August 10th

For my project this year, I want to research law and the different aspects of it. I want to be a lawyer someday so I am hoping this project will help me learn more about it. I always wanted a career where I could help people. I read what's happening in the world and I want to help somehow. However, I know lawyers can't help and fix everything. Since I am interested in this topic/career I need to know how the system works. What are somethings that should change? And what things should be the same? Law is important to me because it's what our society is based on. It's how people are determined as innocent or guilty. If they followed the laws or not. However, sometimes it's not that simple.

I have learned that the system tends to be racist. I think this is a known fact. Honestly, it depends on their luck and the judge. I want to learn how that came to be. Isn't the system and law supposed to be fair? For a lot of my journals, I want to look into that. The biggest question I have right now is what kind of lawyer do I want to be?/where can I help out the most? This is probably too early to ask but I guess I get scared not knowing where I am going. That is life though.

August 17th

Recently, I read a book called White Fragility. I learned a lot from it. I know it's not a book about law, but it talked about how many white people have prejudices against people of color. Prejudice affects what a judge might do, which isn't right. Even if it isn't consciously. It taught me that intentions are important but the impact is salient. She said, "Research has also shown that a major reason for this racial disparity can be attributed to the beliefs held by judges and others about the cause of the criminal behavior." Judges might think that the cause of a black or Latinx person's crime is caused by something internal to the person. Like they are more prone to crime, which is so ridiculous! While white people usually get the benefit of the doubt.

People of color, specifically black people, are treated more badly than white people. "African-American adults are 5.9 times as likely to be incarcerated than whites and Hispanics are 3.1 times as likely." I've read so many wild facts and statistics about this. I wonder why our country still hasn't changed? For hundreds of years, we have been treating black people so poorly. It makes me quite mad because when I think about how black people are treated, I cry. Crying doesn't do anything, it doesn't change anything. So I ask myself: what can I do as a teen? We can all educate ourselves, our friends, and our family. Stand up for people. Point out things that are wrong and advocate.

There are so many things about our system and society that don't make sense. "Although African Americans and Latinos comprise 29% of the U.S. population, they make up 57% of the U.S. prison population." Now, this just doesn't make sense to me. Our system works in favor of white and wealthy people. This year, I want to try and find out some ways that I could change that. I want to learn. I want to receive feedback if I say something that might be racist or intolerable to a group of people. I want to be better because we all have our bias, we can't escape from it, but we can learn.

August 24th

Here are my top questions that I'd like to explore:

1. What is the government doing to reform policing in America?

2. What is human trafficking and how does it work?

3. How does asylum work in America?

4. Why is it so hard to sue a police officer?

5. What is most prevalent in America human trafficking or sex trafficking?

My burning question

What is the government doing to reform policing in America?

There are a lot of things I don't understand about laws and government. One thing that I never seem to understand is why shootings and police brutality are so common in America. In the first few months of school, I want to look into this. I want to read and research this topic so I can better understand it. I'm actually really excited to start researching. I have already signed up for something called Project Lit where we will learn about different cultures and experiences. Some of the books are about different black people's experiences. I hope that this will help me understand what some people go through living in this country.

In America, there have been many problems with policing. I feel like it is more than a few bad eggs. The amount of times that police brutality has taken place is sickly. Too many times where innocent black people have been shot by law enforcement. The police are supposed to protect us not harm us. Hopefully, I will be able to see what exactly is being done to prevent this and if it is enough.

September 22nd

How are marginalized groups treated differently from each other? Which groups does society tend to look over or forget about?

It's hard for me to answer this question. I think a lot of what I'll find will be opinion-based. My opinion is that a lot of people think about racial minorities when they think of marginalized groups. However, there are so many marginalized groups that I think people overlook or forget. Especially now, race is so prominent because of all the protests. It's hard to focus on so many different groups and learn about them too. Just think about disabled people for example. This marginalized group consists of so many different types of people from many backgrounds. There are also so many types of disabilities. According to the Golisano Foundation, "people with intellectual disabilities are the most marginalized people in the world." More than 200 million people have ID. Yet I feel like the general public doesn't know enough about this.

People with ID face a lot of challenges including educational neglect, abuse, and societal and environmental challenges. I think this a big problem. This sources is relevant because it gives a lot of information about ID and the challenges people with it face. I will definitely use this again!

Reflection of first sda!

For the most part, I am happy with my SDA. I liked the topic I choose, but I'm not sure if the same goes for the form. For me, it was hard to try and have most of the parts of an editorial and tell a story at the same time. I struggled with splitting my editorial with opinions and my story. Next time, I will probably share my progress with my advisor. I didn't this time because I wasn't sure if I could. We weren't allowed to ask question after a certain point, so I felt that applied to getting feedback too. Instead, I shared my editorial with a peer in Emc. That was helpful because I could see what was working. I didn't get any criticism. I will ask for that next time.

I feel like I spent a good amount of time on this project. Maybe a few hours. In my opinion that is more than enough for a page and a half of writing. What I believe I messed up, was when I started. I procrastinated this one so I started a week before the due date. Next time, I will start a few weeks before and "dip in and out" as my old English teacher used to say. I have found this helpful for things like my college essay. I have to keep working on writing projects for a while. As for storytelling, I'm not sure how I did. This year it was a little harder because I didn't have one particular story that stood out, except for Patriot Act. However, I wasn't sure if that would be interesting or how I would do it. Next time I would like to meet with my coordinator to bounce ideas off of. I guess since I'm fully remote that will be a little harder. Last year, if I had a quick question I would pop in the library to ask however this year I can't :( I know I can email but it's just not the same.

October 9th

For my next SDA I want to explore and discuss the labor market for Muslim Americans post 9-11. I want to also tie in what the general public's attitude is towards Muslims. I think this is important to research because in my experience Muslim Americans and even other groups have to keep proving themselves. We have to prove where our loyalty lies and how much we love America. I feel like we have to show we're American enough to stay in this country. That we aren't a threat. It's like if you're not White you have to work extra hard to prove you belong here. Why is that? I don't think the law feeds into this but politicians do. A Republican like Trump with his wall and Muslim ban. Reinforcing the fact that we are unwanted. That we are taking away jobs. I'm excited to dive into this more!

I am thinking about presenting my SDA in a presentation. Whether that be slides or some other platform. I'm not sure if I should include audio though. I want to focus on communication and critical thinking this month. I'm dreading if what I am going to say will be good and clear enough.

October Reflection

What Now?

Last month I looked at unemployment for Muslims post 9-11. Now I want to look at human trafficking. I'm sure you're thinking doesn't relate to unemployment, however a lot of times people are brought into this scary situation by being promised a job. I'm wondering to what extent are people lured into human trafficking by being promised employment?

This isn't my main question about human trafficking, but I think it's a good transition into my new topic. I don't know much about human trafficking so I want to learn the basic information first. I started listening to the podcast called Ending Human Trafficking. In the first episode, they discuss a few people's stories and how they ended up being trafficked. I learned from the first episode that the three basic parts of trafficking are force, fraud, and coercion. I got some books to read about this too but I haven't started reading them yet. The two books I got are Up For Sale by Alison Marie Behnke and Girls Like Us by Rachel Lloyd.

The things I have read about human trafficking are horrific. An article from Unicef said that "traffickers are now generating approximately $39 billion annually on the exploitation of children alone." No child should ever have to experience being trafficked and exploited. I hope to learn more about human trafficking and ways to help stop it from happening.

*sources under working bibliography*

plan for next My project

For my next SDA, I am going to do a podcast sharing a story of a victim of human trafficking. I want to share someone's story because I believe it will help you guys understand human trafficking better. I, of course, want to include the facts that I have learned too, but I think it would be boring if I just talked about facts and statistics. My goal for this podcast is to be informational but also interesting. I want to be a better podcaster and hopefully, this will be a stepping stone for that. I'm scared that I won't be able to convey the story in the best way. We shall see!

DECember Sda reflection

Overall, my SDA was good. I think there was an improvement from last time. On this project my time management was good. I found the story I wanted to talk about early on and then the rest followed a little more easily. My "So What" was that human trafficking can happen to everyone, however, I don't know if that was clear. Even though I have done a few podcasts I still find it frustrating. Since I wasn't reading from my outline I forgot a few things but that is okay. I think next time I will write down the points I don't want to forget. What I am most proud of is not reading off a script. I used more words like "um" and "you know" but that's not too horrible. I can live with it. Bott said I should work on my sound quality and I don't disagree. Next time I also want to talk more about laws against human trafficking. I don't think there is anything wrong with the laws in place now. It's just that traffickers are really good at concealing what they are doing. Maybe police officers should have more training on human trafficking. As for collaboration, I am not sure who I would collaborate with but I will talk to my adviser.

January 7Th

The article I chose for today's journal is called "Child Labor Trafficking in the United States: A Hidden crime." I found this article on Gale's Opposing Viewpoints. The search terms I used were child labor, trafficking, and laws. Even though the whole article wasn’t just about child labor, I still learned a lot. The information I used is from parts 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 of this article. I’m glad this article explained the problems with the current legislation on child labor. Since I started researching about trafficking I wanted to understand how the laws were helping or if they even were.

I learned that most of the legislation in place refers to "human trafficking" broadly and isn't specific enough. For example, the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act "mandates that child welfare agencies report the numbers of children in their care, placement, or supervision who are identified as sex trafficking victims to the HHS." (1) Even though this act is groundbreaking, it only focuses on sex trafficking. There should be laws that are specific to child labor too and all types of trafficking. Those children shouldn't be ignored. I think legislators in America need to understand the dynamics of forced labor in America to make effective laws. Labor trafficking is often more difficult to distinguish from "legitimate" work because it's usually tied to formal economies and industries.

Most of the available data is focused on the experiences of adults. The National Institute of Justice showed “that approximately 30% of migrant workers in San Diego were exploited for labor.” Laws surrounding labor trafficking also differ by state. Walts said, "almost all of these Safe Harbor laws provide protections only for sexually exploited youth, while children engaged in forced labor and labor trafficking remain unidentified and vulnerable to penalties." More states should look at Illinois's model. Illinois's Safe Harbor statutes protect both labor and sex trafficking victims. She said, “because human trafficking is defined as a specific form of child maltreatment in the Illinois child protection system, it becomes possible to identify and describe investigated allegations of human trafficking in Illinois.” Essentially if the laws are clear and specific enough, it is easier to prevent and investigate labor trafficking.

The child labor standards in agriculture need to be improved as well. Walts says that "in agriculture, employers may hire children ages 14 and 15 to work unlimited hours outside of school, with no parental consent requirement ." I don't understand how this can happen. Farmwork can be very dangerous and exploitative for adults, let alone children. Everyone should care about child labor because we are surrounded by it. The products of child labor are in your fridge, closet, and home. It's everywhere we look. That's what scares me.

One search term that was new to me was child trafficking. I thought it was just referred to as child labor. I think this article is relevant because it discusses a myriad of information relating to trafficking. I need to understand the laws in place already. I liked how the article addressed what is good about the laws and what is not. The results and conclusion of this article were disappointing for me. The purpose was mostly to point out the deficiencies of the anti-trafficking efforts in America. For future articles, I want to try and find more data about child labor. Since Kaufka said the data "rarely [includes] child labor trafficking. I want to find any laws that work.

(1) Walts, Katherine Kaufka. "Child Labor Trafficking in the United States: A Hidden Crime." Social Inclusion 5, no. 2 (2017): 59+. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints (accessed January 2, 2021). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A554689162/OVIC?u=nysl_ca_guild&sid=OVIC&xid=44367a7b.

Midterm Journal #2

I chose an article, which investigates the problems surrounding the legislation about agriculture and how they specifically relate to the cocoa industry. Last week I learned about child labor standards in agriculture and child labor laws. This week, I wanted to get more hyper-focused and look at laws relating to the cocoa industry.

On the database, "Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints," there is an article called "Taste of child labor not so sweet: a critique of regulatory approaches to combating child labor abuses by the U.S chocolate industry." My advisor found this article, and I am not sure what search terms he used. Kemi Mustapha, a Supervising Attorney in California, wrote this article in 2010. Her practice is devoted to sexual assault, violence, and human trafficking. The goals of this paper were to identify why intentional and national laws have been inadequate.

Child labor on cocoa farms in Africa has many consequences. West Africa produces "70% of the world's cocoa, with Cote d’Ivoire alone accounting for almost 40% of that supply"(1). I found this shocking. I did not know so much cocoa came from Africa. It is weird to think some of the chocolate I have eaten was the product of child labor. While reading this article, I wondered how these products were allowed to enter the U.S in the first place. Mustapha said that “the United States already bans the importation of goods produced by forced or child labor; yet United States chocolate manufacturers have escaped from complying with these mandates concerning cocoa from West African cocoa farms.” How were they able to escape from these mandates? I find this very upsetting. As a consumer, I expect the products I buy to be ethical.

On top of that United States, chocolate manufactures are making excuses. In the article it said: “chocolate manufacturers denied responsibility, stating that they neither owned the cocoa farms nor controlled the labor practices of local farmers.” Even though they do not own the farms, they should take responsibility or implemented a solution. Many protocols and legislation are voluntary, which makes them ineffective. The Harkin-Engel Protocol, for example, is voluntary and nonbinding. The Tariff Act also does not help the child labor in West Africa. Under this act, “chocolate products from West Africa (likely produced by child labor) are not currently banned.”

I do not believe that this article had flaws. However, I wonder how much has changed since the article published in 2010. Some new terms that I discovered were: chain of production and The Chocolate Manufacturers Association (CMA). Overall, I think that these acts need to be more specific. These chocolate companies and cocoa farms have to be held responsible.

(1) Mustapha, Kemi. "Taste of child labor not so sweet: a critique of regulatory approaches to combating child labor abuses by the U.S. chocolate industry." Washington University Law Review 87, no. 5 (2010): 1163+. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints (accessed January 12, 2021). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A238426227/OVIC?u=nysl_ca_guild&sid=OVIC&xid=df8ffcbb.

Midterm journal #3

Midterm essential question: How is the U.S government holding chocolate companies accountable for child labor on cocoa farms?

I chose an article called “The Cocoa Industry and Child Labour,*" written by Elliot J. Schrage and Anthony P. Ewing. I liked this article because it helped me understand the situations that children have to face. I realized that the countries, which are dealing with child labor on cocoa farms, are not first world countries. Countries like Ghana and the Ivory Coast have many more problems than America. They cannot solve child labor alone, they need help, and they need people who care.

The article's purpose is to enlighten the reader about what happens on cocoa farms, the cocoa process, and why many of these children are voluntarily helping on the farms. Unlike the other articles I have read, this article allows you to understand why child labor is so prevalent, especially in these countries. Children often work on their family’s farm. Children work so that their parents can save money by not having to pay another worker. However, children “who perform more than 'light work' or whose work interferes with compulsory education also classify as prohibited child labourers.” (1) Many children still do not go to school. Even though education in the Ivory Coast is mandatory, no one enforces education.

I wish that Congress did create a no 'child slave labor' law, which would label requirements for all cocoa products. I think chocolate companies would have been mad and potentially would have taken legal action. However, I think it would have been much better for the children on the cocoa farms. The outcome would have been best for the children and the consumers. The children would have been able to have a normal childhood, which is what every child deserves.

Growing cocoa is not easy. The process involves “long hours in the sun performing physically demanding work.” Children can be overworked and exposed to dangerous work. They can be ”exposed to pesticides and chemical fertilisers, poisonous and disease-carrying insects and reptiles.” I find it wild how chocolate companies do not feel responsible for that.

Companies were slow to take action because they did not think profits would increase if the chocolate was produced ethically. Chocolate that is ethically produced is more expensive, so they did not want more money to be leaving than coming in. The government forced them to change, not the consumers. Consumers should be more aware of where their food comes from and what the real cost is. Consumers might think that these big companies do not listen to them. However, they can and should listen to consumers. Everyone’s voice matters, and it is crucial to speak up if you feel something is wrong. We have seen companies listen to their consumers. For instance, Starbucks saw that many customers were discussing ethically produced coffee beans, so Starbucks took action. They now have options for ethically produced coffee. It is possible if we are bold enough to stand up.

In this article, there was also a survey done by The International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA). They surveyed the labor conditions on cocoa farms in West Africa. “IITA estimated that 625,000 children under 18 work on cocoa farms in Cöte d'Ivoire.” They also found that “tens of thousands of child workers in the Cöte d'Ivoire cocoa sector are at high risk of trafficking and forced labour.” This estimate is higher than initial media accounts. With this study, it is critical to note that surveys are not the most accurate way to gather information. We should take their findings with a grain of salt because who knows how reliable this survey is. Estimates and statistics are not facts either. Surveys can be good, as they give an idea of what is happening, and in this case, it's with child labor.

Elliot J. Schrage and Anthony P. Ewing wrote this article. Schrage is a lawyer, business adviser, and was an Adjunct Professor at Columbia's Business and Law Schools. He currently works for Facebook. Ewing is a lawyer and management consultant based in New York. “He is a lecturer in law at Columbia University where he co-teaches the graduate seminar.” I found this article on Gale Academic OneFile. The keywords I used were “chocolate” and “child labor.” The article was published by Greenleaf Publishing and it was featured in The Journal of Corporate Citizenship (Issue 18).

(1) Schrage, Elliot J., and Anthony P. Ewing. "The cocoa industry and child labour *." The Journal of Corporate Citizenship, Summer 2005, 99+. Gale Academic OneFile (accessed January 20, 2021). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A135662776/AONE?u=nysl_ca_guild&sid=AONE&xid=b4022963.

Midterm reflection

Before this midterm, I used databases only a few times. I was able to get specific with my search terms, which was helpful. I struggled to find articles that I liked, however with more practice it became easier. Scholarly articles took me some time to adjust to. I liked how the information was detailed and peer-reviewed. I felt more confident about my research because of that. Occasionally, some of the articles had the same information, which was irritating. The scholarly articles overall answered my essential question. The articles helped with my researching skills and curiosity. I felt like I had a better understanding of what I was reading. The “Advanced Search” feature on the Gale database was very useful for me. It made it easier to find articles that had the information I was looking for.

The most challenging aspect was focusing on my essential question. That has always been the hardest for me. The more I researched the more questions I had. I realized that I probably could have found better articles to answer my question fully. I think next time I should look at my essential question differently. Instead of looking at it as one question, I could look at it with sub-questions. Whether that be questions I have from an article or ones I created with HOTQS. I think that will make me feel less overwhelmed.

My main goal for this midterm was to get better at researching, which I achieved. I learned a lot about how I learn best and what works for me. I learned that I’m an auditory and visual learner. I’m glad that I did a WeVideo for my final product because that is how I like to learn. Videos and pictures make me understand a concept more than any article ever could. I think my creativity and communication were the strongest and my curiosity and critical thinking were my weakest. I’m making progress with critical thinking however, it’s not my strongest yet. Overall, I think I have made a lot of progress and hopefully I can use what I learned for next month!

My new essential question is: to what extent is child labor involved in the fast fashion industry, and why do consumers choose it over the alternative?

March 3rd

Last month, I focused on child labor in the cocoa industry and the laws surrounding child labor. In my past research, I have learned that these children can’t fend for themselves and that they need advocates. I now have a basic understanding of child labor and the effects. This month, I would like to dig deeper and have a better understanding of child labor. I want to switch my focus from the cocoa industry to the fast fashion industry. I choose the fast fashion industry because so many people choose it over ethically produced clothes, myself included. I never knew that brands like Zara and H&M were fast fashion companies. I want to convince people that fast fashion brands aren’t worth it. I plan on doing this by explaining the downsides of fast fashion.

Since I just started researching child labor, I feel the need to do a lot of research. I don’t have enough background knowledge to feel confident about the information I’m presenting. I have to change that this month. My new essential question for this month: to what extent is child labor involved in the fast fashion industry? I already have some knowledge about the fast fashion industry, however, I don’t know much when it comes to the fast fashion industry and child labor.

When it comes to my resources I intend to use databases, books, and maybe some documentaries. I think indirect research would be useful for this month.

My Questions:

1. How much effort goes into making our clothes?

2. Why are ethically made clothes so much more expensive?

3. Does the government have the right to stop/investigate fast fashion companies?

4. What are the conditions like in the fast fashion factories?

5. Should greenwashing be banned?

March 10th

To what extent is child labor involved in the fast fashion industry?

I’ve realized that fast fashion is a problem because of the producers and the consumers. Over the past few years, there has been an increased demand for new clothes more often. According to an article called the Fashion Industry Promotes Unethical Practices Every Step of the Way, both high-end and independent--and churn out designs for 52 micro-seasons (also known as weeks) a year. That means every single week clothes are coming in that are identical to the trends on the runway. How can they make new clothes so fast? Brands like “Fashion Nova, Adidas, Nike, Abercrombie & Fitch, Forever 21, Walmart, Old Navy, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, H&M, Converse, Hollister, and Gap have all been discovered to use child labor either directly or indirectly.” (1) Companies like H&M have caught wind of this scrutiny and decided to come up with a solution. Which seems nice until you realize their solution is greenwashing. H&M came out with a line called the Conscious Collection. These brands trick you into thinking that the clothes you are buying are enivornmentally made. “‘This little dot means recycled materials,’ Minhaj said, of the tag on a black graphic T-shirt. ‘But it only is this tag.’ The tag itself was the only recycled material.” Even when you are trying to do good, fast fashion companies will always find a way to trick you.

Fast fashion is so much more destructive than I ever thought. It’s weird how we don’t question where our cheap clothes come from or who made them. Many children work in fast fashion factories or even on cotton fields. Kids are preferred to adults because they “are easy to exploit and are cheap labourers.” (2) I always ask myself, “how can the government allow this?” The more I read the more frustrated I get because it’s the same answer: labor laws aren’t implemented and enforced. I believe the solution to this problem is working together and being more aware. No one looks at their soccer ball and knows that a child handstitched it. Awareness comes with research.

A fact that I’ve had to come to terms with is that companies don’t care. They take advantage of poor people because the workers have “no choice but to work for any salary, in any working conditions.” (3) The working conditions in these factories are just not okay. The collapse in the Rana Plaza in Bangladesh revealed just how bad the working conditions are. “Employees usually work with no ventilation, breathing in toxic substances, inhaling fiber dust or blasted sand in unsafe buildings.” Unfortunately, these workers can’t defend themselves because they have very little power. “Garment workers are not allowed to form unions to defend their rights collectively.” Factories even threaten and physically attack union members or fire them with total impunity.”

This isn’t something that is happening in one factory or even in one country. It is happening all over the world. Fast fashion isn’t beneficial for the workers or the consumers. They don’t tend to last long in your closet. Meanwhile, workers are endlessly working around the clock for virtually no money. And for what? For people to wear the clothes for one week and then throw them out the next? The next time you buy a shirt from H&M please think about someone other than yourself!

Claim: Consumers must boycott H&M because they prioritize money over ethics, have low-quality clothes, and they exploit innocent children.

1. Pan, Yvonne. "Fashion industry promotes unethical practices every step of the way." UWIRE Text, April 24, 2020, 1. Gale Academic OneFile (accessed March 10, 2021). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A621839109/AONE?u=nysl_ca_guild&sid=AONE&xid=68bcadd8.

2. Overeem , Pauline, and Martje Theuws. “Fact Sheet Child Labour in the Textile & Garment Industry .” SOMO, 2014. https://www.somo.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Fact-Sheet-child-labour-Focus-on-the-role-of-buying-companies.pdf .

3. “Working Conditions in the Fashion Industry.” SustainYourStyle. Accessed March 10, 2021. https://www.sustainyourstyle.org/old-working-conditions

March 17th

Consumers must boycott fast fashion companies because they prioritize money over ethics and exploit innocent children.

• How much effort goes into making our clothes?

• What is “a living wage” in these third-world countries? Do fast fashion companies pay a living wage?

• I want to inform my audience about what these children's lives are like. I think it’s important to how our clothes are made and the effort that goes into them. Logically speaking, if it takes a lot of effort to make clothes the employees should be paid more. I want to know if their pay matches the effort and skill required.

• I would like my audience to know what ethical fashion is and how it’s different from fast fashion. Fast fashion “refers to the shift in the fashion industry that has resulted in faster production at lower costs.” (1) Many fast fashion brands have their manufactures in underdeveloped countries, where the production cost is cheaper. Exploitation is often unchecked. Ethical fashion on the other hand “refers to clothing and apparel produced by manufacturers that aim to reduce waste and exploitation in their supply chain wherever possible.” (2) The work environment is also very unsafe. The female workers deal with constant sexual harassment, intimidation, and violence.

• Let’s take a look at H&M. This brand claims that they are moving towards more sustainable practice. However, how true is that? H&M is promising to “use 100% recycled or sustainable materials by 2030” and lower their greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, on the labor rights side, they haven’t had much progress. They promised to pay 850,000 workers a living wage by 2018, but they failed to meet it. To try and to better H&M came out with a sustainable line called “conscious” but as we know from my previous post it is just greenwashing. Greenwashing is when companies provide misleading information about their products to make them sound environmentally friendly. To make matters worse “almost none of H&M’s supply chain is certified by labour standards which ensure worker health and safety, living wages, or other labour rights.” (3)

For my SDA I want to convince the audience why ethical clothing lines are better. What matters more, your Instagram aesthetic or childrens’ safety?

1) Jha, Anishka. The Question of Children's Rights in Fast Fashion Industries. static1.squarespace.com/static/58e0bde186e6c029f7c78bdc/t/5db9b416250641156205ce6b/1572451351682/The+question+of+children%E2%80%99s+rights+in+fast+fashion+industries+-+Anishka.pdf.

2) Wier, ~ Molly. Sustainably Stylish, 27 Sept. 2019, sites.stedwards.edu/mwier/2019/09/23/ethics-in-labor-hidden-humans-rights-costs-in-the-fast-fashion-supply-chain/#.YFEfjOjYrrd.

3)“How Ethical Is H&M?” Good On You, 21 Oct. 2020, goodonyou.eco/how-ethical-is-hm/.

April 14th

My three most pressing questions:

1. How much exactly is a living wage? I think I should look at one country, maybe Bangladesh.

2. How many hours does a typical child worker work and how much are they being paid per hour?

3. Why should people care?

Since I started researching child labor in the second half of the year, I didn't get to get as deep as I wanted. I think that is why these questions still linger in my mind. I'm nervous about the symposium speech because I'm afraid I won't know as much as I should. I want to include these three questions for my symposium because I feel like they are the most important. As for my prior research, I don't think I should include it. Many of my earlier journals have nothing to do with child labor, so I think it would be unnecessary to include it. I feel like a lot of the articles I'm reading are giving me the same/similar type of information. We already know that child labor is bad and that they are being underpaid. I guess I just want to dig a little deeper this month and find the root of the problem.

April 21st!

1. We may not be able to stop child labor in the fashion industry completely, however, we can purchase clothes that we know were ethically made. All these fashion brands want to do is make us spend money on their products. However, if we aren’t then they know we aren’t satisfied. We can simply send a message (whether we know it or not) by where we spend our money.

2. I believe that my idea is new to my audience because it connects and answers all the questions I’ve had when researching child labor in the fashion industry into one piece.

3. My topic is interesting because it is someone that everyone can somewhat relate to. We all wear clothes! People are always buying clothes, whether it’s to post on Instagram or for an actual purpose, like work.

4. Hook? Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror and wondered who stitched your shirt together? Or perhaps how fashion companies make clothes so cheap?