Did you know that there is a high likelihood that some of the stuff you buy at Christian bookstores is made by child slaves? That cross you wear around your neck could be made by people in China who are paid no more than 11 cents per hour.
Clearly, such working conditions are a stench in the nostrils of a God of justice and love. The Justice & International Mission Unit of the Uniting Church in Victoria and Tasmania (JIM), among others, have started a campaign called Just Holy Hardware which calls for “Christian communities, retailers and suppliers [to]…work together to try to ensure that the fundamental human dignity of those who make Christian-related products are respected”.
So far, Central Catholic Bookstore and UniChurch Books are involved in the campaign, and just recently, Koorong have agreed to meet with the JIM unit. However, Word have not responded to several attempts to start a conversation about this issue.
This concern has arisen because Word sells a variety of products made in China, and other countries, where there are documented cases of human rights abuses of workers.
The campaign recognises that, just because a product is made in China doesn’t mean it has been made by slave labour, but without investigation we don’t know. In today’s global village, ignorance can no longer be an excuse, at least not for very long.
Click on the logo in this post to learn more and send a message to Word to get in on the act, especially as Christmas approaches and sales, and therefore possible abuses, increase.
