Shop with a Conscience on Cyber Monday

Trina Tocco, Campaigns Coordinator of International Labor Rights Forum

If you're like me there is always this tough choice of what to buy your loved ones when you know they probably really don't need anything and yet you feel compelled to give them something.  I have tended to opt for the donate button instead of actual gifts for the last few years.  However for those of you out there looking for sexy tees, cute tank tops, and sassy sneakers: look no further than the 2009 Shop with a Conscience Consumer Guide sponsored by the International Labor Rights Forum and SweatFree Communities.  (And just in case you want to pass this guide out to your house of worship or community group, you can print out the PDF version here.)

This is what I would call a gold standard of sorts as these are the companies that don't just label their products for the sake of marketing with things like organic, natural, and fair trade but actually take a different route by only sourcing from places where workers have independent unions or workers owned cooperatives.  All retailers and wholesalers listed in the guide have undergone a rigorous application process to give us and you the confidence that their products truly meet our sweatfree criteria. Please support organized workers by shopping with a conscience this holiday season and by helping publicize this guide.

So while you'll never hear me say SHOP, SHOP, SHOP, I am giving you alternative options just in case there are some of you out there wanting to support businesses that support workers rights.

Light blue tank top sold from Justice Clothing which was produced at Windjammer in Bangor, Pennsylvania.	Socks: By Wigwam in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Retailer: Justice Clothing.
Black t-shirt: By Windjammer in Bangor, Pennsylvania. Retailer: Northland Poster Collective.	Dark blue t-shirt (Women & Fair Trade): By Dignity & Justice in Piedras Negras, Mexico. Wholesaler: North Country Fair Trade.