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Is the cross you hang around your neck worth more than 11 cents an hour?

A report released in late November 2007 by the US National Labor Committee (NLC), Today Workers Bear the Cross, exposed a member of the Association for Christian Retail (ACR) for selling crosses manufactured in a Chinese sweatshop.
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The journey has begun
We have begun the investigation. We are gathering information about where Christian novelty items, including Bible covers, crucifixes, bracelets and gadgets, are being made. Visit your local Christian specialty shop and respectfully record for us what the item is, how much it costs, and where it was made. We are particularly interested in items made in China. Please note that we are working with Central Catholic Bookstore and UniChurch Books in Melbourne so there is no need to review their merchandise*.

*Stop Press: Good news – we are now in dialogue with Koorong, so please don’t bother them either! Word Bookstores, however, are still not engaging.

**Stop Press #2 (Nov 09): In what appears to be an Australian-first in the Christian goods industry Koorong have issued a Fair Trade Policy, covering the conditions under which the goods they stock should be produced.

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Pia Miller supports Christian fair trade

Pia Miller (with husband Brad) supports Christian fair trade (thatsmelbourne.com.au)

The cross represents my Christian faith … and it is made under fair trade conditions, which is important to me.

Pia Miller, presenter on Postcards (Channel 9), has endorsed Christian fair trade items in the most recent edition of ‘home’ (Feb 27, Herald Sun). She says that the cross (pictured below), ‘represents my Christian faith … and it is made under fair trade conditions, which is important to me’.

'Fairly traded Cross' (detail from photo Chris Groenhout / Herald Sun)

JustAct congratulates Pia for her public comments in support of fair trade!

If you would like to support Christian fair trade go here.

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“Liturgical action” at Word

MorePraxis has organised Abolitionist Anti-Sweatshop Caroling and a public liturgy event.

Contact Adrian: age@morepraxis.org.au for more info.

For more general information about the campaign go here

STOP PRESS update (4 Dec 09) – it appears that the Word Bookstore may be willing to engage with the Just Holy Hardware campaign. More news to come.

Are you concerned that some Christian stores could be selling devotional items under gross exploitation?

Then join us in a little Abolitionist Anti-Sweatshop Caroling and public liturgy – outside Word Bookstore Head Office.

When: DEC 5 11:30am-12:30pm

Where: 11-13 Moncrief Road, Nunawading

MorePraxis is asking that Word joins the conversation on exploitation and Christian products.

Are you up for this holy mischief?

Tell all your friends to help spread the word and contact Age age@morepraxis.org.au at MorePraxis if you are going.

Facebook Event here (please only say attending if you are coming – MorePraxis is counting on you – Facebook slacktivism will not cut it).

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Koorong Issues Fair Trade Policy

In what appears to be an Australian-first (or even world first) in the Christian goods industry Koorong have issued a Fair Trade Policy, covering the conditions under which the goods they stock should be produced.

This is a great first step. JustAct congratulates Koorong.

The Justice and International Mission Unit of the Uniting Church in Victoria and Tasmania look forward to continued collaboration with Koorong about these issues.

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Religious items produced by child slaves

Good Samaritan Sister Pauline Coll and Antony McMullen, worker for the Justice and International Mission Unit of the Uniting Church in Melbourne, interviewed by the Catholic Leader in Brisbane …

Published: 23 August 2009 By: Paul Dobbyn

Source

Good Samaritan Sister Pauline Coll is speaking out about religious items being produced by workers enduring unfair conditions

CATHOLICS need to look carefully at the origins of religious items they buy to ensure they are not the products of child slave labour, a Brisbane religious sister has warned.

The seriousness of the issue has led the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) to pledge its support for a Christian Goods Standard to end worker exploitation in the production of Christian merchandise which also includes T-shirts and Bible covers.The Just Holy Hardware campaign has also been launched and includes a website to list fairly traded Christian items.

Several retailers and suppliers of religious goods spoken to in Brisbane – St Paul’s Book Centre, Christian Supplies and Di Marco International – have also indicated they support these initiatives.

Good Samaritan Sister Pauline Coll said the catalyst for these actions had been the discovery that crucifixes sold at St Patrick’s Cathedral, New York, in 2007 had come from a factory employing teenagers working in “dreadful sweat shop” conditions in China.

Sr Coll said the huge USA-based Association for Christian Retail “was found to lack basic codes of conduct and a factory-monitoring program”.
“There was little to reassure American Christians that the religious products they buy to celebrate their faith were not made under inhumane conditions,” she said.
“It seems that this issue needs more attention in Australia – so Christian retailers and wholesalers here are being invited to ensure that similar abuses are not happening in the production of the religious goods they sell.”

Sr Coll, a representative on the national executive of Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans (ACRATH), has spoken on the issue at a number of meetings this year including the Mitchelton Probus Club last week.

She also recently addressed the associates of the Presentation Sisters, the Redlands Christian Reformed Church and social justice groups in Tamborine and Coorparoo.
“Unwittingly Christians may be enjoying the results of exploitation of trafficked or enslaved people – we just don’t know,” she said.
“It is our privilege to search out and check whether the articles/goods/services we enjoy have any element of this sort of labour about them.
“It would be a particularly terrible irony if the religious items we used in our devotions were to have been manufactured in this way.
“We need to be sure that none of this material is being sold by Church organisations.”

In the 2007 case of New York’s St Patrick’s Cathedral, the crucifixes were traced back to a factory in China where girls as young as 15 were forced to work up to 19-hour days seven days a week to manufacture the religious items for a couple of dollars a day.

The crucifix workers were reported to have no paid sick days, maternity leave, holidays or health insurance which are all mandated under China’s laws.

Proprietor of Christian Supplies, Greg Shakhovskoy, said he welcomed the new standard and initiative of the website and “looked forward to working actively with those concerned about or championing action on this front”.

Mr Shakhovskoy said Christian Supplies and its wholesale distributors had been aware of the issue for some time.
“We have tried to monitor the situation actively,” he said.
“Our main supplier of religious goods personally visits the factories in Asia from where they source religious items to ensure as best they can that employers are not abusing their workers through poor pay or conditions.”

St Paul’s Book Centre director Society of St Paul Father Bruno Colombari said he was certain that all crucifixes stocked at the shop came from Italy.
He said he had also visited the factories where the religious items were made.
“The Italian-made items are of high quality,” he said.
“I would immediately know if they were from other countries. Their quality would not be as good.”

However, Fr Colombari said that when he visited international fairs to source items it was not always possible to be sure of the country of origin of certain products.

Di Marco International manager Margaret McDonald said the company fully supported the initiatives announced in relation to ensuring the ethical manufacture of religious items.
“Specifically in response to the issue of crucifix sold at St Patrick’s, New York, Di Marco sources all its crucifixes from Italy,” Ms McDonald said.

Social justice officer for the Justice and International Mission for the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania Uniting Church in Australia Antony McMullen helped draft the Christian Goods Standard resolution adopted by the NCCA in June this year.
“The rationale is that the Christian gospel calls us to work for justice and equity in society, particularly as we care for those who live in poverty and are most vulnerable in the world,” he said.

Mr McMullen said the NCCA campaign would start with a request to Australia’s Christian retailers to stock items made under Fairtrade, No Sweat Shop label and World Fair Trade Organisation schemes.
“These three schemes ensure basic human rights standards are adhered to in the production of Christian related goods like T-shirts, Bible covers and crosses,” he said.
“Christian consumers can order online and retailers can stock all of the items listed.
“In addition, Church-related organisations, such as schools, can explore buying things like Fairtrade footballs that are effective as an anti-child labour initiative in Pakistan.”

The catalogue of fair traded Christian and related items can be found on the website www.justholyhardware.org.au

The ACRATH site can be accessed at www.acrath.org.au

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Koorong open the door to dialogue

Good news:
Koorong has agreed to meet with the Justice and International Mission Unit and discuss how to move forward constructively on ensuring ethical standards are maintained in the production of goods sold at Koorong.

This follows the National Council of Churches in Australia (as well as Victorian Heads of Churches) endorsing a fair trade in Christian goods.

There is still no word from Word bookstores.

Background info and more

To take action go here (Word)

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Christian kitsch

Nicole Reardon
Source
Some find it tacky, some find it tasteful. Whatever your opinion, it’s hard to avoid it. Nicole Reardon celebrates the best (and worst) of Christian kitsch.

Creators of Christian kitsch can be exploited. So next time you consider buying some Christian kitsch, make sure you ask yourself, “What would Jesus buy?”

Go here to read more!

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Wilberforce Fairtrade beer

Amazing taste! How sweet the round…

At last, hops go holistic – a beer that joyously ticks all those sanctified boxes. Proudly, Westerham Brewery in Kent, England, offers the William Wilberforce Freedom Ale.

Go to: Ship of Fools

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Church Leaders hot under the collar about Fairtrade Easter eggs

Media Release
Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of Victoria and Tasmania
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                               Thursday 19 March, 2009

Church Leaders hot under the collar about Fairtrade Easter eggs

This Easter, prominent Christian leaders are asking Australians to support Fairtrade and prevent the exploitation and enslavement of children and adults who pick cocoa beans for Easter eggs and cotton for shirts.  Their call comes as they will attend a special Easter celebration on Tuesday March 31 where they will munch on Fairtrade Easter eggs and wear clerical ‘dog collar’ shirts made with Fairtrade cotton.

By supporting Fairtrade Certified cocoa and cotton, consumers can ensure small holder farmers are paid fairly, receive investment to improve the future for their families, and are protected from the use of harmful agricultural products.

Moderator of the Uniting Church Synod of Victoria and Tasmania the Rev. Jason Kioa, said “now that I know some children are exploited picking cocoa beans, I may choke on a chocolate egg that is not Fairtrade.”

Bishop Philip Huggins of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne’s Northern Region said, “rather than getting hot under our collective dog collar’s we’ve decided to practically reduce the global demand for child labour by helping cotton and cocoa workers get decent work so they can support their families and communities.”

Executive Officer at the Office for Justice and Peace (Catholic Archdiocese Melbourne) Mr Mark Clarke supports the ‘Holy Hardware’ campaign. Mr Clarke said “these sorts of products not only teach Christ’s message, but also embody the Gospel message of peace, love and new life for all.”

Melbourne media personality and Catholic Priest, Fr Bob Maguire had the final word saying, “I don’t want children picking the cotton for my shirt – I love my new dog collar…!”

Look for the Fairtrade symbol on chocolate made by companies like Cocolo, Oxfam Trading, Scarborough Fair and find Chocolatier eggs at Oxfam stores or selected outlets when shopping this Easter. ‘Profit for purpose’ company, “Rise Up” has made it possible to purchase a ‘dog collar’ shirt made from Fairtrade cotton, online.

Just Holy Hardware

Rise Up

Chocolatier

Fair Trade Association

What: Photo and interview opportunity – high profile religious leaders model Fairtrade ‘dog collar’ shirts while eating Fairtrade chocolate Easter eggs
When: 10.30am, 31 March, 2009
Where: Uniting Church chapel (7th floor), 130 Little Collins St. Melbourne
Who: Moderator of the Uniting Church (Victoria and Tasmania) Rev Jason ‘Isileli Kioa, Catholic Priest and media personality Fr. Bob Maguire and Anglican Bishop Philip Huggins

Ms Ruth Snelleman, Media Liaison, Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of Victoria and Tasmania 0418 330 483

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Why is Fairtrade cotton important?

Read this article and find out:

Working flat out – the child labour behind your Egyptian cotton sheets

They work 10-hour shifts in 40C heat for 20 pence a day. Their job? Picking the cotton that makes the world’s finest bed linen. Dan McDougall reports on the scandal of Egypt’s child labourers …

There is an alternative. Also check out the clerical dog collar shirts made with Fairtrade cotton (we are promoting this as part of the Holy Hardware campaign).

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Slave trade in religious souvenirs

Barney Zwartz
December 7, 2008

Source: The AGE

The crucifix bought in New York and traced to a Chinese sweatshop.

“JESUS have mercy on me, I’m dying of exhaustion.” That plaintive cry came from a Chinese teenager who had just finished yet another 19-hour shift producing crucifixes for sale in churches.

Christians in Australia have strongly supported the FairWear campaign for clothing outworkers and fair trade in coffee and tea, but might unwittingly be involved in some of the worst exploitation: workers producing devotional souvenirs, gifts and trinkets.

The Uniting Church in Australia has launched a campaign, Just Holy Hardware, to work with retailers and wholesalers to reduce exploitation and to educate Australian Christians.

“I don’t think many Christians would want to buy a product celebrating their faith made under great exploitation,” said Antony McMullen of the church’s justice and peace unit.

The scandal broke when America’s National Labor Committee bought a cheap crucifix in New York and traced it back to a Chinese factory where workers were labouring in appalling conditions. Investigators found women and girls — such as the 15-year-old quoted above — working up to 19 hours a day, seven days a week for 40 cents an hour, from which money is deducted for accommodation and food. They sleep in filthy dormitories and eat hot water with a few vegetable leaves.

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