Child labor is the deliberate deprivation of a child’s rights — costing them their safety and schooling. And it’s a sad truth that many everyday products are manufactured by children labor before being shipped to your homes.
Did you know people spend $11.3 billion each year on Cyber Monday? Nearly half of sales come from smartphones, and certain categories (like toys, sporting goods and appliances) all see massive jumps in sales during this time.
But have you considered how these products are made?
Everyday goods produced with child labor:
Agriculture makes up the largest share of child labor (70%) — but the issue spans across industries. The following are just a few of the 159 goods identified by the US Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) as being produced with child labor:
- Coffee (Mexico)
- Strawberries (Argentina)
- Artificial flowers (China)
- Soccer Balls (India)
- Gold (Sudan)
- Cobalt (DRC)
- Electronics (Pakistan)
- Peanuts (Turkey)
- Cereals (El Salvador)
- Clothing (Burma)
- Matches (Bangladesh)
- Sesame (Paraguay)
- Rubber (Liberia)
- Accessories (Philippines)
- Tea (Uganda)
- Lobsters (Honduras)
- Tobacco (Brazil)
- Fish (Yemen)
What drives child labor?
Whether a child is working by choice or by force, they often lack fundamental rights. Millions, many of whom aren’t even yet teenagers, work in hazardous conditions, are enslaved, forced to do illicit activities, and separated from their families.
Poverty is a leading factor forcing kids out of school and into work. While poverty levels have declined in Africa, 80% of households still survive off only $5.5 per day, because of which, the continent accounts for the largest percentage of children in child labor. In the last four years, child labor has increased, strongly driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through their eyes
1 in 10 children work in Burma. ILAB published a story about an eight-year-old boy who is unable to attend school because he works 10 hour days. At the end of the day, after walking 11 miles and carrying nearly 3 tons of mud, he has only made $2. But this sum is too little to eat, perpetuating a borrowing cycle that keeps him and his family entrapped.
“I am not yet as strong as the others. After carrying 15 baskets of mud, my head hurts and my legs ache, but I still have to carry at least 85 more baskets.” (ILAB)
As you are adding items to your cart or browsing deals, consider the true cost — and give back to the small hands that made them. Donating even a small portion of the amount you save during Cyber Week can bring us that much closer to eliminating child labor.
With VAKOVAKO, you can give every child a future.
