The Clean Clothes Campaign

I signed the petition after a confronting photo from last months factory collapse in Bangladesh did the rounds on Facebook. I shared the picture on my profile and since then 36 of my friends have signed the petition as well. If you believe that the working conditions inside Bangladesh factories have to change, then you too can jump onto the Clean Clothes Campaign website and add your signature. Read the full story »

No sweat! Sweatshop-free shopping

If you want to ensure that you’re avoiding buying clothes made with sweatshop labour, a number of Australian companies are accredited with Ethical Clothing Australia and with Fairtrade. You can find lists of brands on their websites. But if you can’t find what you’re looking for, or what you need for work, then what? Second hand, or op shopping, has long been a go-to option for thrifty and ethical shopping. You’re guaranteed a bargain at your local Vinnies, Salvos or Red Cross shop, or pay a little bit more for a real gem at one of many vintage stores, where you’re effectively paying for someone else to do the treasure hunting for you. This week, however, I decided to have a crack at second hand shopping online, on old faithful Gumtree. Read the full story »

Beauty without bunnies

A large number of big cosmetic brands are failing to inform customers that their products are being tested on animals in China. A recent investigation revealed that manufacturer’s websites, packaging or sales staff were often failing to inform Australian consumers that their products were being tested on animals in China, where mandatory skin and eye irritations tests are conducted on animals before products can be sold. These tests are paid for by the manufactures. Read the full story »

Full of beans for Fair Trade

The coffee ritual in the West is ubiquitous which makes it terribly easy to forget where those beans came from. Unfortunately we live in such an upside-down world where many of the world’s hungry are the ones keeping our coffee addiction alive and starving for it. We know we live in a nutty world where everyday life poses enough challenges to keep us busy for a lifetime but that shouldn’t stop us from being mindful of the world’s poor and creating a better food system for everyone by supporting small-scale farmers. It’s not just your coffee cup; it’s 2.25 billion cups each year and the earth doesn’t seem pleased either. Read the full story »

Clean clothes and garment guilt

You may have read news articles about the recent factory collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in which hundreds of garment workers died. It is important to ask: if consumers didn’t demand so much cheap clothing, would factory workers be working in such poor conditions? Read the full story »

Support small-scale farmers to combat global inequality

Why is it important to support small-scale farmers? The short answer is because if we don’t, we perpetuate the unequal distribution of resources and the existence of global inequality. Sounds like heavy stuff? It is, but it’s also important to be aware of the global food production system. Read the full story »

Hope is contagious, pass it on!

Band4Hope all began when entrepreneurs Lachlan McWilliam and Lucie Galt were navigating the African hinterlands in search of opportunities to help local communities through trade. In Harare, Zimbabwe, they stumbled across a small business that produced and sold copper and zinc wristbands believed to contain empowering properties. Read the full story »

The Arms Trade Treaty - why we're stoked about it!

Put your arms up in the air! We're celebrating a monumental step forward in the struggle against global gun violence with the passing of a ground-breaking Arms Trade Treaty by the United Nations today. Read the full story »

Our life with food

Because I live on a farm, my life revolves around the production of food. We grow it and we eat it; we sell it and we share it! On the farm where we live, overlooking the Southern Ocean, cattle and sheep are run on pasture (not a feedlot!) and crops are grown. This farm is not owned by us, but we all live here and this is where we do our school work and grow our own food. Read the full story »

You spoke, Mars and Nestle listened

Here’s an Easter treat for chocolate lovers: proof that no brand is so big it can ignore its customers. After more than 60,000 people took action, Mars and Nestle have agreed to do more to ‘know and show’ how women are being treated in their cocoa supply chain, to commit to a plan of action, to work to sign on to the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles, and to work with industry organisations to address gender issues. These moves are happening because of the pressure you applied. Read the full story »