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.

[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!

[spokewench]

I do not see that this is a political issue - When did human rights and plain honest decency become political?

I do not shop at Walmarts because of practices like this AND because consumerism to purchase the cheapest item available is not sustainable! To buy junk and then throw it away is just not in my vocabulary!

I would much rather pay a little more for a quality product that I really need and that will last a very long time

Now, don't get riled up - this is my opinion and they way I live my life. Anyone else is free to do as they please

spoke

[Zen]

It's not just Walmart.

[mimitabby]

you're right, Zen, it isn't; but they are the biggest in the USA and most notorious for these practices. We haven't even started talking about American employees.

[Triskeliongirl]

Another NON WALMART shopper here. Thanks for sharing this Mimi. We either make our ornaments (and its something to do with the kids, stringing popcorn and cranberries, etc.), or have a collection of ornaments we have built up over the years that we have purchased from local craftspeople when we have visited other countries.

[Kitsune06]

you're right, Zen, it isn't; but they are the biggest in the USA and most notorious for these practices. We haven't even started talking about American employees.

No kidding. I'm still in disbelief over how X was training on very busy 8-hour days, then was told that without a break, she'd do her 2-16 hour weekend shifts (8 hours between the two) . So it was get home at 7, get up at 5, be there by 6, get home at 10:30... repeat... and then again when she moved to her week shift, another 32 hour weekend and up at 6 to get there on time in the morning. Not counting day shifts and night-time on call where people actually have gone 24+ hours without sleep (work all day, on call and called in all night, then staying over all their regularly scheduled shift) but what're we going to do- boycott the healthcare industry? Who puts people in charge of this sh!t?

[mimitabby]

yeah, Kit, I agree; healthcare... That's another can of worms. I have a friend who is a doctor. He got out of ER for that very reason. They were so overworked that he was afraid he'd lose a patient while giving someone else a prescription for cold meds...

[Brandi]

I am with you on this one as well. I hate shopping at wal-mart. it gives me a headache! maybe cause their stuff is made in china? I will not slam anybody for wanting to stick up for human rights. There is already enough of that going around you know?

[bmccasland]

Any of you remember when Sam Waldon (Walton?) - the founder - was alive and Walmart advertised that much of their merchandise was "Proudly made in the USA"? Many of the changes were made after he died. I try to avoid Wally World as much as humanly possible.