Why Call + Response's "Chain Store Reaction" Might Be the Abolitionist's Best Tool

For abolitionists, the future of activism is public. Through social media, now thousands of people can literally join an advocacy campaign within minutes, and stand up to slavery. Justin Dillon and Call + Response are taking full advantage of the social media age, offering abolitionists tools like Chain Store Reaction to bring big business and conscientious consumers face to face with slavery and each other.

C+R believes in connecting people directly to the issue of slavery, setting up relationships, and then getting out of the way. They call it “open source activism.” It’s about giving people the tools, and the power, to affect change on their own, in their own lives, wherever they are, and wherever the issue effects them directly. Almost 900 companies are listed on the Chain Store Reaction site. Consumers click on a producer to send a pre-written letter that tells the company, in a very polite and honest way, that we’re willing to pay more for slave-free products but we’ll also buy from competitors if they address the issue first. One of the key ways companies can respond is by completing a survey about their supply chain standards and what they are doing, or will do, to root out any forced labor.

Most consumers want a list of “good” companies to buy from, but we need to change the way products are made before we can really label companies “good” or “bad.” The market place operates by financial rules, not moral ones, so Chain Store Reaction is giving producers a reason to care about the issue.

It takes two seconds for consumers to open that dialogue through Chain Store Reaction. They can also see a counter tracking how many letters have been sent and all company listings show if they’ve responded, if the response was insufficient, or if they answered the call to change. Consumers can even send a thank-you e-mail to companies who did the survey or went above and beyond.

According to Dillon, “Our greatest tool is to see everyone is participating all at one time, so quickly, from anywhere.” To that end, every action geo-plots activists’ locations, providing solid marketing data so companies can see the demand for slave-free products is everywhere. Given time, C+R believes this data will force the market to admit the need for a deeper level of transparency. The standards we have now are just not good enough.

Abolitionists have sent 76,000 individual letters through Chain Store Reaction and over 50 companies have stepped up. If you or your group sees a certain geographical area isn’t represented, you can encourage people there to respond. You can also target specific companies with Chain Store Reaction letters, and because it is connected directly to Facebook, you can spread that action to thousands of people in a matter of moments. You can even take the data to your legislators.

Brooks Shoes is a great example of why this works. They realized the value in being associated with slave-free standards. After they did the survey, they even called C+R to make sure their status on the site was changed. It’s mid-sized brands like Brooks that will change the market and give giants like Nike a run for their money if they don’t step up too.

Check out this video on consumer advocacy and why micro-actions like Chain Store Reaction can be your biggest weapon in the fight against slavery. Your input, and your social network, can change supply chain standards.

Photo By: Call + Response