Climate change is the long-term alteration of temperature and typical weather patterns in a place. It is causing more intense and frequent extreme weather events: hurricanes, floods, drought. Human trafficking, "is often described as a modern day form of slavery, typically though sexual exploitation or forced labour."
But how are they linked? Globally, 21 million people are victims of human trafficking globally and climate change will only worsen that by displacing millions according to this study from the Columbia Law School. Displacement can occur by: extreme flooding, and water shortages and desertification that threaten food supplies. According to the study:
A drought in India affected 330 million people in 2016. many migrated from rural areas in search of water, food and jobs. Women, children and elderly were left behind and at greater risk of being trafficked. But who is to blame for climate change and how can we solve this? The answer is complex. But the next time you are feeling guilty for a small mistake you made, just know, "100 companies are responsible for 71% of global emissions. ExxonMobil, Shell, BP and Chevron are identified as among the highest emitting investor-owned companies since 1988."
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Where does all the stuff that we donate go? Turns out we handle the overwhelming amount of donations like we handle a lot of our waste. We send it to other countries to deal with. In 2017 alone, some $173 million in worn or used clothing was exported from Canada to countries and regions around the world. 75% of the clothing that is donated doesn’t even end up getting sold in the thrift shops we donate to according to CBC. “No rational businessman would ship stuff to East Africa or West Africa or Central America just to have it burn in a field.” -Bank and Vogue Co There is a huge secondhand market there but it’s hurting local businesses. Kenya’s new garment industry had half a million garment workers a few decades ago but now only has tens of thousands. The East African Community even tried to ban new imports of clothing from coming in but was pressured heavily by the United States. In Nigeria they are known as kafa ulaya (the clothes of the dead whites). Donated clothing was previously given away for free in East Africa. It then became a commodity to sell, which is what suppressed the local textile sector. This is not to deter people from donating. Just be more mindful when donating. Donating clothing is definitely far better than landfilling, but it does not erase the impacts of the clothing. A lot of thrift stores don’t actually know where their clothing is sent. There needs to be more transparency and clothing needs to be tracked. Solutions
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AuthorHi everyone, I’m Elizabeth! I am a Chinese American and Canadian environmental activist focused on creating awareness on environmental justice issues and tying them to fast fashion and our waste and climate change crisis. I’m very open about my mental health. I talk about these important topics on my platform Archives
March 2021
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