On National Freedom Day: What is Your Slavery Footprint?
by Leah Koenig | February 1, 2012 | 0 comments
Break the chains of modern day slavery. Photo by Grant MacDonald via CC
Many of us think that slavery is a thing of the past – a serious social problem that disappeared 150 years ago at the end of the Civil War. But what if you knew that there are more slaves today than ever before, and that many of the purchases you make are directly related to modern day slavery?
Today is National Freedom Day – a day that honors the initiation of the 13th Constitutional Amendment, which outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude in America. Without doubt, lots has changed for the better since then. And even more has changed since President Harry Truman instituted the first National Freedom Day in 1948. But in our global economy, where the sources of the goods we buy are not always clear, there is a lot of room for hidden exploitation. And the people who take the brunt of that exploitation – in Asia and the Middle East, South America, Africa and, yes, even the United States – too often become nameless, faceless statistics.
Enter, the Slavery Footprint – a website that lets consumers get a visual sense of how their consumption habits are connected to modern slavery. Anybody can take the survey and walk through their own purchases to find out which ones rely on slavery. Then, they can choose to take action – letting a company know that they object to slave practices, and using the related smartphone app that helps empower and guide them toward making slavery-free purchases. Learn more about how it all works at the video below:
The Jewish calender’s own version of National Freedom Day, Passover, is coming up soon. Between now and then, help spread the word and take steps to decrease your dependence on modern slavery. Start here by taking the slavery footprint survey. Then let us know how you’re helping to stamp out slavery by tweeting us at @repairtheworld.
