You may not be a slave to fashion. But you most likely use them.
Today is the 149th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. So we don't have slaves anymore. Do we?
Find out. Today, at 2 p.m. slaveryfootprint.org will be launched by the U.S. State Department. Ambassador Luis CdeBaca of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons is announcing it the at the Clinton Global Initiative.
It's akin to determining your carbon footprint in that you input your spending habits, consumer choices, lifestyle tendencies, and other bits of information, then the calculator comes up with a number, a footprint, if you will, calculating how many slaves were used to provide your current lifestyle -- who makes your clothes, got your food to you, provided your fuel, and so on.
It's a sobering proposition.
And just when you'd changed all your lightbulbs to eco-friendly fluorescents and bought a Prius. But as with anything, awareness is the first step.
Several organizations such as the Somaly Mam Foundation, Ecpatusa.org and The Body Shop have initiatives in place to combat the slave trade and sex trafficking and of children and young people. But most people are unaware that this is even happening.
Tamara Mellon, co-founder of Jimmy Choo shoes, has just designed a limited edition STOP bag for The Body Shop to help raise funds for their ongoing efforts. And they're making some amazing inroads, but as it is a $37 billion industry, that's going to take a lot of bags to counteract. Mellon said she was stunned to discover that this is going on a mere 20 blocks north of where she lives in NYC.
The U.S. State Department hopes this tool will bring awareness into much sharper focus. Finding out how you alone use slaves will bring it home in a very personal way. If there is enough action taken in the year leading up to the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, maybe we'll really have something to celebrate.
Gerit Quealy writes on Style & Substance at NBC's StyleGoesStrong.com.