don't buy your christmas ornaments at walmart!

[mimitabby]

http://www.nlcnet.org/article.php?id=498

At Wal-Mart, Christmas ornaments are cheap, and so are the lives of the young workers in China who make them.

The Guangzhou Huanya Gift company describes itself as being “among the top three Christmas ornament producers in mainland China,” with “long term, friendly, collaborative relationships with industry leaders Wal-Mart…” There are 8,000 workers in the factory.

At the Guangzhou Ornaments factory, every single labor law in China, along with internationally recognized worker rights standards, are being systematically violated on a daily basis.

thanks to a bunch of highschool students who were hired and abused, we have all this information.





The boss told one worker that if he wanted Sunday—the legal holiday—off,
he would have to quit.

One worker described switching from the day to night shift on Sunday, July 1, 2007.

The boss notified us that we were changing shifts. We did not have to work in the afternoon between 11:45 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. We were to start the night shift at 5:45 p.m. I felt too tired. I work over 10 hours every day. I only slept five hours today, and I had to start the 12-hour night shift. I felt as if my body couldn’t take it, so I asked the boss if I could take the day off. The boss firmly refused. I told him it was Sunday. Why couldn’t I take the day off? The company never gives days off. It is enough to make a body collapse from fatigue. I really needed to rest. The boss told me that if I wanted to take the day off, then I needed to quit. Otherwise, I had to come to work. I already worked five hours in the morning. I must now continue working in the factory and won’t get off until 6:30 a.m. Working in this factory is exhausting. They do not treat people as human beings.

[SadieKate]

Good luck, mimi. A couple years back, a few of us said something about not shopping at Walmart because of their employment and business practices and were slammed. Discussing politics on a cycling forum can be a slippery slope.

[Veronica]

I'm a NON Walmart shopper and proud of it! I don't care how cheap they are, you can still find things elsewhere nearly as cheap.

My poor brother is a long haul independent truck driver and often delivers for them. That actually really makes me sad, but his wife is going through chemo now and he needs to be home at certain times. So you take the job you can get that fits your schedule.

I even made sure my Christmas cards were not made in China.

V.

[Zen]

You'll be hard pressed to find ornaments that weren't made in China.
Nothing wrong with popcorn and cranberry strands. Or heirlooms.

Or http://www.christmascraftfreebies.com/ornaments.html

[SadieKate]

Just go to your local farmer's market, craft fair, art center, artists' co-op, fundraiser, etc. Locally made and you can meet the artist. Even mo' better.

[IFjane]

Just go to your local farmer's market, craft fair, art center, artists' co-op, fundraiser, etc. Locally made and you can meet the artist. Even mo' better.

Exactly! Another proud non-Walmart shopper here! I go to the little local shops and get what I can.

[Mr. Bloom]

You'll be hard pressed to find ornaments that weren't made in China.

ALL of our ornaments are from Ireland

In 1986 when we married, we started a tradition of buying a Waterford ornament each year, then we backfilled what we didn't have from prior years. Now, we have EVERY waterford disc ornament ever made (and some others)

Until we got into cycling, it was the ONLY indulgence we allowed ourselves. Now, after 21 years of marriage, we've a got 90 of them...and I can definately say - I prefer the days of a strong $...

[Trek420]

Now you need the matching Waterford bikes

[MM_QFC!]

Good luck, mimi. A couple years back, a few of us said something about not shopping at Walmart because of their employment and business practices and were slammed. Discussing politics on a cycling forum can be a slippery slope.

way to go, Mimi....and, since this is the NON-cycling topic forum of TE, I'm assuming that we are able to express our opinions respectfully and not chance attacks from others here.

Said by another firm NON-Walmart shopper!