NEWSBUSINESS & HUMAN RIGHTS

To say that hair coloring has grown in popularity over the past decade would be an understatement. Anywhere between half and two-thirds of American women color their hair regularly, along with growing numbers of men and youth. In other countries that number may be as high as 85 percent. But just because hair dye use is rising doesn’t mean that consumers are any more aware of the risks involved. The toxic chemicals in hair dye, particularly para-phenylenediamine (PPD), can result in adverse reactions that lead to skin rashes, loss of hair, facial swelling and even death. Hair dye has also been linked to various cancers. Despite this, the major cosmetics companies have yet to replace dangerous substances such as PPD with nontoxic alternatives in their products.

“More than two thirds of hair dyes currently contain (PPD) and other related agents,” Science Daily reported. “During the 20th century, allergic reactions to PPD became such a serious problem that it was banned from hair dyes in Germany, France, and Sweden.”

The family of Tabatha McCourt surely wonders why the PPD ban was ever lifted. In October, the 17-year-old British girl cried out in anguish 20 minutes after coloring her locks. Tragically she died soon after. The European Scientific Committee for Consumer Products reports that PPD is to blame for 80 percent of allergic reactions to hair dye. Those who use dark dyes are particularly vulnerable, given that darker colors contain more PPD.

I was homeless last winter and my gold Starbucks card kept me warm, safe and dry. It also helped me utilize social media to, in very small ways, help the lives other homeless people. I am @From_Nothing on Twitter, and I now have several thousand followers. Being able to access the Internet and tweet with my smart phone, which was paid for by a wonderful friend, while enjoying a warm cup of coffee at Starbucks, was crucial for my survival and eventually helped me end my homelessness.

I imagine that the homeless are a very daunting and sad situation for Starbucks employees and patrons to have to deal with, but in many ways having a safe place to stay helped change my life and the lives of others. I am hoping my story might help you and and others find positive ways to help the homeless.

It began with individuals, spread to campuses, was taken up by cities, and last Friday California became the very first U.S. state to take action on conflict minerals from Congo.

By a vote of 67 to 11, the California state assembly passed a bill that prohibits state agencies from signing contracts with companies that fail to comply with federal regulations aimed at deterring business with armed groups in eastern Congo. The California bill builds off the momentum of the Dodd-Frank bill passed by the U.S. Congress last year, by further incentivizing companies to help build a legitimate mining industry in Congo.

While Congo’s corrupt mining industry isn’t the source of the country’s decade-long conflict in the east, militias and even soldiers in the national army exploit its mineral wealth to fund the war they are largely waging against civilians. Those minerals end up in electronics. As the major success in California demonstrates, a growing number of U.S. consumers are mobilizing to demand reforms that would ultimately enable Congolese to benefit from their mineral resources – not continue to see them as a curse.

Contrary to the view expressed in a recent OpEd in the New York Times by David Aaronson, the conflict mineral provision in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act has not caused or exacerbated the dire economic and social situation in eastern Congo. It is over fifteen years of conflict, decades of governmental mismanagement and neglect, a legacy of corruption and exploitation, and lack of impunity, all in the face of a multimillion dollar minerals trade financing armed groups and perpetuating violence that has terrorized the population for decades.

Rather, Dodd-Frank offers real opportunity for reform in eastern Congo by confronting the key economic driver of conflict – the trade in conflict minerals. This momentum must be seized, and your voice can help ensure these critical steps are taken.

The well-documented connection between the minerals trade and violence - from the money made by commanders to the proximity of attacks to mining communities - is absolutely impossible to ignore, and one can literally see it without even looking. Just spend a day in Goma, look at the “coltan” houses – mansions sprouting up in the middle of some of the poorest shanty towns in the city, and ask who lives there and why. The answer? People like Bosco Ntaganda, a general in the Congolese Army who is also wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. He and others like him reap daily the economic benefits of some of the largest mines in the region.

This has been occurring long before Dodd-Frank, but the bill’s passage has provided a necessary jolt to this status quo. In fact, there is much local support for the legislation because it has already set in motion what is needed for change in not only the mining sector itself but also for a broader set of reforms, as reported by the United Nations. Dodd-Frank has proven to be a first step to squeeze out armed groups, to cut their millions in funding, and, with further support, will help create the space for a legitimate mining sector to emerge that actually leads to development and a better life for people in eastern Congo. This momentum must be seized, and there are clear, tangible steps forward for which the United States can and should be a leader.

To start, these systems need to be strengthened and expanded, and brought together under the umbrella of a credible, international certification system that ensures minerals on the market from eastern Congo or surrounding areas are not financing armed groups. Traceability, transparency, independent monitoring – it’s all beginning to happen, but requires full buy-in and follow through to achieve the highest impact.

The United States must not back down now. We have an obligation to follow through on what was started with Dodd-Frank because it has the ability to improve the lives of millions of people today and for future generations. In a conflict as complicated as Congo, it is rare to have such momentum and opportunity for real change. What we can do now as citizens is demonstrate to our leaders that there is a real political demand here in the United States for their action on Congo.

Join us in calling on Secretary Clinton to be a leader for certification of the region’s minerals, and encourage her to take the next step needed for peace in Congo. This is a real opportunity for peace in Congo. Take action for that.

Photo Credit: Julien Harneis

Dolce & Gabbana deleted Facebook wall posts as soon as Change.org members led by the Clean Clothes Campaign wrote on the luxury Italian fashion house’s wall, demanding that they stop using a highly dangerous garment production method which gives Dolce & Gabbana jeans a ‘worn’ look

LONDON – The Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana deleted posts on its Facebook wall after Change.org members posted messages demanding that the company ban sandblasting, a technique used to give jeans a used look which is highly dangerous to workers.

The move comes after more than 25,000 European and American activists have joined a campaign on Change.org demanding that the company ban sandblasting.

Lawmakers for the first time have introduced legislation in Congress to end the federal criminalization of the personal use of marijuana.

The bipartisan measure -- H.R. 2306, the 'Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011' and sponsored by Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank and Texas Republican Ron Paul along with Reps. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), John Conyers (D-Mich.), Jared Polis (D-Colo.), and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) -- prohibits the federal government from prosecuting adults who use or possess personal use amounts of marijuana by removing the plant and its primary psychoactive constituent, THC, from the five schedules of the United States Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Under present law, all varieties of the marijuana plant are defined as illicit Schedule I controlled substances, defined as possessing "a high potential for abuse,"and "no currently accepted medical use in treatment." This classification is not supported by either existing science or public opinion.

Said Rep. Frank last Thursday upon the bill’s introduction, “Criminally prosecuting adults for making the choice to smoke marijuana is a waste of law enforcement resources and an intrusion on personal freedom. I do not advocate urging people to smoke marijuana, neither do I urge them to drink alcoholic beverages or smoke tobacco, but in none of these cases do I think prohibition enforced by criminal sanctions is good public policy.”

Versace turns off its Facebook wall to fan posts after a group of activists led by the Clean Clothes Campaign ask the luxury Italian fashion house to stop using a highly dangerous garment production method which gives Versace jeans a ‘worn’ look.

The Italian fashion house Gianni Versace has de-activated its Facebook wall after activists posted dozens of messages demanding that the company ban sandblasting, a technique used to give jeans a used look which is highly dangerous to workers.

The process of sandblasting involves workers firing sand under high pressure at jeans and has been known to kill workers in garment producing countries like Turkey and Bangladesh, where jean sandblasting is done manually. The large amounts of silica dust generated during sandblasting can cause silicosis, a potentially lethal pulmonary disease, as workers inhale tiny particles of silica.

A number of major brands, such as Levi's, H&M, C&A and Gucci, have already abolished sandblasted jeans in their collections. However, Versace has taken no action despite repeated calls from international labor rights groups like the Clean Clothes Campaign for them to do so.

This is a post by Erin Hohlfhelder cross-posted ONE Blog.

The good news in development often gets buried, deep below wars and debt and disaster. But yesterday, world leaders made bold new pledges to the GAVI Alliance (Global Aliance for Vaccines and Immunisations) in support of child vaccines, making the choice clear for reporters, press secretaries and live-tweeters alike: today was going to be a good news day.

In fact, in spite of tough economic times, donors collectively pledged $4.3 billion between now and 2015 — surpassing GAVI’s $3.7 billion funding gap — setting GAVI and its partners on the path toward saving nearly 4 million children’s lives in the next five years.

This is how a former laborer for Dole Food Company described the campaign to get the company to take care of poisoned banana workers:

“They’re just waiting for all of us to die off.  Because they know once that happens, they won’t have to fight anymore and they will have gotten away with it.  We refuse to let that happen.”

As the confident but somehow fragile-seeming man spoke in the warm accent characteristic of Nicaraguan Spanish, a spark of passionate anger coursed through me... How dare a company treat its former employees so horribly!

Shareholder Vote Boosts Campaign by Investors Against Genocide.

The shareholder proposal on "Genocide-free investing" earned 7.69 percent of the vote at today's JPMorgan Chase shareholder meeting. The favorable vote is more than double the 3% required for the proposal to be presented at next year’s meeting and is a solid result given that 74 percent of outstanding shares are held by institutional investors.

William Rosenfeld, co-founder and Director of Strategic Initiatives for Investors Against Genocide (IAG), presented the proposal at the shareholder meeting, held this year in Columbus, Ohio. “Eight years after the genocide in Darfur, it is time for JPMorgan Chase to implement a genocide-free investing policy,” said Rosenfeld.  “We hope today’s vote causes JPMorgan Chase to reconsider its opposition to such a policy.  If not, we will bring genocide-free investing forward for consideration at next year’s annual meeting, knowing that Americans, once they become aware, do not want their pensions and family savings connected to genocide.”