1. Forgo Flesh Foods. According to a 2006 United Nations report, Animal Agriculture has outpaced the transportation sector as the number one climate change contributor.
2. Bypass the Byproduct. Kin of the meat industry is the dairy industry.  Consuming animal byproducts supports its evil cousin,  planet scorching animal agri-business.
3. See the Sinister Side of Seafood. The near-depletion of certain fish species, dead zones, coral bleaching, mammals such as whales and dolphins going kamikaze on our beaches... skip the seafood.  Besides, it's largely contaminated with mercury.  And now that you're a vegan,
4. Share your earth-friendly diet with others and create your own support network.  Our culture values it's traditional and familiar habits.  By sharing with others the beneficial knowledge of choosing plant based foods, you are creating a supportive atmosphere for positive change for yourself, your friends and family and for the entire planet!
5. Buy Organic, Support Organic whenever possible.  The health of our soil determines the quality of our food, which determines the quality of our heath!   In recent years we have seen the demand for organic food and goods rise dramatically. Sometimes, when I pass the organic produce section of my local Wal-mart, I silently thank the persons who supported organic goods before me, who paid the higher prices and led retailers to provide better options and drop organic prices.
6. Drive a hybrid. The transportation sector is the second largest contributor to climate change.
7. Plant trees. Trees absorb carbon.  Preserving forests is just as important, also trees help mitigate the effects of local climate related disasters by holding on to soil, absorbing the impact of waves, winds, etc.
8. Take your head out of the sand. Climate change is frightening, let's look our fears in the eye.
9. Green your thinking. Take the time to consider the impacts of every small choice.  Also, think positive!  We'll get through this, with a lot of hard work, together.
10. Have faith. Whatever your's is, now is the time to have it.

PR: wait... I: wait... L: wait... LD: wait... I: wait... wait... C: wait... SD: wait...

Composing the scene was a candle lit table of very healthy food options (because no matter what yogis eat at home, they almost always bring vegan food to parties), various tapestry wall hangings,  a small sofa with rattan footstools and a coffee table supporting only fanlike spread of magazines... wait those aren't magazines... they're catalogs:  Seeds Of Change, Nova Natural Toys, Living Arts, an array of eco-conscious options for the Peaceful-Warrior-Yogini-Goddess in all of us.  Looking back now, I see the seeds of thought-change that were planted in me that night. 

The conversation was largely child-centered, although we did all join hands and chant some sort of blessing for the hostess' relocation and new chapter in life at some point.  This was also the night that an innocent looking girl, eight months pregnant, caught my attention and within moments of our meeting was given a full discourse on cloth diapering options.  Little did I know then that her unborn baby girl would turn out to be the best friend since birth and apple of my then 2 month old son's tiny eye! 

While I'm sure I did most of the talking when I wasn't thumbing through the catalogs I was sure would enrich my newly domesticated life, one phrase I overheard that night became stamped on my brain "...and that's why it's never okay to buy anything made in China." 

What?  Why?  I didn't ask.  I should already know all this... and if I ask then for sure my lady friends would frown upon my unknowledgeable consuming habits.  Something to do with children... is everything made in China made by children?  I wasn't sure, but I trusted that my source had done her research and so I stated when I returned home to my mate "I'm never buying anything made in China ever again."  Besides, after looking at wholesome, upscale, enviro-logues all night I had other ideas about the things I wanted to buy.

 The very next day, my husband and I went to Baby'sRus to fulfill one of the many percieved needs of our tiny new dependant.  As it happened, a seasonal Christmas store was in its final days of business and had a sign posted in the window boasting "90% OFF EVERYTHING!" 

"I'll hold the baby, you've got 10 minutes" my gracious mate agreed after sensing my excitement.  I darted in the store and flitted about like a sugarplum fairy drunk on hot-chocolate.  Before long my arms were full and my time was up.  My husband appeared and payed the saleswoman "twenty dollars, please."  What a score!  I'd just purchased a plethora of fancy trimmings for our entire tree with only 20 bucks! There were die-cut mourning doves, beaded satin wrapped bulbs, pose-able circus animals in festive clothes, baby blue angels with harps, an ascension of sparkly stars, etc...

I was stepping peppy with after-Christmas cheer when my husband spoke up  "Are you sure none of those decorations you just bought were made in China?"

 I stopped suddenly, precariously poised atop the sticky remains of my burst bubble.  Should I take them back?  What did he think of me?  What did I think of myself?  Could I really enjoy my cheaply made treasures now that I'd compromised my values?  I wanted to cry.  (Probably new mom hormones at work.) 

When we got home, I stuffed them in the already packed sterilite bins and tried to forget my shame. 

Then next year, when my one year-old's face lit up with wonder at the overflowing box of colorful glittery objects which we carefully hung on the bottom third of the tree, I had all but forgotten the self-induced loathing which plagued a brief moment of my Christmas past.

In the past few years my seedlings of thought change have grown along with the public demand for fairly traded goods.  Online stores selling whole world handicrafts are growing in number.  While paying a fair price to a skilled artisan rules out the option of decorating your entire tree on twenty bucks, it's a much more transparent transaction.

Child labor, sweatshops and other human rights issues has always been in the back of my mind when shopping for clothing especially, however I felt uneducated on the subject and not confident enough to make that promise to my husband.   So, I began searching websites and calling companies to find out what policies they inforce to protect their workers basic human rights and how closely they monitor the factories where their garments are made.  

This will be an extensive and ongoing post, but I'm happy to provide compassionate shoppers with the information I've gathered in my quest for an acessable, affordable, fairly traded wardrobe.

Clothing and goods that are truly "Fair Trade" are becoming more widely available in eco-friendly shops and online.  My goal, however was to find out as much as possible about the brands that we are all familiar with and that can be easily bought at a local store.  By contacting major brand companies and voicing my concerns for their garment factory workers, I also hoped to raise the awareness that their customers do care and that the demand for fairly traded goods to become the norm is on the rise. 

My first stop was at Gap Inc. (the parent company of Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Piper Lime.)  I chose to begin my search here because Gap Inc. was the poster-child for child labor and sweatshop practices after media reports exposed them to the public some years ago.  However, what I found out at GapInc.com is that the company currently has the most transparent factory monitering reports available to the public (on the internet) since 2004.  Does this mean that all of the Gap factories are compliant with the companies statement of ethics?  Well, it's a start.  As a blogger, I'd like give my summary of the company's 2006 social responsibility report. 

I learned that most clothing companies do not own the factories where their garments are made.  The actual factories are independant contractors and so who we think of as the clothing "manufacturer" is really just responsible for designing the garments, contracting out the construction of them, then distribution, sales and marketing, of course.  Some clothing companies, like Gap Inc., have a team of people responsible for monitering relationships with factories and enforcing (by threat of terminating the working relationship) basic human rights standards.  Some clothing companies just work with whatever factory will save them the most money and don't maintain relationships with the contractors at all. (Nike brand has been accused of such.)

  From what I have found, any company that is conscious enough to make attempts at enforcing basic human rights policies for the employees of their contracting facilities is going to have a public statement about it somewhere on their website.  I have foud this to be true for Columbia, Patogonia, Tommy Hilfiger,  MEC and others.  I have also found brands such as Carhardt who actually own some of their factories and also have what they call "union made" garments.  In this case it is the union overseeing the rights of the workers.  (More on this in future blogs.) 

Getting back to the Gap report, on page 30 there is a comprehensive list of a factory's potential violations as well as a chart revealing which countries have the highest rate of which occurences.   If using the Gap report as a snapshot of common factory practices in the country of occurence for all clothing companies, one can begin to make more educated shopping choices based on personal values.  For example: North Africa had the highest percentage of reported cases of workers proven to be under 14 years of age (a.k.a. child labor) although the actual percentage was fairly low, as in <10%. China was reported to have <1% of violations in this catagory. However, in the more vague catagory of "not in full compliance with local child labor laws" China, India, North Africa, South America and even Europe all recieved violations, but still relativly low at <10%.   The highest percentage of violations regarding the potential use of child labor was in the catagory of "poor age documentation" with China, India and Northeast Asia recieving the highest percentage of violations at up to <25%, and Africa, Europe and South America recieving violaions in this catagory on <10% of inspections.

Gap Inc. reported that no instances of violaitons concerning child labor were found in any of their factories in Mexico, Central America, the Carribean, Persian Gulf, the United States or Canada (per thier 2006 social responsibilty report.)

Based on this report and in attempts to keep my agreement with my husband about not supporting child labor,  I have been reading the labels on each piece of clothing I buy to check the country of origin.  I now feel more comfotable buying clothing "made in Guatamala" as opposed to the more common "made in China" option.  I've also discovered clothing brands made in the USA (American Apparel for instance.)  More on domestically made fashion in my next blog!

Gap Inc.'s 2006 social responsibility report can be found here: http://www.gapinc.com/public/documents/CSR_Report_05_06.pdf