• Article Categories

  • CLC Events
  • CLC In The News
  • Director's Column
  • Ethics In Action
  • Good News Goods
  • Good News Goods Updates
  • In The News
  • ISAAC Updates
  • Living the Christian Life
  • Public Policy Updates
  • Religious Liberty
  • Substance Abuse Updates
  • TBOWH Updates
  • Texas Hope 2010
  • Uncategorized

• CLC Links

  • BGCT
  • CLC Staff
  • CLC Web Site
  • Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger

• Recent Posts

  • In The News – July 2010
  • Good News Goods – July 2010
  • TBOWH Updates – July 2010
  • Public Policy Update – July 2010
  • A Word From Suzii – Religion and Foreign Policy, the world is on the doorstep

• Recent Comments

  • jane lowrimore on Living the Christian Life – A little hope goes a long way
  • David tamez on Responsible Dialogue On Immigration
  • TOM on Historical Framework for Current Immigration Debate
  • jane lowrimore on Living the Christian Life – Clean Energy Economy
  • jane lowrimore on Living the Christian Life – Clean Energy Economy

• Archives

  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
• Search for:

How does buying Fair Trade fight Human Trafficking?

This may be a question you are asking whether you are already a committed buyer of Fair Trade products, or even if you have not bought into the Fair Trade idea yet.  Maybe this correlation will stir and motivate you to begin buying Fair Trade and be an advocate for ethically produced products.    Either way, it is important to understand the far-reaching implications of Fair Trade and how a simple purchase goes a long way towards fighting global systems of injustice and restoring people’s lives to reflect the Kingdom of God.

So here is the startling reality about Human Trafficking, also known as Modern Day Slavery.  After drug dealing, human trafficking is tied with the illegal arms industry as the second largest criminal industry in the world today, and it is the fastest growing.  It is estimated that up 27 million people are currently enslaved in various forms of sexual and labor exploitation throughout our world, more than at the height of the trans-atlantic slave trade (Kevin Bales, www.freetheslaves.net).  The U.S. Department of State estimates that approximately 800,000 people–80% of which are female and 50% are children–are trafficked across international borders every year (This estimate does not include domestic trafficking).

According to the 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report, “The movement to stop human trafficking includes significant efforts to address factors that ‘push’ victims into being trafficked, but it also recognizes a ‘pull’ factor as part of the cause…One key to addressing such demand is raising awareness about the existence of forced labor in the production of goods…In the global marketplace for goods, ensuring that complex supply chains are untainted by forced labor is a challenge for both businesses and consumers…Any successful effort to combat human trafficking must confront not only the supply of trafficked humans, but also the demand for forced labor and commercial sex that fuels it.”

In regard to fighting Human Trafficking, Fair Trade works through three avenues:

1. Prevention by creating dignified and safe employment for vulnerable populations
2. Alters the market demand for cheaply produced, slave-made goods.  A corporation’s “race to the bottom” can lead to or result in exploitive and abusive work environments for the most desperate and impoverished people groups.
3. Rehabilitation, hope, and healing for survivors by earning a living-wage, as well as sometimes being provided with on-site child-care, job skills, education, and counseling.

Good News Goods is proud to partner with Rahab Bazaar, Nightlight, and StopStart, all of which are innovative, socially minded businesses who work with vulnerable populations and/or rescued victims, giving them dignity, stability, and a chance to start over. Their work addresses the various hurdles faced by rescued victims, as they search for ways to support themselves and their families while also protecting themselves from falling back into the same trap.  You can read more about and purchase from our Fair Trade producers at goodnewsgoods.com.

There are many avenues to combat human trafficking, such as raising awareness in your community, voicing your concerns to your local, state, and US representatives, or donating to an anti-trafficking organization.   Possibly the easiest and most effective way, however, is to continually use your consumer power to support abolition with your wallet by purchasing fair trade certified products and gift items made by survivors of human trafficking.

We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

It’s spring! The flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, and new life has been given to our old website.

Visit the new website

For more information about our Fair Trade Initiative and how to get involved visit goodnewsgoods.com

We have recently come through the season of Lent—the time of taking a moral and spiritual inventory of our lives—and are now being ushered into Easter to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus and through Him, the birth of a new creation, a new Kingdom, a new way of living, The Way!

As Walter Brueggemann says, “The gospel helps us to shatter settled realities and evoke new possibilities!” But what is the point of believing in the resurrection if we are not living the resurrection? We are called to the Jesus-shaped way of being human, and His heart beats for the poor and the marginalized, the abused and the broken, the ignored and the forsaken.

We are called to a radical re-ordering of our lives—where our spiritual and private lives collide; where we reconsider the impact that our daily choices have on other people near and far; where we are intentional about our consumer habits because we know our spending is just as much as discipleship issue as our tithe giving; and where we are constantly seeking out ways to alter our lives in the pursuit of biblical justice. This is not an altar call, but rather it is an Alter Call.

One simple way to follow this call is through Good News Goods, the Fair Trade Initiative of the Christian Life Commission. Go to goodnewsgoods.com to read more about this initiative, to access resources, to sign up your church to get involved, and to shop online for Fair Trade products.

March is International Women’s Month and the Global Women Group from Woodland Baptist Church in San Antonio chose to celebrate by hosting a Good News Goods Fair Trade Market, which creates a missional avenue for church members to connect to and purchase from people in the developing world who are making what we buy, especially women and children, who are the most vulnerable victims of extreme poverty conditions such as forced labor, abuse, disease, and human trafficking.

The market was a huge success, and the excitement that filled the air was infectious and glorious.  It was an honor to witness a church, led by a group of faithful women, take part in Jesus’ mission to restore creation and redeem the image of God in all people through simple Fair Trade purchases.

When I asked Dena Dalton (one of the Global Women leaders from Woodland Baptist) to tell me about her Fair Trade Market experience, she said, “Talk about refreshing! I truly believe that our response to missions should never be static. As Christians we should always be mindful of the constantly changing political and economic dynamics in our world. Attention to what drives these dynamics brings us much closer to fulfilling our missional calling. Our call to missions should always be vigorous, purposeful, and energetic. Thank you for bringing Good News Goods to Woodland. What a wonderful way to introduce congregations to the far reaching implications of fair trade. Seeing the faces behind Good News Goods brings the issues of abuse, hunger, human trafficking and slavery to the front of our conscious. Our dollars make a powerful impact and so do you!”

St. Francis of Assissi said “Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.”  This quote holds so much power for me because I believe that as Christians and co-partners with Jesus Christ, we are constantly preaching the gospel (or not) by our lifestyles—our everyday words and actions, intentional or not.    To paraphrase N.T. Wright in his book Simply Christian, when we receive the Holy Spirit, our bodies become the Temple of God—the place where heaven and earth intersects!    Therefore, everything we say and do is a spiritual and ethical decision that reflects who we are as image bearers of God, and as His active agents in this world.  This includes how we shop and what we buy.

When churches (and individuals) commit to making ethical, life-giving purchases, entire families and communities in the developing world can begin to experience a taste of God’s kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven”.

For additional information about Good News Goods or to sign up your church for one of our Fair Trade ministries, visit www.goodnewsgoods.com or contact charlotte.bumbulis@texasbaptists.org.

We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

Sometimes being wrong is OK.  And this time, it’s actually GOOD NEWS!

In last month’s newsletter, our 2009 revenue was estimated to be around $21,000 in total sales, which created $2,000 for the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger and over 4,000 hours of dignified employment for our global artisan producers.

However, I was pleasantly surprised to see our final performance report numbers were actually higher than the expected outcome. Texas Baptists really purchased $26,134 in fair trade goods ($7,676 from church & University Trading Posts, $15,893 from church markets, and $2,613 from individual web orders and JUST ONE card orders).  From that total, $2,613 was deposited into the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger to aid their relief and development ministries locally, in the U.S., and around the world.   But the most exciting number is the 5,227 hours of dignified, life-altering employment that was created through Texas Baptist fair trade purchases.

This means empowerment and hope for a better life—a life with options, resources, & economic stability.  This means decreased vulnerability to forced labor, and other exploitive, abusive conditions.  This means mothers & fathers can feed their families, educate their children, and develop sustainable, thriving communities.  This means the image of God is being restored in people around the world—people who might otherwise never experience the physical hope of God’s kingdom on earth, and the unconditional love of Jesus Christ through the missional living of His disciples.

So thank you, Texas Baptists, for embodying the call of Jesus to “Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.”

Go to www.goodnewsgoods.com and click on FOR MORE.  You will be directed to our supplier’s link, TRADEASONE.COM, where you can browse products & shop online (Shipping time is about one week).

We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

What an exciting beginning to this ministry!  In November and December of 2009, 9 churches and 3 universities hosted a Good News Goods Fair Trade event.   Proceeds from these events are estimated to be around $21,000, which in turn created over 4,000 hours of dignified employment for poor artisans around the world (every $5=1 hour of employment), as well as $2,000 for the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger relief and development ministries (10% of yearly proceeds are deposited into the Offering).

Here is what some ministers have to say about their Good News Goods event:

In the beautiful Christmas carol “O Holy Night,” Christians joyfully sing,
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall he break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.

This year during Advent, Willow Meadows Baptist Church focused on what it means that through Christ’s birth, chains are broken, peace is ushered in, and oppression ceases.  We asked ourselves how we can participate in this liberation, especially during a season that focuses not on freedom, but on consumerism.   Good News Goods was the perfect complement to our Advent theme.   Not only did we get to buy amazing gifts to celebrate Christ’s birth, but we also joined in with people around the world to help break the bonds of slavery and human trafficking.  In essence, we had the chance to put our faith into action.

We at Willow Meadows Baptist Church loved the market because our congregation got to break chains in the name of Christ.  We had members emailing all their friends (Christians and non-Christians) inviting them to the market so that their shopping could make a difference.  We saw people read the stories of the artisans and understand that slavery still exists and that human trafficking is real, even in our own city of Houston.
It is our hope and plan to continue to have a Good News Goods market during both the Advent and Lenten seasons because it gives us the chance to put hands, feet, and dollars to the words that we sing.  And in His name, all oppression shall cease.

Rev. Todd Ferguson
Associate Pastor for Youth and Children
Willow Meadows Baptist Church, Houston, TX

Williams Trace Baptist invested in Good News Goods because it made sense with God’s call on our lives as Christians in the market place today. We believe that in all we do, we should be trying to live out the Gospel message and this includes how we spend our money. The problem has always been we don’t have the resources to understand how to redemptively spend. Good News Goods gave our congregation a jumpstart on purchasing products that make a difference.  Charlotte’s presentation during our Sunday school times and morning service gave us further insight and resources so that all of our spending can be used for good. The event was a huge success for our church and began several conversations that are ongoing about fair trade, human trafficking, and the difference we are called to make as a result of our knowledge, God’s grace and love, and our call to bring good news to the poor and oppressed. We plan on placing many products in our church bookstore and having the market at least once a year.

Griff Martin
Associate Pastor for Young Adults
Williams Trace Baptist Church, Sugarland, TX

I’m certainly happy to tell you that our people have been very receptive and supportive of the concept of Good News Goods.  We used the brief video clip to introduce it and placed the business-sized cards in the offering plates, asking for people to take one and go on-line to see what might be available and make their selections accordingly.  All of the cards were taken, so we ordered an additional number to be used as we repeated it the next week, also with the mini-kit of items to display from Trade-As-One.  We continue to have the items on display and have the unclaimed cards available in our welcome center and various places throughout our Grand Hall area.  Several people have indicated that they have made purchases on-line, including my purchases and some my wife has made.  We are very pleased and thankful for the opportunity to make “redemptive purchases”!

Glenn L. Ward
Pastor
Acton Baptist Church, Acton, TX

Good News Goods brought truly good news to Second Baptist Church of Lubbock. The timing seemed providential. We had just finished a stewardship study that emphasized God’s provision and supply, and we had followed that with an Advent emphasis on giving simple gifts, so buying everyday products that would simultaneously provide economic support for folks who truly needed it encouraged us to consider our own blessings and how best to share them.

Good News Goods is a strong vehicle to raise consciousness about Third World needs and the many global hardships that people endure on a daily basis. Our congregation viewed the video clips about the individual producers of Good News Goods at our weekly Wednesday night supper, which brought the social and economic issues up close for personal observation and absorption. Our folks were then touched and inspired to participate, knowing that the funds that were raised were going to meet real needs of real people.

There is so much cynicism and skepticism in our culture these days regarding efforts to provide help through charitable and/or non-profit organizations. Good News Goods provides a way to slice through that cynicism and remind Christians how holy it feels to be part of a solution that is bigger than ourselves.

We are already looking forward to hosting our second Fair Trade Market in 2010.

Stephanie Nash
Pastor, Christian Education & Outreach
Second Baptist Church, Lubbock, TX

We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

All of September and October I have been traveling around Texas meeting with over 20 different pastors and several BSM Directors about Good News Goods and how Texas Baptists can play a huge role in alleviating poverty and engaging in biblical justice through our everyday spending choices.

During this same time, I was invited to raise awareness and introduce Fair Trade for Texas Baptist students at Baylor’s Global Village night as a part of their Missions Emphasis Week, at Howard Payne University as a part of their Fair Trade Day, and at the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor as a part of their student-led worship service.  Also, in November, I will be speaking with T.L. Grover (BGCT Director of Community and Restorative Justice) at the Baptist University of the Americas.

It has been so exciting to experience the overall reaction from Texas Baptists about Good News Goods—they understand the importance of acting out everyday justice through our consumer choices, and they want to be a part of this new movement in Baptist life.  As UT’s BSM Director, Marcy Kent said, “Well, it’s about time!”

Texas Baptists are realizing that we cannot segregate our church life from our everyday life, and it is not enough just to “do church” on Sundays.  When Jesus said to make disciples, he was referring to “doing life” in a different way and that includes Monday through Saturday. When we come to understand that our daily consumption and spending is just as much a discipleship issue as praying and giving, then our church and our everyday lives collide, and we realize that the Kingdom of this world is broken and corrupt, but the Kingdom of God is at hand here on earth and available to all.

Several churches are already getting involved by either hosting a Good News Goods Fair Trade event this Advent Season or planning for a spring event. You can sign up your church at www.goodnewsgoods.com.

Church Visits:

• FBC Belton
• Trinity Baptist, San Antonio
• The Fellowship, San Antonio
• FBC Comanche
• FBC Hamilton
• Highland Park Baptist, Austin
• FBC Woodway, Waco
• Calvary Baptist, Waco
• South Garland Baptist
• Park Cities Baptist, Dallas
• Royal Lane Baptist, Dallas
• Cliff Temple Baptist, Dallas
• Broadway Baptist, Ft. Worth
• University Baptist, Ft. Worth
• Acton Baptist, Granbury
• FBC Waxahachie
• Williams Trace Baptist, Sugarland
• South Main Baptist, Houston
• Willow Meadows Baptist, Houston
• Elkins Lake Baptist, Huntsville
• Austin Heights Baptist, Nacogdoches
• Second Baptist, Lubbock
• Southland Baptist, San Angelo
• FBC Abilene

We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

Good News Goods is a very simple concept with a very powerful impact because it connects us to the people who make our products. Purchasing bags and jewelry gives freedom, restoration, and purpose to sex-trafficked women in Thailand and Cambodia; Divine chocolate from Ghana alleviates the forced slavery of women and children working on cocoa bean farms; and coffee provides peace and prosperity to farmers in Uganda who have struggled with constant conflict and poverty.

Good News Goods gives Texas Baptist churches the opportunity to host Fair Trade events & establish on-going Trading Posts where fair trade products are available to your church and community members year-round.  By simply redirecting spending to help the people Jesus called “the least of these,” (Matt. 25:40), we support His mission to “bring good news to the poor,” (Luke 4:18) which is so central to God’s Kingdom.

What Can You Do?

Bring Good News Goods To Your Church

• A JUST ONE card is a plastic card for your wallet that serves as a constant reminder to buy JUST ONE thing from a Fair Trade certified producer. After viewing an explanatory short video about the power of our spending choices (during Sun or Wed service), distribute JUST ONE cards to members and ask them to place them in front of one of their credit cards. Every time they pull out their credit card, this will remind them to go online and buy JUST ONE Fair Trade item from Tradeasone.com/goodnews
• A Good News Goods Market is a shopping event, hosted at your church where church & community members can buy Fair Trade items. The event allows your family, friends and co-workers a convenient and fun way to positively impact the world with their spending power.
• A Trading Post is an ongoing commodity Kiosk held at your church by church members at the time of your choosing (i.e. once a month, twice a month, or even as a part of your church’s bookstore/coffee shop).

Bring Good News Goods To Your College Campus

• Visit the GNG website www.goodnewsgoods.com and sign your campus up for a class presentation, a JUST ONE card campaign, a Market event, or a BSM or club sponsored event
• Event ideas: sell fair trade items during your missions emphasis week;  host a fair trade coffee night; host a fair trade SMORES event made with our delicious chocolate bars
• The Good News Goods rice tote bag is great for carrying books to class or the library and makes for an easy fundraiser item for sororities, fraternities, and various social clubs. To order contact Charlotte Bumbulis at charlotte.bumbulis@bgct.org

CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE FOR INDIVIDUAL PURCHASES

• Go to www.goodnewsgoods.com then click on our supplier’s link TRADEASONE.COM.

Plus, 10 % of every purchase goes toward the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger!

We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

Good News Goods brings Fair Trade* products to churches all across Texas and seeks to fight poverty through ethical spending.  Purchase of these goods relieves suffering, and benefits the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger.    Our premier partner and product supplier is Trade as One*.   Through events at churches, Trading Posts where Fair Trade goods will be sold regularly in churches, and www.goodnewsgoods.com, we hope to provide simple, sustainable, and effective ways for church members to bring “good news to the poor.” (Luke 4:18)

So why is this initiative important?

Seldom do we know how the goods we purchase impact other people around the globe.   Some of the clothes we wear and things we own are made by slaves, some of the chocolate and fruit we eat is harvested by indentured laborers, and some of the carpets we walk on are made by women and children, who realize almost no return for their work.   As Christians, we are called to use our money to provide hope, dignity, and freedom to such people, not further enslave and exploit them with our everyday purchases.  Good News Goods connects us to the people who make our products: purchasing bags and jewelry gives freedom, restoration, and purpose to sex-trafficked women in Thailand and Cambodia; Divine chocolate from Ghana alleviates the forced slavery of women and children working on cocoa bean farms; and coffee provides peace and prosperity to farmers in Uganda who have struggled with constant conflict and extreme poverty. The goal of Good News Goods is to transition beyond simple charity to justice that not only breaks the cycle of poverty but plays a vital role in job creation, sustainable development, and the restoration of dignity and security to women, men, and children in the developing world.

How does this initiative apply to Texas churches?

Good News Goods gives Texas churches the opportunity to host Market events and establish on-going Trading Posts where fair trade products are made available to your church and community members.   By simply redirecting spending to help the people Jesus called “the least of these,” (Matt. 25:40), we support His mission to “bring good news to the poor,” (Luke 4:18) which is so central to God’s Kingdom.

I leave you with this question and hope to spark a conversation about our ethical actions, our personal responsibilities to “the least of these,” and our call to bring about the biblical justice that Jesus envisioned in His Father’s Kingdom:

What if every time we did something for ourselves, we did something for someone else?

For more information, contact Charlotte Bumbulis at charlotte.bumbulis@bgct.org or (512) 473-2288

*Fair Trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach to empowering developing country producers and promoting sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a fair price to the producer as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods.

* Trade as One is a Fair Trade company founded in 2006 to equip American church members to use their spending power to help free captives, release the oppressed and bring good news to the less fortunate.  They partner with producers from all over the world such as Guatemala, Nicuaragua, Colombia, Morocco, Kenya, Ghana, Turkey, Pakistan, India, Cambodia, and Thailand, in order to bring their products to the West.

We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

Texas Baptists can host a fair trade market at churches where you sell Trade as One product at a single event, usually in the fall. However, a way for churches to engage with these issues and directly support the good work being done is by signing up to be a Good News Goods "Trading Post." As a "Trading Post" partner churches will sell fair trade consumables, coffee, tea, sugar, rice, olive oil, lotions, chocolate and cosmetics on a regular basis.

First Baptist Austin

 

Wilshire Baptist Church
Dallas, Texas