Most of us consume more than our parents and grandparents.  We buy more, we buy clothes and food for much less than our parents and grandparents paid, we buy new electronics because it is generally cheaper than repairing them, and the list goes on.  Most rabble.ca readers are also aware that our consumerism is being subsidized by the use of labour that takes advantage of underprivileged communities, exploiting children and adult workers more than others.

This great tool developed by Justin Dillon’s Fair Trade Fund, engages us by taking us through what we consume and identifying how each of us is complicit in using underpaid and unpaid labour i.e. slaves.  The site also has an action center and an app so that after learning about your slavery footprint,  you can take to demand change and corporate action.  

Few people in the world live a life unconnected to slave labor. I calculated my total and was shocked to find that 69 slaves work to sustain my day to day consumption, despite ‘ethical purchasing choices’.  We can all up our game and Slavery Footprint has petitions you can sign to encourage companies to join and become slave labor free, and a list of companies you have to check out that have ethical sourcing and do not take advantage of workers.

What you buy and consume has a huge impact on the world. Check out Slavery Footprint to calculate your impact on slave labor in the global market and see where you can make changes to lessen slave labor in the world.