N.E. Ohio agency urged holiday shoppers to buy products free of forced labor – WEWS

ROCKY RIVER, Ohio — Colleen Cannon, manager of the One World Shop in Rocky River, is hoping shoppers will pay closer attention to the labor used to manufacture the goods and services they buy this holiday season.

Cannon is urging local consumers to look for the “Fair Trade” label on the items they plan to purchase, to insure the goods and services aren't utilizing forced labor, a form of human trafficking.

Cannon told News 5 she's hoping more consumers will seek out Fair Trade retail outlets, like One World Shop, which is a non-profit store that carries merchandise made by artisans from 30 countries across the globe. Cannon said all the items in the store were made without forced labor exploitation.

“We carry products from Cambodia, we have people in Ethiopia, the Philippines, India,” Cannon said. “Any proceeds we get goes right back into ordering more products to bring them into the store.

“We have education programs where we talk to schools and educate them about fair trade, we go to churches and explain what fair trade means,” Cannon added. “We need to end forced labor, we need to end it, and we have opportunities on how to do that.”

Kirsti Mouncey, President and CEO of the Northeast Ohio Collaborative to End Human Trafficking told News 5 data from U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline indicates Ohio is in the top 10 when it comes to the growing issue of forced labor. Mouncey said the data shows more force labor survivors are being recruited on-line, a problem that is striking some key northeast Ohio business sectors.

“It happens right in our community, it's a very under-recognized crime,” Mouncey said. “Human trafficking is the exploitation of humans for profit. You see it in the farming industry, we see it in the hotel industry, we see it in the restaurant industry, we see it in nail salons. Consumers should be paying attention to where that product is made, how that product is getting to your store, how it's getting to your home.”

Mouncey believes larger national retail outlets need to be part of the solution in reducing the forced labor issue that has millions of workers facing an unsafe work environment and unfair wages.

“We want them to look at their supply chains, we want them to look at where their labor is coming from, and we want them to make adjustments if they find that it's part if their corporation,” Mouncey said. “So it's small changes that we can all make that can have a huge impact.”

Mouncey pointed to the N.E. Ohio Collaborative to End Human Trafficking webpage for more information and resources on the forced labor issue. Mouncey also urged consumers to report alleged human trafficking and forced labor to the National Human trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

Mouncey sent News 5 information on some of the local retailers that sell Fair Trade products free of labor trafficking:

• Joyce's Boutique and Hair Salon, Chagrin Falls, OH. Sells jewelry, bags, accessories and other products that support fair trade practices.
• One World Shop, Rocky River, OH. Sells artisan-made goods from 65 different countries.
• Revy, Cleveland, OH. Sells products from artisans in El Salvador.
• Shema, Ohio. Sells all-natural fair trade shea butter products.
• Storehouse Tea, Cleveland, Ohio Sells fair-trade teas that are produced by people who are paid a fair price for their products.
• Esperanza Threads, Cleveland, OH. Trains unemployed and underemployed to get jobs in the Cleveland garment industry; pays a fair wage for their work.