New_Consumer's Articles

RE: A Decade Since the First Sweatshop Headlines, Dirty Fashion is Selling Faster Than Ever

miltonmama004 — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 03:11:06 GMT

Thanks to newconsumer for giving such a meaty synthesis of the issue of dirty fashion - I have learnt a lot from the post. I have to admit that my slowly growing list of ethical consumer choices has not yet extended in any meaningful way to clothing. But this really drove home the need to continue the pressure for change, through more informed choices and activism. I will be sure to check out www.newconsumer also for more.

RE: A Decade Since the First Sweatshop Headlines, Dirty Fashion is Selling Faster Than Ever

lunaloca785 — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 23:58:23 GMT

Ugh... reading this again, I am appaled at the U.S.' spending habits and consumptive ignorance. What is there to do?

Get in tough with USAS (United Students Against Sweatshops) at: http://www.studentsagainstsweatshops.org/

And earn more about fair trade: http://www.originalgood.com

<3 L

RE: EU Fuelling Human Rights Disaster in Indonesia

anumt21 — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:39:44 GMT

Biofuels from palm oil have so many negative effects, yet the prices of palm oil are increasing all across the globe due to such high demands. I read that concerns about nutrition used to hurt palm oil sales, but even now they're starting to help since it has become an attractive option to replace trans fats.

RE: Divine responds to Unfair Trade report

rachelkhanna — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:26:24 GMT

I agree with the other posts. Every solution will have its ups and downs. If the majority of cocoa farmers in Ghana are seeing the results, than that is the best solution possible right now. No system will ever benefit everyone completely and we should not expect it to.

I hope that true to the article, Fairtrade continues to evolve and improve the chances for other farmers as well!

RE: Kicking It with Colin Farrell

rachelkhanna — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:20:01 GMT

This is a wonderful article, highlighting an issue that has been around it seems almost forever! You and I probably have all observed homeless people in our own local neighborhoods, but it takes a statisic like that, with a celebrity shedding light on it for us to really sit up and pay attention. I had not heard about this documentary before, but will definitely make it a point to check it out as soon as I can.

I have also heard about kids from really rough and bleak backgrounds who go on to become some of the most successful people of all time. The one thing that made a difference in these kids' lives was having a constant in their lives, one individual who provided them with a little bit of caring and stability for many years. That kept them on the right path and inspired them to beat seemingly unbeatable odds.

Kudos to you Colin Farrell, for helping and inspiring people who can truly appreciate it!

RE: Divine responds to Unfair Trade report

leslie_worldofgood — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 21:23:47 GMT

This reminds me of people's arguments against welfare. When systems are set up to help specific people, sometimes the benefits reach outside of the original intent and people reject the basic program. However, the good that these systems offer to the core recipients often outweighs the unintended costs.

RE: A Decade Since the First Sweatshop Headlines, Dirty Fashion is Selling Faster Than Ever

anumt21 — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 22:30:09 GMT

This is a great article! I completely agree that you don't have to choose between ethical and fashionable, but you have to be prepared to pay for it as well. If you were to pay a large sum of money for some high designer threads, then why not pay a similar amount to buy something that is ethical and good for the environment, yet stlll just as fashionable. People just have to look at their priorities and think things through before making purchases.

RE: "It has to be a good movie too": Leonardo DiCaprio on Diamonds

anumt21 — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 22:11:25 GMT

I totally agree with Leo when he says that the movie should convey a message without the audience really feeling like they're being preached to. I saw this movie and thought it was a really great film, but really englightening at the same time. It's great when celebrities endorse important issues and cause the public to pay attention to these issues as well.

RE: Divine responds to Unfair Trade report

ruheesubedar — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 21:54:41 GMT

In an ideal world all of the proceeds from an item would go to the producer but of course that wont happen. Fair trade is making good efforts to see that the producers at least see some share of the profits and even though they are not seeing all of the proceeds at least they will get more than what they had before.

RE: Kicking It with Colin Farrell

ruheesubedar — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 21:50:57 GMT

Documentaries are a good way to bring light to topics that dont get enough attention. They are masked as entertainment but actually provide thoughtful knowledge and information. A documentary that I really enjoyed is "Born into Brothels" about children born to prostitutes in India.