Date of publication: December 21, 2010
Source: ILRF and NFSC Press Release
Contact: Kilian Moote, NFSC, kilian[at]notforsalecampaign.org, 415-307-1498 or 650-560-9990
Tim Newman, ILRF, tim.newman[at]ilrf.org, 202-347-4100 x113 or 617-823-9464
Consumers now have a tool to ensure that they do not support forced and child slave labor this holiday season. Free2Work.org [1] is an innovative and easy reference guide for consumers that rates products and companies on an A through F scale based on their policies related for forced and child labor. The new Free2Work iPhone app [2] is the first and only smart phone tool that allows consumers to access the ratings as they shop for products from Jelly Belly candy canes to Amazon’s Kindle to Gap sweaters and many more top holiday products.
About the iPhone Application
The mobile application, Free2Work which is supported by Juniper Networks (www.JuniperNetworks.com [3]), and was named one of the “11 Great Apps for 2011” by the SF AppShow, is also available for consumers this holiday season as a free download on iTunes.
About Free2Work
The website Free2Work.org and just launched Free2Work iPhone application have been expanded to include ratings of this year’s hottest holiday items based on the companies’ policies to address child labor and forced labor. New holiday ratings include Jelly Belly candy canes, Amazon’s Kindle, Bakers and Ghirardelli baking cocoa. These ratings follow assessments of other top products including Apple’s iPad, Hasbro’s Beyblades, Pillow Pets Consumers and Leapster Learning Systems as well as key baking ingredients such as vanilla, cloves, cocoa, sugar and oranges.
Free2Work is a collaboration of the Not for Sale Campaign (NFSC) and the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF). It provides consumers with important information on the labor standards and business practices of the companies who manufacture their favorite products so that they can further their engagement in ending forced and child labor through their consumption decisions.
The Free2Work site recently added a rating section and information on certification systems including IMO Fair for Life and UTZ Good Inside Certification in addition to the Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, and Goodweave ratings that were added in conjunction with Thanksgiving. Tim Newman, Campaigns Director of the International Labor Rights Forum said, “A broad range of certification programs exist that claim to protect worker rights. The volume and variety of these systems and product labels can be confusing to consumers. Free2Work helps to reduce the confusion and demonstrate to consumers how each program differs.”
“A growing mass of consumers want to know about the conditions under which their holiday gifts were produced. The Free2Work application will provide conscious consumers with valuable information and company evaluations at the moment they need it most – when they shop,” explains Not For Sale Campaign President, David Batstone.
The Free2Work rating program is an ongoing joint endeavor by the Not for Sale Campaign and International Labor Rights Forum and is supported by Juniper Networks and the US Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. Additional products will be rated during and after the holiday season and consumers are encouraged to indicate what products they would like to see rated in the future.
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About Not For Sale
The Not For Sale Campaign equips and mobilizes Smart Activists to deploy innovative solutions to re-abolish slavery in their own backyards and across the globe. Together, we can end slavery in our lifetime. www.notforsalecampaign.org [4]
About International Labor Rights Forum
International Labor Rights Forum is an advocacy organization dedicated to achieving just and humane treatment for workers worldwide. www.laborrights.org [5]