The decorations are up in the shops, the Myers windows are open and the weather is heating up, Christmas is definitely in the air!
Soon end of year parties will be clogging up the calendar and before you know it you’ll be rushing around a busy shopping centre doing your last minute shopping.
Stop and take a moment to think about how you want to celebrate Christmas this year.
The gifts we buy and the way we celebrate Christmas can strongly impact more people than just our family and friends.
Whether the impact is negative or positive is up to you.
Be a part of a better Christmas this year.
This year, make sure that the gifts that you buy and the way you celebrate don’t rob others of the hope and joy of Christmas.
Gifts that keep on giving?
The US Department of Labor recently brought out a report of goods produced by child labour and exploited labour. This was a part of an in-depth review on exploitive working conditions in the production of goods around the world. The report found evidence that Christmas decorations (and other products that are usually given as gifts at Christmas time) were made under forced labour conditions in China and in some ways even more shocking, the US Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) has also found some evidence of child labour being used to make Christmas decorations in advanced economies.
When you’re writing up those pressie lists and starting the hunt for the perfect gift make sure you don’t encourage the exploitation shown by the US Department report and instead explore options that are ensured to give back to the people or communities that have produced them.
Check out Action 1 for some suggestions on how and where you can do this…
Keeping the Holy Hardware holy
Last Christmas we let you know about the exploitation that has been found in factories that made Christian goods. Our campaign Just Holy Hardware has been asking Christian retailers here in Australia to get together and find some solutions to prevent people being exploited to make the products they are selling.
Over the past year we have had some good news with Koorong agreeing to discuss ways they can ensure the people making their products are treated with dignity. We have also had support from the National Council of Churches in Australia and other religious groups in Australia and overseas.
However, there has been no good news on the Word front*. Word has yet to agree to even discuss the issue and ways to take positive action. Christian goods are very popular Christmas presents and we think it’s time to put some heat on and we need your help! Check out Action 2 to see how:
For more information check out our information site.
To just take action now, check out the Just Holy Hardware action page and respectfully email Word (scroll down this link).
*Some good news: Word Bookstore has agreed to engage with the Justice and International Mission Unit of the Uniting Church in Australia (Synod of Victoria and Tasmania) in February 2010. They have made their purchasing policy public, and this has gone online.
MORE INFO
US Department of Labor report
Fairtrade info
World Fair Trade Organisation info
Previous JustAct Christmas ideas:
Just Holy Hardware Christmas
Give with justice in mind
More on forced labour in the manufacture of Christmas and other goods in China:
China’s Use of Child Labor Emerges from the Shadow
A Walmart Christmas: Brought to You by a Sweatshop in China
