Use Your Mobile Phone to Show Big Business Slavery Doesn't Pay

Most abolitionists know that ending slavery in our supply chain cannot be accomplished overnight. Changing supply chain ethics is a long-haul campaign, one that requires showing big business that using slave labor will have a negative impact on their bottom line. The folks at Call + Response are working to do just that. And now anyone with a mobile phone can join them.

To find out more about ongoing efforts to end supply chain slavery, I called Justin Dillon, director of the anti-trafficking film "Call + Response," to discuss the newest tool in their campaign to change supply chain ethics: the C+R iPhone app (other platforms coming in 2011). His take is that moral reasons for ending supply-chain slave labor are not enough of an argument for the business community. Hard and fast data that shows how using slave labor will drive away consumers, or how NOT using it will draw them in, is the only way to make a lasting change. The bottom line for big business will always be their bottom line.

For example, recently Exxon representatives participated in the Luxor International Forum on ending human trafficking, quite a big win in and of itself, where Dillon was also in attendance. They reinforced his take on changing supply chain ethics, saying that business can't and won't change until there is real data to support the monetary impact. Throwing stones at big business with a “fix it or else” mentality won’t accomplish lasting change. So Dillon and C+R are asking consumers to use their new iPhone app to convince companies that slave-free is profitable.

The new C+R iPhone app and the web tools it uses, like ChainStore Reaction, Blood Phones, and SlaveFree Label, collects undeniable data that consumers are demanding slave-free products. And and you can participate wherever you are. Take a picture for SlaveFree Label and the app uploads it and geolocates you on a public map. Register your mobile phone on Blood Phones and it maps your location and phone's brand. You can even send ten e-mails from ChainstoreReaction in about a minute. The app is also tied to social media, so you can post to Facebook and Twitter about the actions you just took and challenge friends to do them too. You and your network can make a daily impact with just a few minutes of your discretionary time wherever you are. And according to Dillon, they're seeing more responses from targeted companies since the app launched.

Dillon is excited by all the people participating in the campaign and left me with this piece of encouragement: When "Call + Response" premiered in Australia, he ran into a man who recognized him and they chatted for a minute. Two nights later he saw him again at a restaurant and the man told Dillon he owned a large chain of Australian businesses. Since the premiere he'd audited his business accounts to see where slavery might be present. He found sales employees going to South East Asia, were line-iteming “entertainment," as a code for brothels. The businessman said, "I will no longer be paying for that." And neither will Australian consumers.

If you're an iPhone user, download the app and join the Call + Response campaign to show big business that slavery doesn't pay.

Photo By: veroyama