The High Cost of Cheap
October 23, 2009 |
I love a bargain. Whether I’m buying clothing, groceries, or other supplies, I enjoy knowing I got a deal. I can even dress it up in spiritual clothes, claiming I’m being a “good steward” of my resources by being thrifty.
Unfortunately, cheap sometimes has a hidden price tag. The prices of certain goods—from soccer balls to candy bars—are low because the people who produce them are paid little or nothing for their labor. The laborers in sweatshops and harvesters on plantations pay a dear price so that we can have, by our own admission, too much food and too much stuff.
I love bargains, but I also want to live a compassionate life—and lead others to do the same. To do so, I must look beyond the price tag on an item to its hidden price.
More people are trapped in slavery today than at the height of the slave trade of the 1800s. Most are virtually invisible. Many are children. The Bible is very clear: if I am saving money by exploiting the poor (which I am doing if I buy products made with slave labor), that is exactly the opposite of good stewardship.
For example, most of the world’s chocolate is made on plantations in Africa, especially the Ivory Coast, where there are more than 100,000 child slaves working on cocoa plantations. The cocoa beans are harvested by hand, usually by young children—children who have never even tasted chocolate. These children are denied an education, and sometimes beaten or not fed if they do not meet their harvest quotas. Many are lured with the promise a paying job, but they end up enslaved. Their lives are the price of cheap chocolate. (Learn more at www.slavefreechocolate.org .)
We might throw up our hands at the injustice, but think there is nothing we can do, or that the problem is too huge. Such thinking is truly ignoring the plight of the poor, trading our comfort for theirs.
Centuries ago, God told his people: “For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. They sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor as upon the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed.”
Does God still care about how our way of life, our insatiable use of resources, denies justice to the oppressed? Of course he does. He cares about the high cost of cheap.
The Bible says, “Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right.” Do our buying patterns maintain justice, or do they perpetuate injustice (even if we are unaware of it)?
There is a human cost to cheap chocolate. And the question is, are we willing to support child slavery in order to have the privilege of inexpensive candy?
There is a great alternative, though. Fair Trade certified products, including chocolate, are produced via a system that pays workers fairly, cuts out middlemen, and protects the environment.
Buying Fair Trade chocolate ensures decent living wages for workers, and that children will not be exploited. That they will get an education, rather than being forced to work in the fields. While it is a bit more expensive than other chocolate, the price reflects the fact that a living wage is paid to the workers who harvest it. It’s also a higher quality product.
There are a number of great websites that sell Fair Trade chocolate, coffee, clothing, jewelry and more—such as www.serrv.org or www.globalexchange.org. They have a special program going for Halloween where you can handout out Fair Trade chocolate through “reverse trick-or-treating.”
I’ve also found Fair Trade food at places like Whole Foods and Target. Ask for it where you shop. Let stores know that you will buy Fair Trade if they stock it. And contact candy companies to let them know you object to their business practices.
Halloween and Christmas are coming—times when we buy candy and gifts. Why not lead a ministry of giving Fair Trade chocolate to trick-or-treaters, or put Fair Trade trinkets in Christmas stockings?
In Isaiah 58:6, God tells his people: “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?”
You can either loosen the chains of injustice, or pull them tighter by simply ignoring the situation.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on October 23, 2009
Comments
I am so happy you wrote this! I do campus ministry with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and our chapter has done a lot with child slavery and we did a campus-wide outreach event focused around the cocoa industry. Thanks for caring about this!
Posted by: Kirsten on October 24, 2009
Wow. Convicting.
For several months I have become more and more aware of slavery (especially child-slavery and sex slavery) around the world. The whole situation breaks my heart. It all seems too big, too difficult, and I feel too small. I have been uncertain of what to do. We don't have much money. We don't have amazing connections to change lives.
But I do eat chocolate. If I just switched to eating fair trade chocolate I'm doing something. And eventually that something might grow to be a few somethings. And on and on...
So thank you for giving me a practical way to take a stand against slavery, to care for those working hard and creating their own goods, and to obey the Lord. It looks like it's too late to do "reverse trick-or-treating" this year (it's past the deadline), but next year you can count on us.
Posted by: Leah on October 24, 2009
i think of imago dei's advent conspiracy...which so many churches are doing. bottom line is we need to rethink what we are doing and how we are doing it...live the questions
cornelia seigneur
west linn oregon
Posted by: Cornelia Becker Seigneur on October 24, 2009
I'm glad you wrote about the hidden costs of "cheap" items. Although many of us love getting a good deal, I think most of us would also be shocked to learn that our "find" was the result of child or sweatshop labor.
One of the reasons I launched www.World-Shoppe.com five years ago was to show Americans that you CAN support Fair Trade and shop your values at the same time. Fair Trade has moved beyond banana leaf baskets...you can now find stylish and beautiful handmade and Fair Trade items that fit your lifestyle.
I would encourage everyone to consider buying at least ONE item this holiday season (and throughout the year) that is fairly traded. Not only will you be supporting families in need in developing countries, but you're really giving a thoughtful gift to someone you love and care about.
Thank you, again, for covering this important topic.
Megy Karydes, Founder
www.World-Shoppe.com
Posted by: Megy Karydes on October 26, 2009
I appreciated this blog post--especially the websites about where to find fair trade goods. I am often swayed by the cheaper products and/or I just don't know where to find fair trade alternatives. I will definitely check these sites out. Great post!
Posted by: Rachel on October 26, 2009
As the owner of a company who manufactures overseas and with a young daughter who manages our foundation and teaches children about environmental stewardship, I am especially appreciative of this blog. We go to great lengths to make certain our products are manufactured with the highest standards in mind including the age of the workers. We continue to insist and push to find factories that will comply, even making visits overseas, because it's so vital to who we are. It's such an important topic that people just don't know enough about. Thank you so much for writing about it.
Posted by: Danelle on October 26, 2009
Keri,
Thank you for writing about this and mentioning my site. Obviously, there are a lot of problems in our world. The situation with the cocoa kids is something I believe we can solve. The consumers in the US really have all of the power.
God Bless.
Posted by: Ayn Riggs on October 29, 2009
What a great article!
Sometimes, we just have no idea what's really going on in this world.
I will be passing this one on.
Posted by: Terry on October 30, 2009
Having recently returned from Africa I never did encounter the 'slavery' the article speaks of. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, just that I did not encounter it. However, I do know that while the wages are most certainly not what we in the West might consider 'adequate', many in the Third World who do have jobs at factories producing goods for sale elsewhere are thankful that they have a job and that they are better off than their friends next door who have no job, and no social welfare to help them.
Slavery is a horrible conidtion and must be stopped, but we must be careful we don't impose Western values on those just thankful they have some income at all!
Posted by: Jim Churc on November 9, 2009
Yes, Jim C. you are correct in your assessment. I have been to Africa twice and have never seen what this article describes. It is apparent that some are not at all familiar with that culture. I know many missionaries who do live and have lived in Africa. They have never seen this either. If it is happening it is very rare. Do not use your uneducated knowledge to deny those who desperately need us to help provide for them.
Posted by: Ardnas on November 19, 2009
For those who say this is not happening--Africa is a pretty big place. to say you visited there and did not see any slaves--good grief. There are slaves here in America, too, we just don't realize they are slaves. In fact, we often condemn them or arrest them because we don't realize that they are not choosing a life of prostitution. When you went to Africa, did you visit cocoa plantations on the Ivory Coast, the part of Africa where most of the cocoa plantations are located? I understand the idea that factories in the third world pay less than we would think is fair. that's not what I am talking about. There were international laws passed outlawing child labor and slavery on cocoa plantations in 2001 (if it wasn't happening, why would they need a law?) but companies have not fully complied with the law.
Check out this news story from the BBC online: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6517695.stm
Posted by: Keri Wyatt Kent on November 21, 2009
Unfortunately Fair Trade market is not the panancea.Generally speaking, children and farm workers do not reap such benefits only the farm owners, and the certifying firms.
I would suggest keep buying cheap, bargains, and from your savings you can support any NGO with holistic development programs that are reaching to those impoverished children of God all over the world
Posted by: Jose Diaz on December 18, 2009