Monday, July 2, 2012

{SCS} Free2Work

Good evening friends! I hope you are having a fantastic start to your fourth of July holiday week. I love this week, its an incredible reminder of how blessed and lucky we are to live in the United States. We are free to do so many different things. Freedom is one of the key values of our country. We are free to eat what we want, go where we want, do what we want. We are free to travel, free to make choices, and free to work to make a living.

Some people in our world, however, are not free to work. They are trapped in debt bondage or forced labor to make the products we use every day. Forgive me if I sound like a broken record, but this is the foundational reason for the {SCS} series this summer. People are in bondage, and we indirectly perpetuate that with our purchases. But we can do something to end it. We can do numerous things to end it.We have power in our purchasing. We have the choice, the freedom, to choose where we shop. And it is a lot easier to make positive choices that help end slavery than you may think.
Photo credit: www.free2work.org

Do you have an iPhone? Android phone? Then you can end slavery with your purchases by downloading an app:

Free2Work

Free2Work is a program from Not for Sale that grades companies based on four ethical principles. Its a way to reward companies who are attempting eradicate slavery from their supply chains and products. It also provides a way for us to know what companies don't pay attention to or don't care about the people who make the products. You can read in detail how the organization rates companies on their website, but they have a thorough, detailed process to get the most accurate information possible in order to provide the grades. Just like the awesome people at Slavery Map, the people at Free2Work are really smart.

I've been able to make purchasing decisions based on Free2Work that have been easy and practical. I feel pretty good about shopping at Gap or Old Navy now, because they earned a B. I also saw a tweet from Not for Sale (NFS) the other day that Gap has been meeting with NFS to discuss supply chains, so I know Gap working hard to be ethical. I know that Adidas and Champion are great companies to buy my running gear from, because they scored a B+ and A-, respectively. And I know that if I'm going to buy chocolate, Hershey's probably isn't the way to go, they got a D.

There are many more brands on Free2Work, I'd encourage you to check it out. You can search for brands, scan products at the store, or browse via category. They have been expanding it to include more brands as well, so its becoming an even better tool. And ultimately, it is another small way you can make a big difference.

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