NetSquared enables social benefit organizations to leverage the tools of the social web.

net2 updates

Building community in your area? Check out the newly-launched Community Organizers Handbook! Everything you need to start and grow a NetSquared Local group or any other community-powered program.

net2 local

NetSquared Local events provide a chance to connect locally with all those interested in the intersection of social technologies and social change. There are new groups forming every week: Join in!

net2 updates

Building community in your area? Check out the newly-launched Community Organizers Handbook! Everything you need to start and grow a NetSquared Local group or any other community-powered program.

Slave-Free

Challenges Entered: 
Slave-Free creatively displays a new market demand, forcing companies to investigate the use of slave labor in product chains and ultimately adopting the Slave-Free label for their products.

Last year, slave traders made $32 Billion, more than Nike, Starbucks and Google combined.  Pervasive awareness and marketplace solutions are among the largest and best opportunities to significantly reverse the profitability from human trafficking.  Slave-FreeTM currently represents the biggest potential for a marketplace solution.  Using cell-phone cameras, consumers upload photos of the Slave-Free label held against the products they buy thus creatively exhibiting the EXPANDING MARKET for the Slave-FreeTM brand.  Consumers can then click on the brands they use at chainstorereaction.com to send messages to companies demanding their products be Slave-FreeTM. How could the products we use today be made by slaves?  Slave labor drives down the price of raw materials.  Companies purchase the cheapest materials in order to sell their products at a reduced cost.  Consumers buy lower cost items, ultimately (though unknowingly) promoting slavery, and thus creating the $32 Billion business of the people trade, leaving over 20 Million in forced labor (UN Working Group). However, by both creating market demand and facilitating corporate compliance, Slave-FreeTM addresses the primary obstacles inhibiting a company’s examination of slave labor in their product chains.  Successful elimination results in the award of the Slave-FreeTM label products investigated.   Companies have already begun to express interest in the certification process to acquire the Slave-FreeTM label.  However, supply equals demand.  Thus, it will ultimately be pervasive expansion of the global community requesting Slave-FreeTM products and a website like slavefree.us to provide this community its platform.  Thousands of pictures displayed and emails sent by consumers “DEMANDING THE BRAND” will unavoidably force SUPPLY, thus CREATING CHANGE.  Furthermore, the eventual ubiquity of Slave- FreeTM products indirectly expands awareness of the horrors of modern day slavery, resulting in an increase in market demand and creating a self-promoting circle.

WHAT WE NEED:

Technical:  Website improvements and expansion

Human resources:  To present the need and market for Slave-Free products in order to earn corporate buy-in.

Project Details
Project Assessment
Sustainability Model: 
The use of market economics (supply and demand) promote sustainability based on financial return for the use of the Slave-Free label.  Awareness of modern-day slavery continues is rapidly increasing, and thus so will the market demand for the Slave-Free product.  The exisitence of a Slave-Free label inherently spreads awareness of the current reality that slavery still exists.  Thus supply increases demand and demand will increase supply (resulting in exponential expansion).
Expertise needed: 
Expansion and upgrades for the slavefree.us and chainstorereaction.com websites are needed.
While thousands have joined Slave-Free after seeing the Call+Response film (a graphic portrayal the horrors of modern-day slavery), tens of thousands more are needed.  Demand must be loud and pervasive to hold corporate attention. 
Corporate consultants need enough management experience in order to act as liasons and brand ambassadors evangelizing the importance and promoting the market niche for the Slave-Free label. 
Project goals: 
1.  One Million pictures uploaded to slavefree.us2.  Comporate engagement in the product chain investigation process.3.  Award of the Slave-Free label upon elimination of slave labor (or proof of 100% fair labor usage) for a product.
Identified Obstacles: 
1.  The global financial crisis may create corporate reticence to engage in an investigation of slave labor usage in their product chains.  Furthermore, because of contracting assets, people may be less likely to pay a few cents more for products with the Slave-Free label.2.  People must know about the Slave-Free website to expand the market demand.

Location

Berkeley, CA
United States

User login

Sitemap