What a time we live in, where malls are everywhere, supermarkets can be found a block away, and you can buy an outfit all in one store. Thanks to international trade, the U.S. can buy bananas all year round while relying on other countries to make their electronic goods. But this consumer lifestyle comes at a price. Sweatshop-made clothing, tropical fruit sprayed with pesticides, and smartphones made with metals mined by children are just some of the items found in almost every household. Unfortunately, it's hard to find any ethically made products, unless if you know where they come from or you make/grow them yourself. The Obama administration hopes to change this for good.
On Feb. 24, 2016, President Barack Obama signed the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act. This will end a loophole that has allowed forced labor to persist for so long. According to the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930, such labor was permitted in order to meet consumer demands. Thus, the greed of our nation had more bearing than the lives of workers around the world—21 million lives, to be specific.
OK, so it "only" took until 2016 for us to crack down on this heinous crime. But now what? How will this be enforced? Bans can be great in principle. They don't always work in practice. I mean, people have been breaking laws and running businesses under the radar for decades, getting away with slave labor. This doesn't mean the ban is futile, however.
Some steps for enforcing the act include annual reports from manufacturers and stricter regulations at shipping ports. It also raises awareness. If you didn't know that slave labor was still an issue, you do now. Publicly addressing this brings it to people's attention.
Another aspect to consider is the economic effects of this ban. Slave labor is widely used simply because it's (supposedly) cheaper labor. This ban, then, could change the price of goods (have you noticed that a fair trade chocolate bar costs twice as much as a Hershey's bar? Now you know why). Most people don't enjoy paying higher prices for items they buy in a regular basis. But if this also means bringing jobs back to America, then perhaps it will all pay off.
If you're wondering what you can do to help support fair labor laws, there are plenty of ways. Buying second hand means you're contributing to donation centers instead of directly towards slave-powered companies like Nike and H&M. You can simplify your life by just not buying clothes all of the time (you don't need a new cardigan every month). There's also a list of products made from child labor on the Department of Labor's website that can act as a shopping guide. You can also try to buy locally made goods by going to your farmers' market or nearby small businesses. Certified fair trade labels on food can help you avoid unethical products as well; look for these on chocolate, tea, coffee, ice cream, and produce. And while, yes, some of these products may be a tad more expensive, the cheaper option means supporting practices like the ones in the video below:
The fact that we live in the 21st century and are still battling slave labor is unacceptable. Obama has taken the right step in enforcing imported goods. But we all need to be more conscious consumers if we want to get rid of the problem for good.
