Tips on how to shop with a conscience

c. 1996 Religion News Service UNDATED _ Worried that your child’s toys or that fashionable sweater might be made in a sweatshop? Here are some tips from the experts on how to be ethically aware as you shop: Reward the leaders Observers agree that the pioneers include Levi Strauss and Co., which became the first […]

c. 1996 Religion News Service

UNDATED _ Worried that your child’s toys or that fashionable sweater might be made in a sweatshop? Here are some tips from the experts on how to be ethically aware as you shop:


Reward the leaders

Observers agree that the pioneers include Levi Strauss and Co., which became the first American company to demand high employment standards from all its suppliers. The GAP, the first retailer to arrange for independent monitoring of its contractors’ overseas factories; and Reebok, which will introduce a label on its soccer balls next year assuring they were made in overseas factories policed for safety, health and child labor concerns.

Know the territory

The U.S. Department of Labor (http://www.dol.gov) and the nonprofit research group Council on Economic Priorities (http://www.accesspt.com/cep/) both have Web sites with useful information. The government site’s “No Sweat” section lists shopping tips, companies recently found to be in violation of the labor code and a partial list of companies making some effort to monitor workplace quality. The nonprofit group’s information is searchable by company or product type. See also company ratings in its book: “Shopping for a Better World” (Sierra Club Books). A monthly newsletter for members rates products such as appliances and computers in terms of manufacturers’ integrity. Membership information: 800-729-4237.

Ask questions

Store clerks are usually clueless about conditions in the factory that produced that sweater or toy, but big U.S. companies are “terrified” of hard-edged consumer questions, said Charles Kernaghan of the National Labor Committee. When buyers demonstrate it’s on their radar, companies will start providing answers _ and more important, scrambling to make sure the answers are the right ones, Kernaghan said. Alice Tepper Marlin of the Council on Economic Priorities recommends using the manufacturer’s own toll-free number and make the inquiry on their dime.

Look at labels

Not much help, but some. Goods come to American shelves from factories of varying quality all over the world. Union labels have all but disappeared. No label of origin, even “Made in the U.S.A.,” provides a guarantee of workplace quality. On the flip side though, many human rights advocates urge consumers to shun products made in Burma, “the South Africa of the 90s,” said Simon Billenness of Franklin Research and Development, a Boston firm specializing in ethical investments for churches and other sensitive groups.

MJP END RNS

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