{human trafficking} and ethical shopping :::

Did you know?

A child is trafficked every 30 seconds. - UNICEF

Did you know that? 

It makes it hard to just do your day doesn't it? 

To sleep even. 

Whilst you and I are sleeping our 8 hours, nearly 1000 children are being trafficked. 
Pulled from their beds. 

Kidnapped. 

Taken.
Given.
Passed from corrupt government official to another. 

Sold by their parents. 

Did you know that? 


One Sunday evening our Pastor showed this very honest documentary and look into human trafficking. Here's the trailer ::: 

  

Did you know?

Human trafficking occurs in 161 out of 192 countries. 

- The United Nations 

That's a whole lot of trafficking of humans. 

Does that shock you like it shocked me? 

People around the world are treated like cattle. 

Does it not freak you out a little? 

Have you seen the movie Taken with Liam Neeson. 

You need to. 
It's a look into trafficking. 
Yes it's fictional to us but it's a reality every. single. day. to many young girls. 
Girls who's age could be 3 years old or 23 years old. 
Trafficking knows no age. 
Here's the trailer for Taken :::

 

What can we do?

Sometimes the problem feels much bigger than us. 

This has been something close to my heart for a number of years. 

But I've never really done anything. 

Why? 

Because as imperfect people ourselves, we look at the problem and it's overwhelming. 

We look at all the trafficking victims and we are in awe. 

But the truth is we just need to help one. 

We just need to help one family overcome poverty. 

Sponsor one child. 

It means that family may not need to sell their daughter to survive.
Shop wisely. 
Grow your own. 
Make your own. 
Only buy from ethical companies.  
You can also get involved by supporting groups like The A21 Campaign.

The Guide to Ethical Supermarket Shopping is also available here as 

an app for your iPhone or iPad which is 

very handy for when you are actually doing your shopping.

So what are some examples of 

Ethical companies and products? 

What makes a company unethical?

I'll use one example for you today. 

One that sickens and shocks me. 

Coca-Cola Amatil. 

Yes that's right. 

I'm going there. 

Coke. 

Beloved to many.

Evil to many more. 

There is a boycott call on this company and it's products. 

Why? 

'In India Coca-Cola has caused severe water shortages, polluted groundwater and soil around it's bottling plant, distributed it's toxic waste as "fertilizer" to local farmers and sold drinks with extremely high levels of pesticides.

There has also been a call for accountability for human rights abuses, including murder of trade union workers in Columbia.'

[quote takes from The Guide to Ethical Supermarket Shopping]

I don't know about you but that's enough for me. 

What does this have to do with 

human trafficking and modern day slavery? 

Now when there is a shortage of clean water and there's polluted ground water, families will do almost anything in these countries to access clean water for their families. 

This includes selling their daughters to human trafficking, local or international, to get enough money to pay for clean water.

There is a ripple effect for almost every luxury and advantage we have here.

Not to mention the fact that 32% of trafficking victims are used for forced economic exploitation, of whom 56 per cent are women and girls. 

Young children are used to make products that we enjoy. 

And they are made to do it for minimal or no wage.

What if it was your child? 

Would you become Liam Neeson in Taken :: "I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that will be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you. " [Quote from the movie Taken.]

Today I'm going to giveaway a copy of The Complete Guide to Ethical Shopping and a $10 gift voucher for iTunes so that you can purchase the very handy app. This giveaway is only open to Australian residents I'm sorry. This is because the guide relates specifically to our shops. I would advise you to please please source something similar for wherever you live. Please leave a comment below and tell me something you're doing to help eradicate human trafficking and slavery whether it be growing your own, shopping wiser, raising money, etc. Let me know and I'll select and announce a winner on Sunday evening. 

xoxo