My Small Act

I decided that a good place to start would be to make a Facebook post. This would raise awareness in the school.

Then i emailed Joe Fresh to get their side of the story  they refused to comment on the matter. They said that they did not comment on worker conditions and told me to not respond to them.

I have decided that I will boycott not just Joe Fresh but the Loblaws chain and buy my groceries elsewhere.
Last week I took my family to Metro instead in my boycott of Loblaws' products

Mr proposal to anyone who wants to make a difference is to stop buying Joe Fresh and to educate your friends and family and the social issues with  their products and write to Joe Fresh and tell them how you feel and tell them why you are boycotting their products and demand some serious change. Make a petition, a Facebook post, or a physical protest, anything to create positive social change. Thank you

If my Joe Fresh T-shirt could talk:

Lowblaws' "Joe Fresh" T-shirts are made in Bangladesh mostly by young adult females, who need to work in order to be able to support their families and help prevent  starvation. They are taken advantage of by greedy
     
       The social and ethical problems associated with purchasing Joe Fresh T-shirts, became apparent recently following the collapse of a factory killing 1,129 people. The working conditions were deplorable. The factory was built on a swamp*, and workers ordered to work when cracks appeared in the foundation of the building. The guards coerced the workers back into the building when they refused to perform their tasks. This was extremely cruel and never would have occurred in Canada.

CBS News. Bangladesh factory collapse. 2013.Dhaka.

http://transmissionsmedia.com/the-bangladesh-factory-collapse-and-the-drive-for-profit/. Image. May 29, 2014

      The workers worked crammed together making just $36 a month.^  This is the lowest minimum wage in the world. The workers will often make 100 shirts an hour . They are being given starvation wages, but the saddest part of the story is that if they don't work they will starve to death, along with their families. 
    

      Joe Fresh T-shirt. 2013. O Canada Online Collections, Dhaka. O Canada. Web. 4 June 2014.
     
     The minimum wage is ~$0.12 an hour meaning they will make $0.008 or 4/5 of a cent per shirt*(assuming a shirt is sold at $14) some t-shirts being sold for $20 will pay workers the same amount of money giving .In Canada we don't even use a penny anymore because the unit was to small to be useful anymore.  In the 3rd quarter of 2013 Loblaws made $154 million ^. This means they made more than enough money to give an extra nickel to each of those employees starving in those factories. Studies also show that when you give workers better conditions and they are happier they work harder. 
       
      Loblaws spends significantly more per shirt on advertising than wages of workers based on their annual report.* It is significantly more expensive to advertise on TV, radio and in print in Canada than it is to pay somebody a deplorable wage in Bangladesh. They spend buckets to advertise their affordable clothing line while sacrificing their workers human rights.

     T-shirts are made from cotton, which is often grown with many heavy pesticides.^ These pesticides can in some cases cause harm to human health if not treated properly. In the pursuit of profit companies are cutting more corners than ever to maximize profit. There are also dyes which may be toxic to give T-shirts colours and designs/patterns. The factory workers often have to breathe in these chemicals with little or no protection. These will cause serious human health concerns including respiratory problems.
These shirts are made in the garment factories of Dhaka, Bangladesh and throughout improvised regions of the country of Bangladesh.

     12361.6km is the distance traveled first by ship to either Vancouver or LA and then usually by truck or sometimes train to Toronto. The emissions used by these large tankers is extremely high, but before that these shipping boats must have their oil shipped in by tankers. Then when the goods finally arrive on North America's west coast they have by shipped by gas guzzling trucks to drive into the East Coast's large cities and consumer markets, and then they have to try driving the goods into traffic congested cities like: Toronto, and New York. Then each consumer has to drive the goods to their residence.

   The life span of a shirt can be very long if not ripped. I can stay in tact even longer if it is properly made, or uses good materials, many t-shirts will last for years, due to their ability to adapt to their wearers changing sizes. They can also be handed down through charities and help Canada's less fortunate. 

Felton, Ashley. Landfill. 2006. Wikimedia Commons, Perth.

    If they are not given to a charitable organization they will be thrown in a landfill where they don't decompose and cause a grievous environmental threat. In moist conditions it can take up to 30 years but in dry areas it can take centuries. They help fill up our landfills and the pesticides in the cotton seep into our ground water.



Conclusion:
The conditions in the factories are deplorable, with workers having to breathe in dangerous chemicals. The products have to be shipped great distances to reach their target markets. There are many problems with Joe Fresh t-shirts, and if you want to help see my small act page. Works Cited/Foot(end)notes. In order from first marked it last.

*"Your Joe Fresh Shirt Has Some Blood on It." Toronto Sun. Canoe Sun Media, 3 May 2013. Web. 21 May 2014.

^Hills, Suzannah. "Bangladesh Asked to Raise Its $36-a-month Minimum Wage... by Clothes Retail Giant H&M." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 07 Sept. 2012. Web. 21 May 2014.

*Westwood, Rosemary. "Ecouterre." Ecouterre INFOGRAPHIC What Does That 14 Shirt From Bangladesh Really Cost Comments. Maclean's, 1 May 2013. Web. 21 May 2014.

^Paddon, David. "Loblaw Lowers Profit Projection for 2013 as Competition Tightens Margins | Toronto Star." Thestar.com. Torstar, 13 Nov. 2013. Web. 21 May 2014.

*Limited, Loblaw Companies. "Reshapping Retail." Reshaping Retail (2013): 1-147. Loblaws Annual Report. Loblaws Co., Dec. 2013. Web. 21 May 2014.

^Unknown. "Cotton." Pesticide Action Network. Pesticide Action Network, n.d. Web. 21 May 2014.

Works Cited:

Hills, Suzannah. "Bangladesh Asked to Raise Its $36-a-month Minimum Wage... by Clothes Retail Giant H&M." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 07 Sept. 2012. Web. 21 May 2014.

Limited, Loblaw Companies. "Reshapping Retail." Reshaping Retail (2013): 1-147. Loblaws Annual Report. Loblaws Co., Dec. 2013. Web. 21 May 2014.

Paddon, David. "Loblaw Lowers Profit Projection for 2013 as Competition Tightens Margins | Toronto Star." Thestar.com. Torstar, 13 Nov. 2013. Web. 21 May 2014.

Unknown. "Cotton." Pesticide Action Network. Pesticide Action Network, n.d. Web. 21 May 2014.

Westwood, Rosemary. "Ecouterre." Ecouterre INFOGRAPHIC What Does That 14 Shirt From Bangladesh Really Cost Comments. Maclean's, 1 May 2013. Web. 21 May 2014.

"Your Joe Fresh Shirt Has Some Blood on It." Toronto Sun. Canoe Sun Media, 3 May 2013. Web. 21 May 2014.

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