AIBU to ask how many slaves are working for you?

[MiniTheMinx]

Discovered today that I have 55 slaves working for me. I have clothes, electrical goods, food and other goods in my home that have been made using slavery.

There are over 27 million slaves in the world today, many of them children. They exist in all parts of the world.

To discover how many slaves you have working for you you can do a survey here madeinafreeworld.com/ at the top of the page there is a link that says "how many slaves work for you"

[Bogeyface]

I don't plan to do anything, I was just a bit surprised at my score to be honest, we are not great consumers.

So I wonder what the point is in inducing hand wringing angst when there is no plan or campaign to change anything? And I agree that while 40p a day isnt enough, it is better than nothing.

Interesting that on another thread it has been said by many people that the cost of food is becoming a problem and that something should be done to lower the costs, and then reality of where cheap food comes from is highlighted here. The problem is that us as consumers have driven the price of food down, including in the UK with milk money paid to farmers being lower than the cost of production. We are not victims of inflated costs, we are returning to the reality of what it actually costs to produce the food we buy.

[MiniTheMinx]

Have consumers driven the price of food down, I thought it was businesses that did that in competition to each other. I would agree that food prices need to actually reflect their true cost. Problem is that some people are in food poverty now.

[InNeedOfBrandy]

63 I didn't think we were that bad.

[Bogeyface]

It is consumer led because we all want cheaper everything so we go to the cheapest supplier. The other suppliers need to lower their costs to compete but dont want to lower their profits, and as they have the power to dictate, they simply go to the cheapest manufacturer who will lower their own overheads in order to keep their profit too. The loser is the child who was working for 50p a day but is now working for 40p a day because their employer can do as he likes.

[Bogeyface]

It is naive to think that people will not go to the cheapest supplier for the same item if they can. Yes, a very small minority will shop ethically, but most, especially in our own current financial crisis, will go with the cheapest option.

[Bogeyface]

And....having a conscience is expensive these days. Ethics are a luxury beyond many, including me :(

[MammaTJ]

It barelyy gives a glance to local bought and zero tea and coffee intake!!

[CoolaSchmoola]

61 - I did the "refining" panels on the left as well.

But a lot of those questions referred to items I own - but know are produced in the UK/EU - so shouldn't apply.

Apparently "slaves" produce baby oat cereal.... Not the Hipp Organic stuff they don't!

I get the feeling it's designed to make you think rather than being in any way actually indicative, it's not comprehensive enough to be that.

[MiniTheMinx]

So we all go for the cheapest possible because we are......rolling in it or because we are becoming slowly more impoverished? also if the lower price we pay is being passed on in the form of lower wages to others, does that not imply that the percentage of profit being taken out by corporations and businesses is still the same?

I wondered about that too, it doesn't ask about tea and coffee.

[kittyandthegoldenfontanelles]

Does anyone understand what to do with the 'fine tuning' button?

Apparently I have 9 slaves working for me. How the Cripes do they know that after asking if I have a child and how many bedrooms my house has? It doesn't make any sense. Am I missing something crucial here?

[kittyandthegoldenfontanelles]

I can't have completed the survey surely?

[Bogeyface]

We go for the cheapest because we know we can. We know that Tesco, Asda et al will do anything to keep our custom and if that means screwing over a 7 year old in a developing country then thats fine as long as the shareholders still get their payout.

And yes, exactly, the profit is still the same. The cutting of costs is passed down to those who cant fight it, the workers.

[Bogeyface]

I didnt make it passed page one one of the survey, it was too glitchy.

[garlicbaguette]

Ethical consumption doesn't have to be massively expensive. The problem isn't consumer pressure for lower prices (the UK is not particularly cheap), as much as retailer & wholesaler pressure for wider margins. When Tesco's buyer drives down the price of a supplier's produce - which s/he is bound to do by the terms of the job - Tesco doesn't reduce the price of those goods to you, it just pockets the difference (and wriggles out of tax, but that's another thread).

If consumers seriously refused to buy stuff that was not both reasonably ethical AND reasonably priced, middlemen would have to find a way to take the hit. Since it's extremely hard to get this concept across to mass market consumers, legislation could do the job quicker. That ain't gonna happen any time soon, obv, so the better approach is to actually read the bumf on your food packaging and do some background checking. Aldi and Lidl carry a surprising amount of 'fairer trade' foods, as well as ethically farmed/caught meat and fish. They would probably respond well to enquiries about the provenance of the other goods they sell, too.

But we Brits make noises, not changes. Got an iphone/ipad? I bet you decided not to read the suicide factory stories before you bought the new one.

Since you ask, my phone & laptop are Japanese, though some of the components were made in China and India under what I suspect are dodgy conditions. Anyway, OP, I'm still cross with you for saying women don't understand economics!

[garlicbaguette]

... and that website's down, so I haven't done the Q.

[mortimersraven]

What a beautiful survey! The graphics are ace!

50

Agree with bogey, ethics are expensive. But not all companies go for the lowest price with no regard for the people working there. Part of my job is to audit our Asian suppliers to make sure the staff aren't being exploited. I can sleep at night knowing our customers are buying fair ethical products at sky high prices

[garlicbaguette]

37. I'm average. I signed up for 'take action' but it remains to be seen what action I've signed up to!
    
    It is beautifully done. Thanks, Minx - I'm glad I waited for it to get back up :)

[ripsishere]

I didn't see a survey.
I do try to buy ethically and locally where possible. Unfortunately in Malaysia there are few opportunities.
I use our local wet market when possible and buy locally grown tea for DH even though it is miles more expensive than imported PG tips.

[Flimflammery]

Has no-one noticed that it's a US website, so it assumes US shopping and lifestyle patterns?

[kittyandthegoldenfontanelles]

Flim, the first question asked where you lived and placed you on a world map.

After that I was asked, age, gender, ethnicity I suppose because I has to colour myself pink or brown, then if I had children, then to fill in my house. That was it for me...surely there were more questions?

[BigBirdisSaved]

I got 70. I don't suppose it takes into account that many of our clothes are secondhand or sewn by me (often from recycled second hand clothing). Yes we all have bikes but 3 of the four were secondhand. I do have an iphone though and we have macs. Bad big bird, bad big bird.

Can I be forgiven if I say I bought fair trade chocolate and coffee today? What if I say a lot of our food is semi-local because we live in California?

[ripsishere]

OK, I did it. Brilliant graphics.
Apparently, I have 64 slaves working for me. I wish one would do the pile of ironing and mop the floor

[SaraBellumHertz]

Three figures - based on the fact that I have a large family and a large home and possibly the wardrobe doesn't help

It all seems a bit pointless and makes huge assumptions based on quantity with no calibration for the choices one makes. E.g. I buy an awful lot of British made goods but the survey seems to assume I purchase clothes only that have been manufactured in Pakistan.

[McKayz]

I can't do the test on my phone.

40p is 326.28 Central African francs. DH works out of Abidjan sometimes. I'm used to working out stuff like that now.

[McKayz]

Or the West African Franc is the same.

Really shouldn't use brain this early in the morning.