WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP
There are many reasons why child labor still exists and various excuses to justify these unlawful actions toward children. Each reason, whether it's by culture or poverty, hinders the child's ability to get educated, which affects them in the future by getting low-paying jobs once again, leaving the poverty cycle flowing for future generations.
Child labor is secretly related to any consumer goods such as clothes, toys, and produce. Some clothing brands don't even know their factories are filled with uneducated children, and getting rid of child labor is an enormous challenge to avoid. Child labor has existed in different forms for many years, but it has been gradually decreasing. In 2008, more than 113,607 children aged 5-17 worked in the regions of Asia and the Pacific. But in 2012, child laborers have reduced to 77,723 children, showing how countries are enforcing more laws, and people are getting educated about this global issue.
Educate Yourself
Know why child labor is a global issue and share the reasons with your friends, family, and anyone else. Learn which companies use child labor in their factories, and know which countries use children for production and produce using The 2018 TVPRA List on this link on page 18 of the PDF:
www.dol.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ilab/ListofGoods.pdf |
Look for Certified Fair Trade Labels in Products
Make sure to avoid fashion brands that use sweat shops to produce their clothing. Fast Fashion is becoming a problem for children and the environment, and brands like H&M, ZARA, and Walmart don't seem to be changing it. Look for certified fair trade labor labels such as Fair Trade Certified, Fairtrade America, and the Goodweave label to ensure you are not supporting companies that exploit children (Human Education).
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Be Wary of Your Produce
Grow more of your own food or visit farmers markets (verify their labor practices). Look for Community Supported Agriculture, and U-Pick farms, which are sustainable and child labor-free. In Côte d'Ivoire, 1.3 million children worked in cocoa production in 2013 (Financial Times). You can use the Food Empowerment Project's Chocolate List to ensure that the chocolate you're eating wasn't made using child labor. Link to list:
foodispower.org/chocolate-list/ |
Children are forced to support their families, leading to a lack of a proper education. Some are born into their parent's footsteps, such as Maya in the sex trade, others work to get rid of a debt, such as Pharady, but all suffer appalling conditions because child labor obstructs a child's voice by blocking their opinions and rights.