ANNUAL ANTI SWEATSHOP FILM FEST: Nov 9th, 7pm at Traditions

 

 

 

Join us for our Annual Free Film Fest presented by the South Sound Clean Clothes Campaign, a community anti-sweatshop group since 2000. We will show the investigative film, The Dark Side of Chocolate, a film that looks at child labor and slavery in the Ivory Coast and evaluates the promises made by large chocolate manufacturers to deal with this issue when over the last decade there were revelations about the abuses of children and witb pressure from Congress, promises by the industry to stop labor abuse. Filmmakers Miki Mistrati and U Roberto Romano launched a behind-the-scenes investigation to verify if these allegations of child labor in the chocolate industry are present today.

Also we will show 2 short videos on the situation for garment workers in Bangladesh. One, TRIANGLE RETURNS, by the Institute for Global Labour & Human Rights draws the parallels between the sweatshop conditions in the U.S. 100 years ago which led to the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire in New York City and the current day working conditions for 3.4 million garment workers in Bangladesh. The second, produced by Sweatfree Communities, updates the struggle of workers in Bangladesh to protest to improve their working conditions even while such protests are repressed and leaders are imprisoned and threatened with life sentences or death. All of the above beg the questions, which, hopefully a renewed sense of urgency, leads us to some individual actions but also to some collective and community actions.

View the trailer here.

Traditions Fair Trade is located at 300 5th Ave in downtown Olympia. 360-705-2819.

Closing the Loop on the Global Apparel Supply Chain Cambodian Labor Activists join members of Seattle City Council and WA State Legislature to call for Washington State to pass a SweatFree Purchasing Policy

 from the WA FAir Trade Coalition: The Coalition of Cambodia Apparel Workers Democratic Union and the National Independent Federation Textile Union of Cambodia, representing over 80,000, mostly women, apparel workers are coming to Seattle to share their fight for a living wage. A fight which brought hundreds of thousands of workers to the streets of Cambodia within the last year.

The City of Seattle in the last year passed a SweatFree Purchasing policy in solidarity with these workers and apparel workers worldwide who continue to labor in sweatshops making clothing for the US marketplace. Next year the WA State Legislature will move forward on a State-wide SweatFree Purchasing Policy-to insure that WA State tax dollars are supporting workers rights wherever we do business.

This is an opportunity for producers and consumers to create a humane supply chain that benefits everyone with high working standards and living wages.

When: 12pm Noon, Thursday, July 28th 2011

Where: Seattle City Hall, 600 4th Ave, Seattle (inside lobby)

Confirmed Speakers: Seattle Councilmember Nick Licata, WA State Senator Steve Conway, Ath Thorn, Coalition of Cambodia Apparel Workers Democratic Union (CCAWDU), Ms Morm Nhim, National Independent Federation Textile Union of Cambodia (NIFTUC), Phouk Hoeung, Cambodian Women Movement’s Organization.

Invited speakers: WA Rep. Bob Hasegawa, Seattle Councilmember Tom Rassmussen.

Join the Washington Fair Trade Coalition/SweatFree WA Campaign, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), Solidarity Center AFL-CIO, and Teamsters 117

 Cambodian delegation in Seattle City Hall-solidarity in the global apparel supply chain from producers to consumers. Bring signs calling for WA State to pass a SweatFree Purchasing Policy.

Marigold sponsors this year’s bike commuter contest

Marigold is an annual sponsor of the Bike Commuter Contest. This week we wanted to highlight another sponsor who is also a fair trade business based in Olympia and works with a women’s co-op in Togo, West Africa to create shea butter products such as lotions, creams, hair care and now baby products! Alaffia is not only selling great fair trade products but they are also involved in a number of community projects such as the “Bikes for Togo” project. For the past 5 years, Alaffia has collected used bikes at fundraisers across the country and sent them by container full to  Togo. These bikes help girls access to education by proving means of transportation for the girls to get to school. To read more about the project , Alaffia and the Commuter Contest  visit:  http://thurstonbcc.blogspot.com/p/alaffiia-bike-program-for-togo.html