Free2Work

11/02/2024

Ntakamaze Nziyonvira grew up in Northern Kivu Province in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a region rich with major cobalt and copper deposits.

The leading use of cobalt is in rechargeable battery electrodes and superalloys, which are used to make parts for gas turbine engines. Meanwhile copper is one of the most pervasive elements used in the clean energy transition.

As a child, Ntakamaze knew people working freely in the mines. However, when war broke out in 1999, the mines were seized by militia groups. These groups, notorious for using child soldiers, also turned to forced labor to extract minerals and metals.

At age 11, Ntakamaze and his family were forced to flee their home, hiding in a densely wooded national park in the DRC. After two harrowing months in the national park they escaped to Uganda under the cover of night.

As demand for minerals like cobalt and cooper has surged, so has violence in eastern DRC. Tragically, recently hundreds of people have drowned in Lake Albert while attempting to escape the DRC to Uganda due to mineral violence.

Today the estimable TK is the executive director of CIYOTA, an Uganda-based refugee-founded NGO and school (with over 1500 students!) that has partnered with Not For Sale for nearly a decade.

One of Not For Sale Not For Sale’s newest partners, M2i Global, Inc. (OTCQB:MTWO), is working to supply minerals and metals to the U.S. government using technologies that minimize environmental impact and enforce ethical labor practices that respect workers.

I am here this week in part better understand the current situation in the region, document it with M2i and Terra Mater Studios, and explore solutions that can be applied to help the people forced to leave their home behind.

10/30/2024

Today I am off to the Uganda/DR Congo boarder.

I'm excited to host another Entrepreneurship Challenge. The Entrepreneurship Challenge riffs off of the Montara Circle, an event Not For Sale first hosted in 2012 and again in 2014. The former lead to the launch of REBBL . and the later the start of Dignita Amsterdam -- pretty amazing feats!

At this Entrepreneurship Challenge we'll host 10+ participants, refugees from our partner school in Kyangwali Refugee Resettlement who have been a part of their ongoing entrepreneurship programming.

(I highly recommend you give the linked video about the original Montara Circle a watch. It features our friend and retired Major League Baseball Players Association (MLB) player Jeremy Affeldt. It will surely give you a boost of energy, inspiration, and a little laugh!)

I'm grateful that we'll also have the world class documentarian team from Terra Mater Studios - a Red Bull subsidiary with me. They will capture the Entrepreneurship Challenge and interview friends and partners of ours who have been subject to mineral violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo - forced to flee their homes to Uganda. This filming is supported and driven by our great friends at www.M2i.Global (Chairman: Doug Cole and CEO: Alberto Rosende).

And, of course, huge thanks to Spence Diamonds for their longtime commitment to Not For Sale and our work in East Africa.

Last thing... watch this space... we are expecting a very special guest to join us in Uganda!!

https://youtu.be/UqPolMLTPQ4?si=UNWhLdQB3CoEuxHP

The second episode of Not For Sale's "Road to REBBL" campaign. This summer, join Not For Sale and help launch a tea business that fights the root causes of ...

10/14/2024

“Twenty years ago, I was alone, starving in the Amazon rainforest. I realized then that if things didn’t change – if *I* didn’t change – I would die alone here in the forest. That’s when I met you. That’s when I met Not For Sale.” – Martin Huaypuna Flores, leader of the Indigenous-led AFIMAD co-op.

I was stunned. It was a surreal moment.

We were standing deep in the Peruvian Amazon, a place whose intensity is impossible to fully comprehend until you're there. And then, there was Martin, our partner of nearly two decades, sharing his heart. Sharing his story.

“When we first met," he continued, "I was in indentured servitude. I had taken on an illegal debt. If I didn’t harvest enough Brazil nuts to pay off the (supply chain) middleman, I would be forced to work in the illegal gold mines here in Madre de Dios.”

Another wave of shock hit us. Martin himself had been forced into working the gold mines!?

We hadn’t known the extent of the exploitation he’d faced. (It turns out it took him years to understand the reality of his own situation. Sadly this is not uncommon for victims of forced labor and human trafficking.)

David Batstone and I had first ventured to the rainforest because children from this area of the Amazon were being trafficked to Lima, over a thousand miles away. We were there to understand why the kids had been exploited, we hadn't thought to question the situation of the adults.

The mines Martin spoke of were ravaging the health of the rainforest. Martin and other indigenous people could no longer fish from the river due to mercury poisoning used in the mining process.

Slavery and environmental destruction, bound together in a grim cycle. This is a reality we’ve seen repeated in places where we work across the globe.

It is why Not For Sale has increasingly focused on the crossroads of people and the planet, using business innovation to drive enterprises like REBBL, www.regeneratetechnology.com, and www.m2i.global.

Martin finished: “I realized it was only through friendship, a global family, that we can not just survive, but thrive. And that is why I am Not For Sale.”

On this Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we honor Martin and the many dozens of indigenous communities we partner with – from Thailand to Australia to Peru – in gratitude for their friendship and leadership as we all adapt to a changing climate.

On this Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we reaffirm our founding belief:
I am not for sale.
You are not for sale.
No one should be for sale.

Together, we can and will create a healthier path forward for all people and the planet.

- Mark Wexler, CEO & Co-Founder of Not For Sale

Visit the Not For Sale blog to see more PHOTOS from the Peruvian Amazon and watch the FILM REBBL With A Cause film narrated by actress Roby Rose:
https://www.notforsalecampaign.org/news-from-the-frontlines/indigenous-peoples-day/

Martin Huaypuna Flores' journey from servitude to leadership in the Amazon shows how Not For Sale and Indigenous communities fight exploitation and environmental destruction.

06/22/2015

Crown princess Victoria of Sweden wearing dress from H&M Conscious Collection at her brother's wedding last weekend --
A-rated on Free2Work!

http://fashion.hellomagazine.com/fashion-news/201506163495/princess-victoria-wedding-h-and-m/

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden surprised fashionistas when she attended the wedding of her brother Prince Carl Philip in an H&M summer gown

06/16/2015

IN THE NEWS: The Guardian says supply chain transparency tools like Not For Sale's Free2Work can lead businesses to change their practices, even if consumers aren't always the ones driving that change.

(Ignore the headline, which oversimplifies the article's conclusion.)

Despite varying consumer uptake of new tools that dissect the environmental and social impact of products, major brands can’t ignore them

05/06/2015

『電子機器産業レポート――バーコードの裏の真実』日本語版ができました。

Free2Work's first publication in Japanese is here! Share the Electronics Industry Trends report with Japanese speaking friends and family, and help raise awareness about companies' efforts to guard against forced and child labor in their supply chains.

http://www.free2work.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Final_Electronics_Report_Japanese_Version.pdf

04/27/2015

5 tools to help you find ethically made clothing: Mashable featuring Free2Work and 4 other tools!

P.S. Did you know that Free2Work is also a key source for Shop Ethical!'s ratings?

http://mashable.com/2015/04/24/ethical-fashion-tools/

Here are five tools to help you trace the social and environmental impact of the products you buy.

02/18/2015

Apple is banning bonded labor and is requiring suppliers to repay workers nearly $4 million in excessive recruitment fees. Check out Free2Work's latest industry report on electronics companies' efforts to combat slavery in their supply chains.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/apple-bans-debt-slavery-as-part-of-new-commitments-on-supplier-responsibility-10042187.html

Apple has released its annual Supplier Responsibility report, vetting where its components and products come from after worries about ethical problems at suppliers.

01/16/2015

Warner Brothers is taking important steps toward more ethical production by committing to certifying 100% of its Harry Potter chocolate by the end of 2015. The starting point for the campaign: an F grade on Free2Work.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2015/01/13/how-harry-potter-fans-won-a-four-year-fight-against-child-slavery/

Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, Wizarding World of Harry Potter, cocoa, Chocolate Frogs, Hogwarts, Voldemort, slavery, child slavery, Universal Studios, amusement parks, Black Lives Matter, Occupy, Marxism

06/27/2014

"Shopper finds 'cry for help' stitched into her dress"

Check out our apparel report to see how your favorite brands stack up in the fight for freedom.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/news/primark-shopper-finds-cry-for-help-stitched-into-her-10-dress-9558351.html

Primark is poised to investigate after a shopper claimed that she found a label stitched inside a dress drawing attention to exploitative work conditions.

06/12/2014

Today is World Day Against Child Labor.

Check out our Electronics, Coffee, and Apparel Industry Reports, to see the importance of healthy supply chains in the items you buy as a consumer.

http://www.free2work.org/

Learn how your favorite brands relate to trafficking and other labor abuses. Free2Work provides consumers with information on forced and child labor for the brands and products they love.

06/10/2014

The importance of healthy supply chains:

"There is no doubt that businesses today are juggling the pressures of being globally competitive while managing triple bottom line considerations. But the balance lies in how companies source and manage their suppliers. This is what plays an increasingly important role in protecting their margins, brand and growth into the future."

http://www.brw.com.au/p/business/mid-market/why_all_businesses_need_chain_take_rZHsF2dHJKIKB0osBqgdkL

The electronics industry is again in the spotlight over labour practices, but understanding the supply chain is important for every business, a procurement expert explains.