As a Mum of two small children, I am either picking up clothes off the floor, I am washing said clothes or I am hanging clothes out to dry. Children’s clothing features in most of my day.
Picking up,
Washing,
Hanging up,
Putting away,
fighting over clothes selection,
worrying whether they will be warm enough,
trying to remember what school clothing day it is,
looking for ballet shoes,
cleaning running shoes,
stitching up the knees of school pants.
The list goes on.
A few years ago I visited the country of Nepal and I watched Mums doing the washing dance, the same as I did in my everyday. However, the guide showing us through programs reminded us, that in Nepal one of the greatest needs for Justice, was in the child trafficking that happened to fill the factories making clothes for our western lifestyle.
Stop the car. I need to breathe. It was a moment when justice called my heart into action. I think sometimes we feel like we can’t fulfil the dreams and purposes deep within our hearts because it requires too much from us. However, I realised on that short trip to the beautiful villages of Nepal, that I needed to ask a simple question:
“Who made my clothes?”
“Who is it making my children’s clothes”
“And most importantly is the reason I am buying my clothes so cheaply is that child labour is part of the supply chain of my clothing purchase?”
A pretty simple question, with devastating answers.
Today as we hear justice calling, what is something simple you can do in something we each use every day. Ask questions about the supply chains of your regular purchasing habits? Let’s hold manufacturers accountable for their factory conditions and together change the culture of child labour.
Justice is calling.
A fantastic resource I use often is this 2019 Ethical Fashion Guide