Shop ethically

The products that we buy and use in Australia can affect people in other countries.

Many of the goods we use are made or grown in developing countries. Sometimes the workers producing these goods receive low pay or are forced to work in dangerous conditions. Sometimes, the workers are vulnerable people, including children, who have been trafficked.

Cocoa, used to make big brand chocolate, is often harvested in part by child labourers in West Africa. In Southeast Asia, men are too often exploited for their labour in the fishing industry. Coffee growers in South America are underpaid for their crops, victims to crop dumping by subsidised and wealthy nations. Carpets are woven in India by children as young as 5 years old working in gruelling conditions. Women and children enslaved in the sex trade endure lives of torment and disease.

Individuals, governments and businesses worldwide directly and indirectly fuel the crime of human trafficking and slavery. They also all have a role to play in combating it. Obligations under international law require us to work to combat trafficked and exploitative labour.

Find out how the Don't Trade Lives campaign is addressing this issue.

A how-to guide

• Look for products that are ethically certified, such as the Fairtrade label. It’s your assurance that exploitative labour and practices have not been a part of that product’s manufacture.
• Ask your favourite retailer to stock ethically produced tea, chocolate and coffee. 
• Support efforts to incorporate ethical products in your home, school and workplace. 
• Help your school, university or community to become a Fairtrade community
• Encourage your MP to champion against labour exploitation with policies, ethical procurement and action. 
• Consider whether your consumption is necessary. Remember to ask yourself: “Do I really need this?”