and shares that information with the public. CEP publishes "Shopping for a Better World" which rates 200 companies on environmental and social criteria with 2000 brand products in 17 industries. For more information, contact CEP at 30 Irving Place, New York, NY 10003; www.accesspt.com/cep practical tools to address social and environmental problems. Co-op America publishes the "National Green Pages" which lists dozens of fair trade organizations and shops and an annual directory of America's leading socially and environmentally responsible business products and services. To order, contact Co-op America at (202) 872- 5307 or 1612 K Street NW Suite 600, Washington, DC 20006. Web site: www.cooperamerica.org Look for the union label in garments that you buy for yourself or as gifts for loved ones! Finally, for those who would like to opt out of the holiday shopping routine, consider making a gift to your favorite non-profit group. Most organizations will gladly send a card and note to your friend or family member thanking them for a gift given in their name by you! Among those is Campaign for Labor Rights, the address of which is listed at the beginning of this alert. Have a happy and sweatshop free holiday!
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