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Brooke Yakout
@theofficialbrooke

63,683 followers

Slavery is 100% a man-made problem. Ethical should not be a choice. #G20Summit just wrapped up....guess what wasn't a topic of conversation? Consumer culture fueling modern #slavery and people being #commodified ex. - Red #Cobalt, a primary component in the batteries that power our smartphones and Electric Vehicles (#EV). The infamous case of #BloodDiamonds – beautiful stones tainted by severe #humanrights abuses during their extraction process such as forced labor and rampant violence. Yet these diamonds end up adorning #luxuryjewelry pieces sold worldwide due to persistent demand despite awareness campaigns revealing their dark past. The trendy clothes we wear? Often sewn together by overworked seamstresses working tirelessly behind closed doors making pennies per piece for your latest "#FastFashion" fix. Even something as simple as enjoying morning #coffee can contribute towards exploiting vulnerable farming communities struggling against #unsustainable wages & #environmental catastrophe caused because WE need cheaper beans! It is shocking to me that THIS is NOT a part of the discussions on #trade and #sustainabledevelopment. WHY? Because THESE CONVERSATIONS are INCONVENIENT. If we analyze who is responsible for increases in modern slavery, it is VERY MUCH PEOPLE IN #POWER - be it from #businesses or #government. And G20 countries account for US$468 billion of AT-RISK #import products - mainly due to a lack of #transparency in transnational and complex #supplychains. The GROWING DEMAND for these goods has led to the accumulation of VAST WEALTH with G20 countries, which account for 85% of the world's #GDP. It has also led to environmental degradation, deep social inequality, and prolific forced labor. And here's the thing about this new economy we are living into.. The current solutions for a #greentransition will by DEFAULT rely on #modernslavery and their #supplychains. We cannot solve new problems with old thinking. We need transparency & accountability to be built into #climatesolutions and sustainable #development so that we do not rebuild a new economy relying on the same historical #solutions of #exploitation.