'Tis the Season

Even though they are not the most important part of the holiday, I love Christmas gifts. I love the pretty wrapping paper. I love the shiny bows and ribbons. I love the anticipation of watching them pile up under the tree. I love the mystery. I love the reciprocity.

Today is November 25th, a.k.a. one month until Christmas, a.k.a. "Black Friday", a.k.a. the first day of holiday shopping for 2011. That means that I need to start thinking about what I will be giving to all the special people in my life.

It also means that many of my friends (well, probably only those in the States) are, at this moment, sitting outside in a cue somewhere waiting to be let into a shop which sells whatever product is hot this year, so that they can grab one (or five) before it sells out.

But I would like to suggest that this Christmas, rather than running into malls and superstores like chickens with our heads cut off, we put a bit of socially responsible thought into what we will wrap up in pretty paper. Let's try to avoid being lured into buying things that no one wants or needs by the glitz and glam of mass consumerism draped in garlands and twinkle lights. I assure you, that 20 in 1 kitchen utensil will not look nearly as useful in January. Let's think about where the things we are buying come from. Who mined, or farmed, or manufactured the materials they are made of? Who assembled it? Did they work in good conditions? Were they paid a fair wage? What effect did the production of this product have on the environment?

Let's not forget that our consumption drives production. If we all decide not to buy that thing made in China this year, they will make less of them next year. It's simple supply and demand. The fact is, we can change things. Each of our purchases has an impact on the world which can be either positive or negative.

So this year, let's take the festive season as an opportunity to make a positive impact, however small it may be. Let's buy our gifts from little retailers, fair trade and organic shops, local crafts shops, second-hand shops, our neighbors, our friend who makes unique little things. Let's try to make sure that our money goes to the people who need and deserve it. Then we can feel truly proud of what we place under the tree.

Happy holidays and happy shopping!

Where'd you get that shirt?

Did you know?

Traditional cotton production is dangerous for both people and the environment.

Every year, billions of pounds of toxic chemicals, in the form of synthetic pesticides and fertilisers, are used in cotton farming and end up in the ground, air, water and food supply. As a result, cotton is considered the world's 'dirtiest' crop and and the most hazardous to human and animal health.

How dangerous are these chemicals, you ask?

Aldicarb, cotton's second best selling insecticide, can kill a man with just one drop absorbed through the skin. But, regardless of this fact, it is still used in 25 countries and, in the United States, 16 states have reported it in their groundwater.

With the introduction of Biotechnology, which essentially breeds the pesticides into the cotton plant, traditional spraying of insecticides in on the decrease, but this alternative is simply a case of choosing the evil we don't know over the one that we do. It is predicted that the use of biotechnology will lead to rapid rates of pest immunities and possibly production of 'superpests' which will not be able to be controlled.

In addition to pesticides, the widespread and increasing use of synthetic fertilisers in the cultivation of cotton is also problematic. Nitrogen synthetic fertilizers are considered the most detrimental to the environment as they cause leaching, runoff into freshwater habitats and wells, and increased N2O emissions (which are 300 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas).

As well as being in the ground and our air and water, these chemicals also make their way into our food. The cottonseed hull, where many pesticide residues have been detected, is a secondary crop sold as a food commodity; either to make food oil for human consumption or to feed livestock, which subsequently become contaminated. Studies in Brazil and Nicaragua have reported traces of common cotton pesticides in cow milk.

As the developing world is home to 99% of all cotton farmers and produces 75% of the world's total cotton, it bears the brunt of cotton's environmental and health concerns. Rural farmers lack the necessary safety equipment, protective clothing, and training for handling hazardous pesticides and regularly risk acute pesticide poisoning, chronic effects of exposure, and even death. Additionally, as US cotton subsidies artificially lower cotton prices and production costs for Biotech seeds and pesticides rise, third-world farmers experience increasing debt and financial stress. India's once prestigious cotton belt is now referred to as the "suicide belt" (since 2003, the suicide rate has averaged one every eight hours in Vidarba, India).

Lastly, during the conversion of cotton into conventional clothing, many hazardous materials are used and added to the product such as silicone waxes, harsh petroleum scours, softeners, heavy metals, flame and soil retardants, ammonia, and formaldehyde. Many processing stages result in large amounts of toxic waste water which runs off into streams and rivers, killing aquatic animals and disrupting ecosystems.

But do not despair, we do not have to give up wearing comfortable t-shirts or switch to hemp sheets... We can do our part to protect the health of people and the planet simply by supporting organic cotton production and buying cotton products that are labelled 100% organic.

Desire, Sex, and Power in Music Videos

So you think music videos are harmless... think again.

Dreamworlds 3, a ground breaking documentary by Sut Jhally, examines the stories contemporary music videos tell about girls and women, and encourages us to consider how these narratives shape individual and cultural attitudes about sexuality.

Illustrated with hundreds of up-to-date images, Dreamworlds 3 offers a unique and powerful tool for understanding both the continuing influence of music videos and how pop culture more generally filters the identities of young men and women through a dangerously narrow set of myths about sexuality and gender. In doing so, it inspires us to reflect critically on images that we might otherwise take for granted. 

Warning: The following images are not for the faint of heart, but it is nothing you wouldn't see on MTV...

Let's Keep It Clean

Did you know?

Millions of tonnes of soap is flushed down the drain every year and winds up in our rivers and oceans. This is a significant environmental problem as all soap products contain oestrogen and many other chemicals which have been shown to cause birth defects in fish, animals and birds.

We can do our part to prevent this by switching to soap free alternatives, such as The Body Shop shower gel, Dove beauty bars, and Palmolive Naturals hand wash. 

     

Black Tuesday

It seems ironic that I finally got around to creating this blog today. I have been thinking about it for ages. Mulling over all the interesting and important issues it would give me a platform to write about; the environment, fair trade, the organic movement, poverty, social and economic development, 'race', class, gender, and, yes, politics and social justice. I was excited at the prospect of being able to revel in my right to free speech. It is ironic because today is Black Tuesday -- the day that the South African National Assembly approved the controversial Protection of Information Bill (often referred to as the Secrecy Bill), which aims to regulate the classification, protection and dissemination of state information, weighing state interests up against transparency and freedom of expression. This action comes despite widespread opposition and questioning of its constitutionality.

"Press freedom will never be under threat in South Africa as long as the ANC is the majority party." 

- Nelson Mandela, 1997 

Today it appears as though Mandela's long-standing oath has expired.

However, regardless of the unconstitutionality of this action, I feel as though I, personally, do not have the right to complain. Although I have participated in many informal discussions surrounding the bill over recent months and signed a few petitions calling for various revisions, I have been largely apathetic about this issue. I did not attend any of the protests, did not write to any government officials, did not actively rally my peers to join the social movement. Yes, I have been busy at varsity and [insert all other excuses here], but I am ashamed of my lack of purposive action. It is because of such lack of action from informed citizens like me that we, as South Africans, find ourselves in this compromising position; in which the ability to hold the government accountable is slipping out of our reach.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

- Edmund Burke

Luckily for me, and the rest of South Africa, this case is not closed. Although it was passed by the National Assembly today, the bill is likely to be referred to the National Council of Provinces for further consideration. Additionally, the parliamentary leader of the Democratic Alliance, Lindiwe Mazibuko, has declared that the DA "will continue to do whatever it takes to defeat those who want to silence our people" up to and including leading an application to the Constitutional Court to have the act declared as unconstitutional.

Yet, regardless of whether this issue is resolved in the future, today I weep as the country I love takes a step in the wrong direction, and, have no choice but to, learn an important lesson in personal and collective responsibility.