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40 YEARS OF WEI MAGAZINE 1976-2016 • 40 YEARS OF WEI MAGAZINE 1976-2016

No. 96/97 - Summer/Fall 2016

ETHICAL ENGAGEMENT IN AN AGE OF “SUSTAINABLE CONSUMERISM”

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DOUBLE ISSUE

Doing Good and Looking Goodwomen in ‘fast fashion’ activism

RIMI KHAN

Who Consumes What?Recycling, Ethics and Social Difference

NITA CHAUDHURI

Healthy Nail Salon Network (Toronto)Building a Coalition for Change

ANNE ROCHON FORD

The E-Waste TragedyA film by Cosima Dannoritzer

JENESSA DOHERTY

THANK YOUWomen & Environments International Magazine,its Editorial Board and Editorial Team for thesevolumes acknowledge the continued support ofthe Faculty of Environmental Studies at YorkUniversity and the invaluable support of its volunteers without whom this publication would not be possible.

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ON THE COVER

Title: “Bright Lives”

Bright Lives is a silk banner painting created byMonica Fu, Rachel Ge, Jackie Liang, Michelle Lin,Millie Lin, Julia Ma, Sophia Tian, Eda Yang andJenny Zheng (a group of Toronto-based nail salonworkers).

The painting represents an exploration of nailtechnicians’ experiences working in nail salons:their hopes, challenges, and journeys and wascreated as part of the Queen West CommunityHealth Centre’s Healthy Nail Salon WorkersProject in 2014 and 2015. An art educator, LindaNaccarato, facilitated the creation of the paintingand funding for its creation was provided by theWomen’s College Hospital, Women’s Xchange inToronto. The painting is displayed at the QueenWest — Central Toronto Community Health Centre.

The photograph of “Bright Lives” for this issue wastaken by Kelly Liu.

Editorial Team for Volumes 96/97:Oonagh Butterfield, Dolon Chakravartty, Katherine Chung, Sayeh Destgheib-Beheshti,Nashwa Khan, Helen Lynn, Ana-Maria Nistor,Joanna Patouris, Patricia E. Perkins, Anne Rochon Ford, Dayna Scott, Reena Shadaan,Seema Shenoy, Samantha Stiavnicky, Ellen Sweeney

WEI Graduate Student Reviewers: Joanna Pa-touris, Samantha Stiavnicky

Poetry Editor: Sonja Greckol

Arts Editor: Elliot Spears

Production: Elliot Spears, Sybila Valdivieso

Design: Dinah Greenberg, NOMAD Design

Logo: Elizabeth Forrest

Cover Art: Monica Fu, Rachel Ge, Jackie Liang,Michelle Lin, Millie Lin, Julia Ma, Sophia Tian, Eda Yang, Jenny Zheng

Cover Art Photography: Kelly Liu

Contributors: Bjoern Arthurs, Deborah Burton,Oonagh Butterfield, Dolon Chakravartty, Nita Chaudhuri, Katherine Chung, Peter Cocking,Sayeh Dastgheib-Beheshti, Rachna Dhingra,Jenessa Doherty, From Pink to PreventionOrganization; Monica Fu, Rachel Ge, Caroline Hicks,Penn Kemp, Milian Kang, Nashwa Khan, Rimi Khan, Samantha King, Colin Knowles,Julianne Kucheran, Jackie Liang, Michelle Lin,Millie Lin, Allan Lissner, Kelly Liu, Helen Lynn,Andrew McConnell, Julia Ma, Norah MacKendrick,Katherine J. Munro, Ana-Maria Nistor, Our Horizon Organization; Morag Parnell, Joanna Patouris, Patricia E. Perkins, Sarah Peel,Adriane Raff Corwin, Anne Rochon Ford, Sophia Sanniti, Dayna Nadine Scott, Alisha Sett,Reena Shadaan, Seema Shenoy, Amanda Smiljkovic,Samantha Stiavnicky, SBTL CLNG, Anne Swannell,Ellen Sweeney, Sophia Tian, Diana Ward, Eda Yang,Jenny Zheng.

Editorial Board: Patricia E. Perkins, Dayna Scott,Olga Speranskaya, Sybila Valdivieso.

Editor in Chief: Sybila Valdivieso

Managing Editor: V.F.N.

Academic Liaison: Dayna Scott

Fundraising Director: Olga Speranskaya

Graduate Student Supervisor: Patricia E. Perkins

Graduate Student Assistants: Joanna Patouris,Samantha Stiavnicky

Accountants: June Gao, Cindy Lo

Legal Advisor: Alexandra Karacsony

Online Editor: V.F.N.

Mission Statement:Women & Environments International is a uniquemagazine, which examines women’s multiplerelations to their environments — natural, built andsocial — from feminist and anti-racist perspectives.It has provided a forum for academic research andtheory, professional practice and communityexperience since 1976. It is published by a volunteereditorial board and contributes to feminist socialchange.

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Women & Environments International Magazine:ISSN 1499-1993, publishes 2 double issues annu-ally. It was founded as Women & Environments in1976. From Fall 1997 to Summer 2001 it publishedunder the title WE International. Women & Environments International Magazine is a memberof Best of the Alternative Press and is indexed inAlternative Press Index, Canadian PeriodicalIndex, Social Sciences Index and Women’s StudiesAbstracts.

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Address all correspondence to:Women & Environments International MagazineFaculty of Environmental Studies, York UniversityHNES Building, Room 234,4700 Keele Street, Toronto, OntarioM3J 1P3 CanadaT: 416-736-2100 x 21055F: 416-736-5679e-mail: [email protected]: www.weimagazine.com

Canadian Publication Mailing Agreement#40009460PAP Registration #09211Printed on recycled and acid free paper

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WE Speak4 Editorial: Ethical Engagement in an Age of

Sustainable ConsumerismAnne Rochon Ford and Dayna Nadine Scott

Features7 Doing good and looking good:

women in ‘fast fashion’ activism Rimi Khan

10 Boycotts, Divestment and the Bhopal MovementAn Interview with Rachna DhingraReena Shadaan

14 “Pink Ribbons”Interview with Samantha King Ellen Sweeney

16 “Precautionary Consumption”Interview with Norah MacKendrick Ellen Sweeney

18 Pinkwashing and the Breast Cancer Prevention Movement Diana Ward, Deborah Burton and Helen Lynn

WE Research24 What Does Ethical Consumption Mean?

Some Canadian data Dolon Chakravartty

26 Who Consumes What?Recycling, Ethics, and Social Difference Nita Chaudhuri

28 Social History of Mass ConsumptionSayeh Dastgheib-Beheshti

In the Field30 Is it Possible to Get a Safe, Fair Manicure?

Miliann Kang

34 She Cares, She Researches, She AdvocatesJulianne Kucheran

36 Making It PersonalStudents connect the dots between their FastFashion and the women who made their clothesSarah Peel

39 Healthy Nail Salon Network (Toronto)Building a Coalition for ChangeAnne Rochon Ford

41 Canned Goods Amanda Smiljkovic

WE Poetry6 Preferring Potable

Penn Kemp

Women & Environments International Magazine No.96/97

23 Plumb Line Penn Kemp

29 breakfast epiphany Katherine J. Munro

43 Happy Birthday, Girl! Anne Swannell

59 Workplace Hazards Morag Parnell

In Print44 That Lonely Section of Hell

The Botched Investigation of a Serial Killer Who Almost Got AwayBy Lori ShenherReview by Katherine Chung

45 Our Chemical SelvesGender, Toxins and Environmental HealthEdited by Dayna Nadine ScottReview by Nashwa Khan

46 This Changes EverythingCapitalism vs. The climateBy Naomi KleinReview by Ana-Maria Nistor

In Film47 The E-Waste Tragedy

A film by Cosima DannoritzerReview by Jenessa Doherty

48 PAINTED NAILS a Documentary Directed by Dianne Griffin and Erica Jordan Review by Helen Lynn

49 The True Cost Directed by Andrew MorganReview by Sophia Sanniti

In The News51 Vandana Shiva Visits Toronto

Katherine Chung and Samantha Stiavnicky

53 The Outcome for Gender Equality in the COP21,Paris Climate Change Negotiations Joanna Patouris

54 Redefining the Role of Consumption for aSustainable FutureSophia Sanniti

56 Reflections on bell hooks and the TransformativePower of Self-Love Reena Shadaan

WE Resources58 Additional Resouces from Our Authors

Contents

s it possible to shop at major international clothing chainstores like Joe Fresh, get your nails polished, give your valu-able time to breast cancer research in a Run for the Cure

event... and still be an ethical consumer? Can we be good stew-ards for the environment even if we wear cosmetics that containtoxic chemicals, or buy blue jeans that take 10,850 litres ofwater to make? These are some of the questions we consider inthis special issue.

It is one of the many contradictions and injustices of capi-talism that in order for some people to reap the benefits ofgrowth and prosperity, other people will suffer diminishedworking conditions and poor health. From the women whomake cheap clothes in the factories of Bangladesh, to those whowork in canning factories making BPA-lined cans to fill ourcupboards, the world over, people are put into precarious worksituations so that others can enjoy certain conveniences.

And why are all these decisions left to us, as individual con-sumers? Can we really make choices that will enhance ‘sus-tainability’, protect the environment, or improve wages andworking conditions for people around the world? How muchcan we change the world if we rely on the personal behavioursof individual consumers?

Not very much it seems. As UK environmentalist andphilosopher Kate Soper points out, since environmental prob-lems themselves are problems of consumption, it’s likely thateven the most ethical, sustainable consumption practices can-not provide a complete answer. Attempting to buy our way outof toxic exposures, or out of exploitative labour practices, orunsustainable extraction, might only be making us look, smelland feel a bit better.

But people are craving ways to meaningfully engage; wewant to believe that we can make positive change. We don’twant to be complicit in the injustice we see all around us, andyet the space within which we can have influence seems sofrustratingly narrow.

Let’s take toxics as an example. Environmental sociologistRebecca Altman and colleagues have called the belief thatexposure to chemicals can be avoided through altered consumerhabits a “consumption fallacy”. The error in this belief lies inassuming that consumer choice is unbounded, when in fact ourchoices are highly constrained. Since there is no systematic wayto go about reducing our exposures, many people instead takeone or two symbolic and visible actions, like carrying a stain-less steel coffee mug. These symbolic measures often matter a

lot to a person’s sense of identity, but switching one or twohigh-profile products while continuing to use many othersresults in uninterrupted exposures to the same toxics.

Other times, people attempt to “control” their own and theirfamilies’ exposures by constructing boundaries, shoring up theirhomes and bodies against the chemicals thought to be linger-ing in the ‘outside’ environment. Unfortunately, these effortscan miss some of the most problematic exposures: like those toflame retardant chemicals that are inhaled or ingested primarilythrough house dust as textiles and electronics disintegrate insidethe home, and those from food that contains toxics from generalecosystem contamination. Further, the attempt to shore upboundaries can have politically conservative effects. U.S. basedsociologist Andrew Szasz coined the term “inverted quarantineapproach” to describe a common reaction to environmentalthreats that involves isolating oneself and one’s family ratherthan attempting collective change.

Other critics have pointed to the starkly gendered dimen-sions of precautionary consumption, noting how advocacyorganizations often place responsibility for precautionary con-sumption on women, especially young mothers (see the inter-view of Norah MacKendrick by Ellen Sweeney, this volume).Based on the current unequal distribution of household labourand the disproportionate amount of ‘green’ behaviors womenperform, it seems likely that women will do the majority of thisincreased domestic labour. Conceived as work, precautionaryconsumption takes on a new hue. The time and effort that isrequired in order to carry out ethical and sustainable consump-tion practices is not available for collective action to effect reg-ulatory changes. Worse, those who can afford expensive prod-ucts feel safer (and self-righteous), thereby weakening the massof people pushing for substantive reforms to environmental andlabour laws. The result could be a negative feedback loop of

WE Speak

4 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com VOL. 96/97 SUMMER 2016/FALL 2016

Ethical Engagement in an Age ofSustainable Consumerism

EDITORIAL:

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...critics have pointed to the starkly gendered dimensions of precautionaryconsumption, noting how advocacy organizations often place responsibilityfor precautionary consumption onwomen, especially young mothers...

5SUMMER/FALL 2016 WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com

lax regulation and increasingly anxious shoppers, withoutmobilizing any collective political organizing that tackles theroot of the problem.

What is the way out?Miliann Kang, in her defence of the manicure (this issue),

states that instead of guilt-driven symbolic action, we need sus-tained, multi-pronged approaches to re-regulation. We agree. Weshould struggle collectively towards mandatory precautionarymeasures to reduce exposures to toxics; a renewed investmentin enforcement of existing protections for labour rights and theenvironment; education, outreach and organizing in support ofoccupational and environmental health; and innovative new eco-nomic models, such as worker co-ops that can create more envi-ronmentally-just and sustainable businesses in our communities.

In our desire to confront the injustices we see around us, weneed to avoid the pull of individualism and responsibilizationthat inevitably leads to tinkering with consumption practices.Our hope with this issue is that readers will be inspired by thework and motivational talks of women like Vandana Shiva, whoreminds us that we do not live independently from nature andthat biodiversity, Indigenous knowledge and social justice aredirect challenges and solutions to the problems of corporate-ledglobalization; and bell hooks who advocates that the most radi-cal challenge to the “interlocking systems of oppression thatoperate globally” is love. The example of groups like Canada’sFashion Takes Action, working with young students to point outthe contradictions and harms associated with buying cheap

clothing, gives us reasons to be hopeful about the future of ethi-cal engagement in the age of sustainable consumerism. We hope this writing will also inspire you to get involved for change.

Anne Rochon Ford and Dayna Nadine Scott, Guest Editors

Putting This Issue TogetherWe would like to extend a big thank you to the editorial team for this volume. They worked hard and engaged a wide variety of contributorsand ideas. We thank them for their commitment to completing thisimportant volume. The editorial team for this volume consisted of:

Oonagh Butterfield, Dolon Chakravartty, Katherine Chung, SayehDestgheib-Beheshti, Nashwa Khan, Helen Lynn, Ana-Maria Nistor,Joanna Patouris, Patricia E. Perkins, Anne Rochon Ford, Dayna Scott,Reena Shadaan, Seema Shenoy, Samantha Stiavnicky and Ellen Sweeney.

Check us out at

www.weimagazine.comPhone: 416-736-2100 x21055E-mail: [email protected]


By Penn Kemp

Preferring Potable is by Penn Kemp,a London Ontario performancepoet, activist and playwright and aLife Member of the League ofCanadian Poets and their 2015Spoken Word Artist of the Year. AsWriter-in-Residence for WesternUniversity, her project was the DVD,Luminous Entrance: a SoundOpera for Climate Change Action,Pendas Productions. Her latestworks are two anthologies for theFeminist Caucus Archives of theLeague of Canadian Poets:Performing Women and Womenand Multimedia, that werelaunched at The Writers' Summit inJune 2016. Forthcoming is a newcollection of poetry, BarbaricCultural Practice, as well as a play,The Triumph of Teresa Harris. For more information, seewww.pennkemp.wordpress.comand www.mytown.ca.pennkemp

Preferring Potable

While Anishinawbe women chant praiseto the spirit of Water in all its forms, I

am content to drink from this cold spring.Why do you try to persuade me Ocean

might be a Muse, la Mer, bitter motherwhen you know I belong to Great Lakes?

Fresh and however huge, contained bymeasurable boundary, not nearly so vast

as almost infinite sea/space. Who’d evertalk of lakescapes the way we casually

drop seascape or dreamscape to landwithout the e that would set us free?

There’s no escaping the peril this planetmade mostly of water is consumed by.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

On the other hand dreams prefigure orpredispose me to pick up Oceans by Sue

Goyette the next day because, I thought,it’s due on Tuesday. There we converse

with so many alters of Ocean that I amconvinced to stick with the Lake I know.

Not amere, not brine, but potentiallyoffering drink in need, drink in time.

Even if Nestle is selling the water weown as a people. Even if corporations

are draining the lake as if they werepeople, we women chant the Water Song.


here has been a long history ofscrutiny and activism directed at thefashion industry. Garment factory

conditions in New York in the early twen-tieth century gave rise to female workerstaking to the streets to protest over labourconditions, and in the 1990s the sweat-shops of high-profile brands like Nikemade international headlines and prompteda wave of consumer boycotts. In the lastfive years the critical discourse surround-ing the fashion industry has taken on anew inflection. The 2013 collapse of theRana Plaza factory in Bangladesh, in whichover 1100 workers died, has galvanizeddebates about the social and environmen-tal costs of the garment industry. Many ofthis industry’s problems have beenblamed on the rise of ‘fast fashion’ — aterm used to refer to the accelerated cycleof fashion production and consumptionthat puts pressure on fashion brands tomanufacture garments as quickly andcheaply as possible. Fast fashion has beenlinked to a number of ‘High St’ fashionbrands, such as TopShop and Zara, allaimed at a young, trend-conscious femalemarket, who offer their customers afford-able imitations of high-end, and rapidlychanging, designer styles. This retail busi-ness model involves a particular form ofplanned obsolescence. In a marked shiftaway from the traditional cycle of twofashion seasons a year, these brands pro-duce dozens of ‘micro-seasons’, with newstyles appearing on shelves every week. Indoing so, they create the conditions for aninsatiable consumer demand; in their questto keep up with ever-changing fashions,consumers need to shop more often, andcan only do so if prices are low enough.

The result is a culture of disposablefashion, made possible only by increas-

ingly cheap manufacturing labour incountries like Bangladesh and Cambodia,where workers’ wages are among the low-est in the world, and where there is mini-mal regulation of safety standards, labourrights, and few opportunities for mean-ingful unionization or collective action. Itis the willingness of retailers to exploitthis cheap labour, and the existence of avast supplier network mediating betweenthese retailers and hundreds of thousandsof garment factories, that enable the fastfashion industry.

This industry is the subject of a recentdocumentary film, The True Cost, whichcritiques the consumers, retailers, andfashion brands who profit from fast fash-ion. The film sets out to demystify thefashion culture that appears to offer con-sumers pleasure and fulfillment but,through the constant creation of newtrends, holds such fulfillment continuallyout of reach. This results in the devastat-ing social and environmental impacts thatare perpetrated by this industry. Fast fash-ion is presented as a complex and geo-graphically dispersed system, in which avariety of actors — designers, retailers,consumers, suppliers and factory owners— are implicated. However, it is the veryscale and complexity of the fast fashionindustry that also makes any interventiondifficult. Although the film presents astructural critique of the fast fashion sys-tem, its only proposed solution is a dis-tinctly individual, and neoliberal one.Viewers are urged to change their person-al fashion habits. As its director exhorts atthe film’s conclusion, ‘For all the prob-lems that feel bigger than us, and beyondour control, maybe we could start here —with clothing’ (Morgan 2015). The answer,it appears, is simple.

In what follows I want to look moreclosely at the sorts of gendered subjectsthat are invoked in these narratives offashion activism. Specifically, these nar-ratives advocate a discerning and respon-sible fashion consumer, capable of thekinds of individualised action promotedby the film. These women, with the finan-cial and cultural capital to shop conscien-tiously, are characterised as making the‘right’ consumer choices, while those whodo not — typically, younger women witha desire for cheap, ‘fast fashion’ —become problematic. This article exam-ines the different ways in which women’sconsumer practices are positioned andvalued within these activist strategies, andthe moral frames that surround them.

Women occupy a number of roleswithin the activist discourse reflected inThe True Cost, as well as in numerousbooks, articles and social media commen-tary on this topic. First, women from poorcountries are the workers in the thousandsof garment and footwear production facto-ries worldwide that supply the fashionindustry. Today there are 40 million peo-ple working in garment manufacturing, themajority of whom are women. It has beensuggested that the profitability of the tex-tile and garment industries has long reliedon the exploitation of female labour, andthe belief that women are compliant anddocile, and do not need to earn a livingwage (Hale and Wills 2007, 455).

First-world women are understood asthe problematic consumers of fast fashion,and are implicated in the forms ofexploitation practiced by the industry. InThe True Cost we are shown clips ofYouTube ‘haul videos’ in which youngwomen present us with their vast shoppingspoils. As they hold up enormous bags

Doing good and looking good:women in ‘fast fashion’ activism

By Rimi Khan

T

Features


stuffed with discount threads from Forever21 and H&M these women exemplify aparticular ethical disposition: they are theshallow and reckless consumers that fuelthe fast fashion cycle. Lucy Siegle, one ofthe executive producers of the film, con-fesses to her own complicity in such prac-tices in her book, To Die For: Is FashionWearing Out the World? She recalls queu-ing with hundreds of others at the launchof Primark’s Oxford Circus store anddescribes the scene as she competes withthese hoardes of shoppers: ‘The scenedescended into chaos as desperate con-sumers battled to get to the front of thecrowd. Young women scrambled overeach other, pulling hair and collapsing inheaps on the pavement’. Making her waythrough this ‘scrum of high ponytails andflying elbows’ she is not even sure shewants the garments these shoppers arefighting over, but nonetheless finds herselfcaught up in the frenzy. It is this image ofa hysterical, fashion-crazed mob thatappears to define everything that is wrongwith contemporary consumer culture.

Of course, as a vocal ethical livingjournalist and advocate, Siegle now has amore responsible relationship to clothing.No longer a compulsive shopper and afashion dupe, she has redeemed herself asan ‘intelligent fashion consumer’, carefulabout what she buys and more certain ofher personal style. Siegle’s story offersfashion-obsessed young women a path-way towards becoming not only more eth-ical consumers but more self-assuredones, who dress well without being boundto fickle, and ultimately harmful, fastfashion trends. The point is to invest in‘style’ rather than ‘fashion’.

The notion that women do not have tocompromise aesthetics in order to con-sume clothing responsibly is an importanttrope within discussions of ethical fashion.Such a position is made possible by well-known designers like Stella McCartneyand Vivienne Westwood who have rein-vented themselves as advocates and mak-ers of ethical fashion. Other fashion indus-try insiders like Livia Firth glamouriseethical fashion through initiatives like theGreen Carpet Challenge, in which filmcelebrities are encouraged to wear a ‘green’

outfit on the red carpet. Importantly, whilewomen are the instigators and targets ofthese campaigns, as well as their intendedbeneficiaries, it is a privileged, and usuallywhite, woman who is the agent of change.

A recent promotional video fromFirth’s ethical fashion brand consultancy,Eco-Age, is a case in point. It features awoman dressing into an evening gown —it is not clear whether she is an actress ora model, but either way, her world appearsto be a glamorous and rarefied one. Herface is impassive while anonymous brownhands clothe her and adorn her with jewel-ry. The aim is to connect consumers with‘the hands of the real people who make ourclothes’, and in doing so, to draw attentionto the plight of these garment workers(Eco-Age 2016). It is not until the end ofthis clip that we see the diverse faces ofthese workers appear in her mirror, forc-

ing the film’s protagonist into a momentof critical self-reflection. The contrastbetween this beautiful, white woman andthe people who make her clothes is point-edly stark. And it is up to the former toconsider her role within the fashion indus-try supply chain, and how she might helpthese impoverished workers, who cannotspeak for themselves. By emphasizing theagency of the privileged fashion con-sumer, and the voicelessness of theseworkers, this film overlooks the forms ofactivism that already exist in garment pro-ducing countries. In the wake of the RanaPlaza collapse in 2013, for example,widespread protests among Bangladeshigarment workers lead to an increase in theminimum wage. Workers’ efforts tounionise are regularly met with physicaland sexual violence but this does not stopsome women from participating in collec-tive action and placing demands on facto-ry owners and managers. Rather thanacknowledging these women’s vital andcontinuing role in reforming the garmentindustry, the film foregrounds the self-

reflexive but stylish fashion consumer asthe solution to fast fashion’s problems.

This is the logical outcome of anactivist strategy which blames the individ-ual consumer for the unsustainable andexploitative nature of the fashion industry.Such explanations seem to reconfigureolder critical discourses whose target havebeen corporate greed rather than the con-sumer herself. In Andrew Ross’ No Sweatand Naomi Klein’s anti-corporate mani-festo, No Logo, for example, the problemlies with corporate brands and retailerswho pay garment workers scandalouslylow wages to manufacture the coveted,luxury commodities from which corpora-tions profit. In the more recent critiques offast fashion, corporations are not let off thehook, but the consumer is more responsi-ble than ever before — both for the vora-ciousness of her consumer appetite, and

for eventually reforming herself into amore conscious shopper. And while con-sumer movements and boycotts have longbeen advocated as important forms of anti-corporate activism, this newer discourseholds us to a new level of scrutiny: thereis serious moral weight attached to ourindividual fashion choices.

So while the fast fashion critique setsout to be a structural one it is distilled intoa neoliberal one, which asks us to reformand regulate ourselves, and favours thewomen who have the cultural and eco-nomic resources to do so. Orsala deCastro, an ethical fashion advocate andone of the founders of the FashionRevolution activist network, tells us that:

The concept of wearing somethingjust once is sad. It indicates a lackof style, confidence and it misses thepoint. … Fashion is about lovingclothes and style is the ability tobe effortlessly comfortable in yourown beautiful skin.

(Fash_rev_ausnz 2016)

It is this image of a hysterical, fashion-crazed mob that appears to define everything that is wrong withcontemporary consumer culture.

SUMMER/FALL 2016 9WOMEN & ENVIRONMENTS www.weimagazine.com

Participating in a culture of disposablefashion means that one fails not only as aresponsible consumer, but as this idealizedand effortlessly beautiful woman. For thosewho don’t find this ideal as natural orstraightforward as de Castro implies, thereare an array of how-to-guides aimed atinforming women to become better fashionshoppers. These can take the form of sim-ple edicts, like #30 wears, the social mediacampaign in which women are encouragedto only buy garments they will wear at least30 times. They are also published as moresubstantial instructional manuals. GretaEgan’s Wear No Evil: How to Change theWorld with Your Wardrobe contains an‘Integrity Index’ with which to evaluate ourfashion choices, as well as ourselves, andshows us ‘where doing good and lookinggood come together’. In each case, the aimis activism through self-improvement. Weare told that pursuing these style goals willbring a feeling of well-being not availablefrom traditional fashion consumption.

This ethics of looking, feeling anddoing good is made possible today by aburgeoning ‘ethical fashion’ industry.Where there is some ambiguity concerningwhat actually constitutes ethical fashion,there is now a strong association between agarment’s ethical credentials and an aura ofluxury. While ethical fashion is tied to agrowing consumer desire for ‘handmade’ or‘artisanal’ commodities these are no longerassociated with a ‘hippy’ aesthetic; ethicalfashion is now fashionable. All of this givesthe ethical fashion consumer reasons to feelgood. However, these trends also comewith a price tag. Ethical fashion tends to bemore expensive than its fast fashion coun-terpart but this is understood as an invest-ment worth making if one is serious aboutbeing a responsible consumer-citizen. Inthis way buying (into) ethical fashionbecomes a marker of social distinction. Itrequires particular forms of both culturaland economic capital, to which differentwomen have varying levels of access.

Earlier this year the department storesTarget and Kmart attracted criticism whenthey advertised children’s school uniformsin Australia for as little as $2. The dubiouslabour conditions that likely led to theselow prices made news headlines, and high-

lighted the problems with this disposableconsumer culture. However, such critiquesrisk idealizing a conscientious consumerwho is willing to pay more for theirclothes, and in doing so, simplifies thekinds of ethical calculations that actuallyshape our everyday shopping choices.Consumption in the context of a family isa practice of care and responsibility thatcomplicates any kind of ‘ethical’ decision-making. Advocates of ethical consumptionoften assume that consumers will shopmore responsibly if they simply have bet-ter access to knowledge about the prod-ucts and the effects of their consumptionpractices. However, this ‘rational choicemodel’ of consumption does not accountfor the messy moral negotiations that mighttake place if one is a single mother shop-ping for their children on a tight budget;affordability is a significant constraint onconsumption choice.

In fact, whether consumers have accessto economic resources can have unpre-dictable effects on how ethical or sustain-able their practices are. It has been suggest-ed that consumers who can afford to spendmore on ethically-branded goods also tendto consume more overall. While the critiqueof fast fashion encourages women to investin more expensive, and high-quality ethicalgarments, this creates the contradictory sit-uation of ‘shopping for change’; people areasked to challenge consumer culture bycontinuing to consume (Littler 2009). It isworth thinking about other ways of address-ing the problems of the fast fashion indus-try, and alternative kinds of consumptionpractices, such as voluntary simplicity, con-sumption rejection and thrift. As practices

that also happen to save money, these formsof activism do no have to be the domainonly of well-informed, effortlessly stylishwomen with disposable incomes.

Dr Rimi Khan is a Research Fellow in CulturalStudies at the University of Melbourne. Hermost recent research examines ethical fashion and citizenship. She has publishedon multiculturalism and the arts in numerousscholarly journals and recently published abook entitled, Art in Community: TheProvisional Citizen.

References and Further Resources

Eco-Age (2016). “Handprint.” [Website] Accessed 1 April 2016.

Egan, G. (2014). Wear No Evil: How to Change the World with Your Wardrobe. London,Running Press.

Fash_rev_ausnz (2016). “Love your clothes! Wherever they came from!” [Instagram post].Accessed 5 April 2016.

Gibson, C., & Stanes, E. (2011). “Is green the new black? Exploring ethical fashion consump-tion.” In Lewis, T., & Potter., E. (eds.) Ethical Consumption. Milton Park: Routledge. 169-186.

Hale, A. and J. Wills (2007). “Women Working Worldwide: transnational networks, corpo-rate social responsibility and action research.” Global Networks 7(4): 453-476.

International Labor Rights Forum. (2015). ‘Our Voices, Our Safety: Bangladeshi GarmentWorkers Speak Out’. Accessed 14 January 2015 [http://www.laborrights.org/publications/our-voices-our-safety-bangladeshi-garment-workers-speak-out]

Best Wishes from Our Timesto Women & Environments,our sister in the struggle.

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n 1969, the Union Carbide Corporationconstructed a pesticide plant in Bhopal,India, in the poorest subsection of the

city. The plant utilized untested technolo-gy, instituted cost-cutting measures at theexpense of safety, and hazardously storedthe highly toxic substance, methyl iso-cyanate (MIC) (Hanna, Morehouse andSarangi, 2005). Workers routinely facedtoxic-exposure related injuries; however,this was blatantly ignored by UnionCarbide officials (Chouhan, 1994). It isthis context that led to the world’s worstindustrial disaster.

On December 3rd 1984, 40 tons ofMIC leaked from the plant. Approximately500,000 people were exposed, and up to10,000 were killed within three days(Amnesty International, 2014). To date,25,000 people have died as a result of theirexposure (Sarangi, 2012). Further, approx-imately 150,000 of those exposed facechronic illnesses impacting a number ofbodily systems (Amnesty International,2014). This includes the respiratory, ocular,neurological, neuromuscular, endocrine,gynecological and reproductive systems(Amnesty International, 2004).

The Bhopal gas disaster has led to a 31-year struggle for justice, led primarily bysurvivors. In the following, I focus on theInternational Campaign for Justice inBhopal (ICJB) which emerged in 2001, andis led by four survivors’ groups, and onesupport-based group in Bhopal, India. Theseleading groups — which are primarily com-prised of women — emerged in the after-math of the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster.Alongside other grassroots groups, ICJB hasbeen at the forefront of the 31-year-oldstruggle for justice in Bhopal, against UnionCarbide, the Dow Chemical Company andthe Government of India. This struggle has

led to a number of significant victories —although the fight does go on.

I interviewed Rachna Dhingra — co-leader of ICJB’s support group, the BhopalGroup for Information and Action —regarding her activism, and the boycott/divestment campaigns ICJB has employedin an effort to secure justice for survivorsof the Bhopal disaster. Although not a sur-vivor of the disaster, Dhingra is a well-known and effective voice in the 31-yearstruggle for justice in Bhopal.

RS: You are known to be a formidablecampaigner, having fought alongside sur-vivors of the Bhopal disaster for morethan a decade. You were even awardedIndia Today’s “Woman of the Year” awardin 2011. Being that you are not a survivorof the disaster, what brought you to thecampaign?RD: I got active in the campaign in 2001. I was a student at that time, at theUniversity of Michigan, and people fromBhopal had come to protest the merger

between Union Carbide and DowChemical... That is when I realized thatthe issue of Bhopal, which happened in[19]84, was still unresolved.

At that time, I had just finished college,and I was about to start a corporate job...There was no real radical thinking in me thatwhat corporations were doing were unethi-cal, or inhumane... I realized that there werepeople from Philippines that were broughtin... They were called the ‘outsourced labor.’They were as qualified as me. They weredoing the same amount of work, yet theywere getting 1/10th the salary… I realized ifa corporation can do this to its own people,it would not think twice before poisoning orcontaminating other people’s environment...I came to a realization that corporationsdon’t have hearts or minds. They have onlyone objective which is bottom-line profit fortheir shareholders, and I think that is when Idecided that working for corporations wasnot for me.

I moved to Bhopal in 2003... I thoughtthat I would try and be part of a campaign,

Boycotts, Divestment and the Bhopal MovementAn Interview with Rachna Dhingra

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and be part of a change that people are try-ing to bring. I work with an organizationcalled the Bhopal Group for Informationand Action, and also another organizationcalled the International Campaign for Justicein Bhopal... One is a local organization,and one is an international organizationwhich works on the issues related to sur-vivors of the [19]84 disaster… [We also]work with [other] communities who havebeen victims of corporate crime. It’s acampaign that has been going on since[19]84, since the disaster.

RS: What is your role in the InternationalCampaign for Justice in Bhopal, and inthe Bhopal Group for Information andAction specifically? RD: I work with the local communities, interms of mobilizing them for actionsagainst the corporations… [and] on issuesof compensation, clean water, clean-up ofthe toxic waste. I also work on filing legalcases related to issues of compensation,issues of equality, issues of clean water. Ialso do a lot of RTI’s [right-to-informa-tion], which basically means filing requestsfor information from the government… Wehave been able to expose a potential settle-ment that the government was thinking ofhaving with [Dow] without letting peopleknow... Also, tying up with other commu-nities who are fighting similar battles with-

in India and also outside India, and seeinghow we can come together and fightagainst corporate crime… Our organiza-tion does most of the advocacy and supportwork that can contribute to the struggle ofthe survivors.

RS: I know that women make up a large part

of the survivors’ groups. Generally, whatare women’s roles in the campaign, andwhy is it primarily a women’s movement?RD: Well, I think it is true — all over theworld — that women have been fightingfor different issues. In Bhopal, I know it isespecially true. Bhopal, being a very con-servative city… [Muslim] women have

Top and Bottom: Bhopali women protest Dow Chemical’s sponsorship of the 2012 London Olympics.

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actually given up their burqa to come outand fight, and even Hindu women, whohad no knowledge of how to get out of thehouse, they have come out on the street tofight... I think that is because they haveborne the brunt of the disaster.

A lot of people who were affected werefrom the unorganized sector, so a lot of themen were not able to do the hard labour thatthey were able to do earlier... So womenbecame the breadwinners of the family.They also [were] the people who would betaking care of their kids, and their familiesmedically [because of the increase in healthproblems]… One of the first protests thathappened in Bhopal were women going tothe hospital asking the authorities to tellthem what was in the gas… becausewomen who were pregnant at the time ofthe disaster had spontaneous abortions. So,women have been very active, becausethere was no choice for them. They had tofight, they had to become the breadwinners.

Most of the organizations are being runby women. They are in leadership roles...and even [where] there are no [women in]leadership roles, it consists predominantlyof women… They are the ones who takeup mobilizing people in the communities.They are the ones who take up decisions onhow the campaign will be run.

RS: I know that the North American Bhopalsolidarity campaign has used a range ofdivestment tactics, such as prompting theCambridge City Council (Massachusetts)to divest from Dow stocks and bonds in2014, and several divestment campaigns inU.S.-based universities. Our tactics inNorth America are very much rooted in theon-the-ground work in Bhopal. In effect,what are the major boycott and/or divest-ment campaigns in Bhopal? RD: We were pretty successful in universi-ties in India. The top universities forEngineering — where Dow would go andrecruit their future employees — are theIndian Institutes of Technology [IITs]. Wewere successful in reaching out to severalof them, and ensuring that Dow was notable to recruit, or Dow was told that theycould not come there and recruit unlessthey address their outstanding liabilityrelated to Bhopal, which was a big, bigblow. If Dow was going to survive inIndia, and they could not get students fromIITs, which are the top notch universities,that would be hard for them.

There was another divestment cam-paign. Dow has a lot of help of other bigCEOs in ensuring that they are not heldresponsible. They have this whole consor-tium called the India-US CEO Forum, and

Dow’s CEO [Andrew Liveris] was thehead from the U.S. side, and from theIndian side, the head was Ratan Tata, whowas the head of Tata Industries, one of thebiggest multinationals of India… Tata wastrying to put influence on the Governmentof India, [saying] that Dow should not beheld liable for its Bhopal liabilities, andinstead, Dow should be allowed to investin this country, and because they’re goingto invest so much money in this country,they should be let off scot-free. When wefound out about this [in 2008], we did amajor boycott campaign of Tata’s prod-ucts... Tata makes everything, from nee-dles to aircrafts, so it was pretty easy... Sopeople of Bhopal basically made a dogthat was pissing on Tata’s products, andwe went from house to house, from com-munity to community, asking shopkeepersto throw in Tata tea and Tata salt, and allthese other products that Tata makes, andsay that they will never use Tata products.Within two days, we had representativesfrom Tata saying, ‘We are sorry. We didn’tknow what we were doing, and we didn’tmean this, and we want Dow to clean-up.’

In terms of divestment, the biggestachievement that the Bhopal movementhas had — one of them — is that Dow hasnot been able to successfully invest in thiscountry because of Bhopal liability. Therewas a plant in Pune [Maharashtra] that theywere building. This was going to be theirglobal R&D [research and developmentheadquarters]. They were going to shutdown their global R&D in West Virginia…and they were gonna bring it here becauseit would be much cheaper here, and theyhad gotten 100 acres of land from the gov-ernment of Maharashtra... When people of

Bhopali activists protest Ratan Tata’s comments in support of Dow Chemical.

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Part of a protest action against Ratan Tata’s comments in support of Dow Chemical.

that area found out, they asked the govern-ment not to let Dow come in, and when thegovernment didn’t listen, they basicallyburned down whatever Dow had built. Itwas almost a 3 year battle [2008 – 2011].They blocked highways, they got arrest-ed... but they ensured that Dow wouldnever come. So eventually, the ChiefMinister of Maharashtra had to finally say,yes, Dow will not be allowed to come here.

One of Dow’s products, [a pesticide]which is called Dursban, is extremely haz-ardous... The year that it was banned inthe United States for commercial use, theybrought it to India, and we have beenfighting that it be banned here becauseyou cannot have different standards. Wealso found out that in 2001 that they hadbribed Indian government officials to getthe registration done of [Dursban], andthree other pesticides. So basically, wewere able to convince the Indian govern-ment to blacklist Dow... So no govern-ment department will buy Dow’s productsfor at least ten years [starting from 2010].

RS: Why are these kinds of divestment andboycott campaigns important for Bhopal?RD: It actually gives [Dow] a bad name, orthe company takes a hit on their stockprices. I think that is when it really mattersthe most, and it sends the strongest messagethat it is not just the people in Bhopal thatare against what they are doing, but it ispeople in different parts of the country, peo-ple in different parts of the world that are

watching what Dow is doing, and are hold-ing them accountable… They are beingheld in the court of public opinion, and it isputting pressure on a corporation… It isvery hard for ordinary people — like peopleof Bhopal — to compete with Dow in termsof their media, and other PR activities,because they have so much money to spareand do this. So, [boycotts and divestment]comes with a lot of message and impact.

[In relation to Dow’s sponsorship of theLondon Olympics], we were not able to getDow out of the Olympics, but I think Dowgot enough negative media attention, thatit did serve the purpose: a bigger audience,all around the world, knowing how Dow isinvolved in the world’s worst industrial dis-aster... We were not able to get Dow’ssponsorship out, but there was going to bea wrap that was going to be built aroundthe stadium, and Dow’s logo would bethere. The issue became so heated thatLOCOG [London Organising Committeeof the Olympic and Paralympic Games]decided that Dow’s logo could not be onthe wrap. So that was a big victory, and itwas only a victory because Dow’s namewas now being looked at as the negative.

RS: What do you hope to see for Bhopalmoving forward?RD: People having justice, and a life ofdignity… That [the Bhopal disaster] setsa precedent that corporations cannot getaway with murder, and contaminatingpeople’s water and land, and that there are

criminal fines, as well as criminal punish-ment against individuals and corporationsresponsible… That there be adequatecompensation, that there be a clean-up, sopeople are not forced to live in an areawhere the land and water is contaminated,so that children are not being born withbirth defects.

Reena Shadaan is a Ph.D Candidate inEnvironmental Studies at York University,focusing on women’s experiences of environmental racism, and struggles forenvironmental justice. For the past severalyears, she has been a CoordinatingCommittee member of the North Americansolidarity tier of the International Campaignfor Justice in Bhopal.


References

Amnesty International (2004). Clouds ofInjustice: Bhopal disaster 20 years on.Oxford: Alden Press.

(2014). 30 Years is Too Long… To GetJustice. London: Amnesty International.

Chouhan, T.R. (1994). Bhopal: The InsideStory – Carbide Workers Speak Out onthe World’s Worst Industrial Disaster.New York: The Apex Press.

Hanna, B., Morehouse, W., and Sarangi, S.(2005). The Bhopal Reader. New York:The Apex Press.

Sarangi, S. (2012). “Compensation toBhopal gas victims: will justice ever beone?” Indian Journal of Medical Ethics,(IX) 2, pp. 118-120.

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Bhopali activists protest Ratan Tata’s comments in support of Dow Chemical. Bhopali women protest during the 28th anniversary of the Bhopal gas disaster.


r. Samantha King’s critique of thepink ribbons campaigns, associatedwith breast cancer awareness, fits

squarely with the feminist ideology ofWEI, as well as the concerns raised aboutconsumption in this issue.1 King completeda PhD in Kinesiology from the Universityof Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She iscurrently a Professor at Queen’s Universityin the School of Kinesiology and HealthStudies, with cross-appointments inGender Studies and Cultural Studies. Herresearch interests are varied and interdisci-plinary, including health, media and sportstudies, feminist, queer and race theory,social movements, the politics of breastcancer, and prescription painkilling in con-temporary culture.

King has a longstanding interest inwomen’s health issues. During her doctoralstudies, she observed the proliferation ofcause-related marketing and charities in themid-to-late 1990s. She became interestedin studying the meanings and implicationsof philanthropic citizenship, as well as howthis is experienced by women with breastcancer and those working in breast cancerresearch. When King began this research,she had no idea how long the pink ribbonindustry would be sustained, as most‘causes’ tend to come and go over time.

How did breast cancer become thecharitable cause of the past two decades?The history behind pink ribbons and thebroader context within which they emergedis indicative of the problem. In the early1990s, yellow ribbons associated with mil-itary service and red ribbons for HIV/AIDSawareness were already prevalent. Asnoted in Pinkwashing and the BreastCancer Prevention Movement (included atpage 18 of this volume), Charlotte Haleybegan making peach-coloured ribbons inher living room which called for funds tobe dedicated to breast cancer prevention.

Cause-related marketing was emerging atthis time, and Haley was approached abouther idea by cosmetics company, EstéeLauder. However, she feared her workwould be commercialized and wiselydeclined their offer. Estée Lauder then con-ducted market research and determinedthat the colour pink was feminine, hopefuland non-threatening and began distributingpink ribbons during Breast CancerAwareness Month as part of a partnershipwith Self Magazine. There was, however,a great deal of stigma associated withbreast cancer, so why were corporationsand foundations interested in associatingtheir brands with this disease?

Breast cancer became lessstigmatized as a result of anumber of factors, includingthe feminist health movement,Breast Cancer AwarenessMonth, and a shift towardsmammography for non-symp-tomatic women which helpedto normalize the disease. Thelargest breast cancer organiza-tion in the United States, the Susan G.Komen Foundation, viewed corporatepartnerships as integral to their success.These partnerships between corporationsand foundations capitalized on the grow-ing interest in and de-stigmatization ofbreast cancer. Breast cancer was nowbeing constructed as a safe issue, linked tofeelings of hope and courage, while simul-taneously being associated with a widearray of products for sale.

The proliferation of breast cancerawareness campaigns was not limited to theUnited States and Canada. Breast cancerwas seen as the consummate free marketfeminist cause (for additional informationon free market feminism, refer to work byChandra Mohanty), and corporations andfoundations were selling a particular ideo-

logical approach as they expanded intooverseas markets, including cosmetics com-panies, pharmaceutical companies whomanufacture breast cancer treatments, aswell as those who manufacture mammog-raphy equipment and promote detectionmeasures. Furthermore, the United Statesfederal government formally entered thefield of breast cancer foreign policy in anawareness project that was part of a largerinitiative in the Middle East by the StateDepartment. The United States-Middle EastPartnership for Breast Cancer Awarenessinvolved partnerships that marketed thesaving of women’s lives with the idea of

corporate social responsibility,as part of a larger attempt toimprove the image of theUnited States in this area. Thiscampaign promoted an indi-vidualized approach to breastcancer in its focus on screen-ing, despite the fact that therewas already a free mammog-raphy service in Dubai. Thisindividualized approach did

not recognize the complex healthcare needsof Middle Eastern women. Instead, it creat-ed a culture of risk while prioritizing anexpanded market for companies such asGeneral Electric, General Motors, Johnsonand Johnson, and Microsoft.

Despite breast cancer being framed asa “dream cause” by Adweek magazine,King’s work demonstrates that corporateinterests dismiss the social conditions thatshape breast cancer, as well as any attentionto addressing mortality rates or preventingthe disease. She highlights the contradictionbetween the kinds of products that are pro-moted as part of pink ribbon campaigns andthe inherent harms that these productspose to consumers. As such, the very cam-paigns that claim to save lives and benefitwomen’s health, in fact promote products

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“Pink Ribbons”Interview with Samantha King

By Ellen Sweeney

Samantha King


that are harmful. This includes handgunsand products that contain toxic substancesthat are linked to cancer, such as cosmetics,household cleaning products and oil rigs.Similarly problematic is the mainstreamapproach to breast cancer research andtreatment which does not prioritize primaryprevention, and dismisses issues of inequal-ity and environmental racism.

King’s doctoral work was published asa book entitled Pink Ribbons, Inc.: BreastCancer and the Politics of Philanthropy in2008. She conducted a great deal of pressafter the book was released and had beenwarned to expect potential backlash.However, the public relations departmentsof mainstream breast cancer foundationsand corporations simply ignored the book,while it was well received amongst thegeneral public. The book resonated with abroad audience who were already experi-encing discomfort and questioning corpo-rate philanthropic activities associatedwith the breast cancer ‘cause.’ Womenwere questioning where the money asso-ciated with pink ribbon products wasgoing, and whether or not these effortswere making a difference.

Pink Ribbons, Inc., a film based onthis work, premiered in September 2011at the Toronto International Film Festivaland was released in theatres in January2012. At the same time, the KomenFoundation experienced what public rela-tions experts have described as a classicexample of a destruction of a brand.Namely, Komen withdrew its financialsupport to Planned Parenthood for breastcancer screening and education. PlannedParenthood primarily provides healthcareservices to underserved women in theUnited States, and also provides abortionservices. The Komen Foundation wasinfluenced by the anti-choice movementin its decision to withdraw funding, and asa result, there was a swift and substantialbacklash. This reaction was shaped bysocial media, the strong leadership ofPlanned Parenthood, and importantly, thewomen who were previously loyal to thefoundation who were outraged at theundermining of women’s health.

The Komen Foundation had been at theforefront of breast cancer cause-related

marketing. The same women who hadbeen questioning how the funds related topink ribbon products were being used werealso questioning the foundation which wasnow at the forefront of this scandal. TheKomen Foundation lost millions of dollarsand became a much smaller operation.

However, the Komen Foundation isstill operating in the Middle East. Whilethe breast cancer awareness campaign isno longer formally part of the Middle EastPartnership of the State Department, it didcreate the conditions for foundations andcorporations to continue this work,including the Komen Foundation which isnow working with General Electric inSaudi Arabia.

While cause-related marketing is notdisappearing and pink ribbons remainprevalent, other health issues and productshave also emerged, such as the corporatephilanthropy associated with testicularcancer awareness and the “Movember”campaign. However, it is important toremember that the concerns related topink ribbon fundraising, such as a lack oftransparency related to the funds, environ-mental links to breast cancer, and the needfor primary prevention, continue to beprevalent in how they relate to both breastcancer and women’s health more broadly.

We are grateful to Dr. King for partic-ipating in this interview.

Ellen Sweeney is a health researcher andpolicy analyst working in Halifax, NovaScotia. Ellen completed a PhD in the Facultyof Environmental Studies at York University.Her research interests include women’shealth, environmental health, breast cancer,risk, primary prevention of disease, and sex-and gender-based analysis.


For those who are interested in readingmore about this important work, weencourage you to read Dr. King’s book:

King, Samantha. (2008). Pink Ribbons,Inc.: Breast Cancer and the Politics ofPhilanthropy. Minnesota: University ofMinnesota Press.

1. I interviewed King in April 2016 about her workon pink ribbons and breast cancer. This article provides a summary of our discussion.


r. Norah MacKendrick is a sociolo-gist whose work aligns with thetopics of consumption and sustain-

ability examined in this issue of WEI (Iinterviewed MacKendrick in March 2016about her work on precautionary consump-tion and this article provides a summaryof our discussion).

MacKendrick completed a PhD at theUniversity of Toronto and is currently anAssistant Professor in the Department ofSociology at Rutgers University in NewJersey. Her interdisciplinary work intersectswith the areas of environment, gender,class, body burden, and food politics. Inparticular, MacKendrick’s work on precau-tionary consumption has made an importantcontribution to the field of environmentalhealth in its examination of chemicals,responsibility, and gendered consumption.

MacKendrick first became interestedin issues of precaution, consumption andgender as a graduate student in Toronto.She analyzed media coverage over a 20year period and found that there was ashift in awareness during the mid- to late-1990s that focused on pollution as beingwidespread, but simultaneously suggestedthat individuals can protect themselves bycontrolling their exposure to toxic sub-stances. This shift occurred at the sametime as parents, and mothers in particular,were becoming more aware of the poten-tial health effects related to widespreadchemical exposure, including concernsabout reproductive health and the healthof their children. For instance, mothersraised concerns about the health effects ofplastics and pesticides and began purchas-ing alternatives such as stainless steel andorganic food.

It was this shift related to personalresponsibility and adjusting consumptionpractices that led MacKendrick to developthe “precautionary consumption” concept.

Precautionary consumption is a ‘bettersafe than sorry’ orientation to shoppingwhich provides a sense of empowermentfor individuals purchasing alternativeproducts in an attempt to avoid exposureto chemicals. For example, Sunscreen: Many mothers are now read-ing the labels on sunscreen in an attempt toavoid ingredients such as oxybenzone (anendocrine-disrupting chemical). However,attempting to understand the various ingre-dients, such as nanoparticles, can be a frus-

trating experience. Consumers often try tomake the safest choice by choosing a sun-screen that is available at health food storesor that has been validated by an environ-mental group.Toothpaste: Many mothers are also nowattempting to buy toothpaste that does notcontain triclosan (another endocrine-dis-rupting chemical). In this case, mothersmay understand that it is not good for theirhealth, but understand less about the spe-cific health outcomes. Therefore, the ten-dency is to err on the side of caution andbuy toothpaste without this ingredient.

Women may also extend this practiceinto other areas of their lives includingdecisions about personal care productssuch as cosmetics, soaps and hair prod-ucts; cleaning products (e.g., using bakingsoda and vinegar or other products withless toxic ingredients); and food (e.g.,choosing food that is local, organic,antibiotic- and hormone-free).

It should be noted that all of the womenMacKendrick interviewed as part of stud-ies both in Toronto and New York City

have different routines related to their pre-cautionary consumption practices. Many ofthe routines are comprehensive; howevereach has some degree of contradiction orexception. For example, one woman boughtonly organic foods and prepared mealsfrom scratch, but was not concerned aboutexposures from cleaning products or micro-waving plastics. Some women would participate in precautionary consumptionpractices for their children only, but not forthemselves or their partners.

Immigrant women can be at a disad-vantage if English is not their first lan-guage, or if they assume that food andproducts are safe in countries like Canadaand the United States. MacKendrick hasalso observed that among the women sheinterviewed, precautionary consumption isprimarily a middle class practice. Manymiddle class women have the advantage ofthe time and financial resources to enactand engage with these practices and choices.They also have the time to dedicate to

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“Precautionary Consumption”Interview with Norah MacKendrick

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Consumers often try to make the safest choice by choosinga sunscreen that is available at health food stores or thathas been validated by an environmental group.

Nora MacKendrick


reading about the chemicals contained inproducts they use and the foods they con-sume, determining which products theyare personally concerned with, and devel-oping and refining a strategy to determinehow their shopping and consumption prac-tices will be shaped. However, even forthose who have the time and resources todedicate to precautionary consumption,the science is constantly changing and thereplacements for chemicals that are prob-lematic can still be dangerous (e.g., con-cerns are now being raised about theharms associated with the chemicalsreplacing bisphenol A and Teflon).

It is also important to note that occu-pational and community exposures can bemuch higher and more detrimental forhealth outcomes. For example, the peoplewho manufacture the very products whichindividuals practicing precautionary con-sumption are trying to avoid, are exposedat significantly higher rates than the aver-age person.

Despite the best intentions of thosewho engage in precautionary consumption,the actions of individuals remain limited.

Even a person who is trying their best isstill exposed to chemicals in ways that arebeyond their control. This is problematicregarding both the lack of adequate regula-tion, as well as the responsibility and blameassociated with the contemporary ideologyof mothering. Mothers are considered to beresponsible for the overall well-being oftheir children, including developmentaland social skills, and health outcomes.

It is ultimately a lack of regulatoryreform that results in exposure to hazardouschemical substances. Thus, precautionaryconsumption measures attempt to compen-sate for this lack of precaution in the regu-lations and policies for toxic substances.While women, as consumers, would likestronger regulatory reform, they have littlefaith that governments will protect themand their children. The necessity of havingto engage in precautionary consumptionpractices is taken for granted — there is astrong opinion that we are not being pro-tected, so we have to do it ourselves.

We are grateful to Dr. MacKendrickfor participating in an interview from herhome in New York City where she is cur-

rently working on a book on precaution-ary consumption.

Ellen Sweeney is a health researcher andpolicy analyst working in Halifax, NovaScotia. Ellen completed a PhD in the Facultyof Environmental Studies at York University.Her research interests include women’shealth, environmental health, breast cancer,risk, primary prevention of disease, and sex-and gender-based analysis.


If you are interested in reading moreabout Dr. MacKendrick’s work, see belowfor a newly published article:

MacKendrick, Norah and Lindsay Stevens.(2016). “‘Taking Back a Little Bit of Control’:Managing the Contaminated Body ThroughConsumption.” Sociological Forum. Doi:10.1111/socf.12245.


he term ‘pinkwashing’ is commonlyused to define the practice of com-panies who, while contributing a

percentage of profits from pink ribbonsales to breast cancer research and profit-ing from market association with pinkproducts, are also contributing to the dis-ease itself as producers of consumer prod-ucts which expose women to carcinogenicand endocrine-disrupting chemicals andother manufactured substances withproven links to breast cancer incidence.

By selling these products — be it pinkfrying pans or pink clothes or pink jew-ellery — companies hope to earn thekudos of being seen as caring about a dis-ease that every year kills over 500,000women globally. Research shows thatconsumers are influenced by this associa-tion and will consequently be moreinclined to purchase the product and toview the company as a caring one.

Pink SellsThe truth of the matter is that only a

small percentage from pink ribbon prod-uct sales, sometimes as little as 1%, goesto breast cancer research, leaving compa-nies to benefit from selling virtually any-thing pink. While a breast cancer charityhas overheads to cover, its perceivedendorsement of a company’s productsposes the question of how much influence

this type of fundraising has on the publicinformation produced by the charity.

Use of the colour pink in productsaimed at raising money for breast cancerhas not been lost on women. Women havebeen shown to pay more for female prod-ucts or products designed with the femaleconsumer in mind. (New York CityDepartment of Consumer Affairs 2015).After all, pink supposedly denotes feminin-ity and is associated with beauty, childhoodand romance, making it the perfect colourto market products to women who make themajority of consumer choices on clothing,food, personal care and household products.Essentially it’s a marketing ploy to con-vince women of a gender norm, making iteasier for producers and retailers to sellpink from a mass marketing perspective.

Background to PinkwashingThe gender dimension to the pinkifi-

cation of breast cancer cannot be ignored.Since no other disease has received thislevel of engagement from companies, wequestion the hijacking of the tremendouswork done by women and activists toraise awareness about the disease by pink-dominated market forces.

In the 1960s, when breast cancer wasrelatively hidden, it was women who tookto the streets and campaigned to raiseawareness. It wasn’t until the 1970s, when

high profile women began talking andwriting about their diagnoses that womenbegan questioning the prevailing breastcancer treatment regimes.

In 1991 the grassroots activist, CharlotteHaley, made the first peach coloured rib-bon for the disease that affected her sister,daughter and grandmother. Her aim wasto call for greater accountability andaction on prevention. To each ribbon sheattached a card which read: “The National Cancer Institute’s annual budget is $1 .8 bil-lion, only 5% goes for cancer prevention.Help us wake up legislators and Americaby wearing this ribbon.” (Breast CancerAction 2011).

But when Estée Lauder and SelfMagazine came calling to adopt such a won-derfully marketable idea, Charlotte was hav-ing none of it. They were too commercialshe said, preferring to hand out the ribbonsherself. So Estée Lauder produced their ownribbons and changed the colour to pink.Their first pink ribbons were used to raiseawareness about breast self-examinationand to raise more money for research, butsince its adoption by the Avon Companyand the Susan G. Komen Foundation, thepink ribbon has become the breast cancersymbol representing vested interests in theensuing global marketing of the disease.

‘Pink’ has also generalised the breastcancer story as one about “brave” womenwho are fighting the disease by staying“strong and positive.” But for many womenthis is far from the reality of the diseaseexperience, which along with its impact onwomen’s lives (toxic treatments with longterm side effects, prolonged risk of death,infertility, psychological distress, unem-ployment, debt and discrimination) does notsit well with the pink ribbon concept.

Your Gain Our PainTwenty years ago many publicly

Pinkwashing and the Breast CancerPrevention MovementBy Diana Ward, Deborah Burton and Helen Lynn

“When companies put pink ribbons on their products, they’reno longer just selling a sweater or a watch — they’re sellingthe expectation that buying their product is going to make a difference in the fight against breast cancer. But the ‘portion of the proceeds’ that goes to breast cancer is all too often minuscule in comparison.”

Barbara Brenner (BCA 2005)

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engaged and supported breast cancerorganizations were calling on their gov-ernments and cancer research agencies forimproved treatment protocols andincreased research funding for both thecause and prevention of a rapidly escalat-ing disease. Over the past two decades,the corporate profit-driven pink brandingof breast cancer — feminising, softeningand personalising — has gradually andrelentlessly brought about a shift in pub-lic perception of the disease, from onerepresented by women working coopera-tively to raise awareness of the urgentneed for understanding and preventingthis dreaded disease, to one where womencheerfully display their allegiance to thecause by wearing pink, fundraising forpink and purchasing pink in an alteredform of cooperative effort that today isexpected and unquestioningly given by

the majority of similarly affected womenanywhere in the world.

Many organizations, originally set upand funded by and for breast cancer bywomen, now operate in partnership withcommercial interests in order to sustaintheir flow of funds. Soliciting the businessworld for both sponsors and pink productshas become an imperative in their com-petitive need to forge solid relationshipswith selected business associates underthe pink promotional banner.

Ironically, pink ribbon products suchas cosmetics, cars, sofas and plastic itemscontain or emit toxic chemicals such asflame retardants and endocrine disruptorsthat are causally linked to the disease,while outright maiming or killing canresult from the sale of pink ribbon guns.

Pink would not sell if the confoundingrisk factors of environmental and occupa-

tional exposures were openly acknowl-edged as causal factors in the disease.Media reports and images emphasisingthe link between breast cancer and stink-ing fumes pumping from blackened chim-neys, and women clad in protective equip-ment would not sell pink-packaged beautyproducts or pink plastic bottles. Alongwith the socio-economic factors that canmake one more vulnerable to breast can-cer, the occupational inequalities of thosewho are exposed to toxic substances atwork, are rarely, if ever, addressed.

It is puzzling why most breast cancercharities and those who profit from can-cer persist in refusing to acknowledge therole of environmental and occupationalexposures while ignoring decades of evi-dence on the link between our womb-to-grave exposures to toxic substances andthe escalating incidence of breast cancer.


There is an ‘elephant in the room’ in theform of vested interests at play betweenbreast cancer charities and companies mak-ing products containing ingredients knownto be causally linked to breast cancer. Theirsilence regarding science-based preventionstrategies is effectively bought by commis-sioning and selling pink products in supportof agendas that do not include environmen-tal and occupational links to the disease.

The 21st Century Breast Cancer Agenda

In recent years, a deafening silenceabout the role of chemical, environmentaland occupational risk factors in relation tobreast cancer incidence has become evermore evident in breast cancer awarenesscampaigns. Instead, the predominant pre-vention paradigm among breast cancerorganizations is limited to a singular focuson ‘lifestyle’ risk factors, such as diet andexercise, which account for some 30% ofcases leaving the potential 60% of remain-ing breast cancer cases that fall outside thelifestyle risk category to continue beingignored and unexplained (WHO 2016).

In response to these concerns, the Pinkto Prevention campaign was developed in2013 by Di Ward, Deborah Burton andHelen Lynn. The campaign aims to movethe breast cancer agenda from pink(defined as the status quo which only con-siders lifestyle risks factors for breast can-cer) to one including action on primaryprevention by stopping the disease beforeit starts. In assessing public informationfrom breast cancer organizations on therisk factors associated with the disease, thecampaigners discovered some very mis-leading omissions. In terms of disease risk,the UK’s largest breast cancer charity list-ed the unclarified ‘chemicals in the envi-ronment’ section alongside underwire brasin their 2011 risks booklet. Their updated2015 version lists them under ‘Does NotAffect Risk,’ although they failed to reviewscientific research post - 2010.

Further study showed this seems to bea common approach across other breastcancer organizations, i.e. how vested inter-ests manifest themselves as barriers to theadvancement of primary prevention strate-gies. Research findings that don’t correlate

or support the lifestyle agenda are ignored,side-lined or dismissed as inconclusive ornon-representative due to small samplesizes. Doubt is cast on the findings of anyresearch which supports the involvementof non-lifestyle risk factors.

A review of media coverage in theToronto Star by Jane McArthur analyzedthe tendency to report more frequently onbreast cancer prevalence, detection andtreatment while largely ignoring environ-mental and occupational links to the dis-ease. Her research concluded that the samefactors which influence the science ofbreast cancer also influence mainstreammedia system where portrayals of the ‘nor-mality’ of breast cancer which women ‘bat-tle’ or ‘overcome’ make it seem like a riteof passage for women — one which turnsthem into warriors and survivors. With theside-lining of prevention, advances in cur-rent treatment are presented as the onlyanswer. The solution to breast cancer is tobuy our way out if we are to believe themessages of many breast cancer charities.As McArthur says: “To confront occupa-tional exposures in relation to breast cancerexposes the social class dynamics of breastcancer — in other words not all womenbear the same risk, not just from lifestylechoices, but also in relation to their socialclass position which includes occupation.”

Follow the MoneyPressure from Follow the Money cam-

paigns such as Breast Cancer Action’s“Think Before You Pink” campaign hasencouraged fundraisers and donors to askquestions about how donations will bespent. These questions have resulted inmany breast cancer organizations publish-ing how money raised is allocated. Yet,when research agendas are set, as themajority are, by representatives of theseorganizations who are appointed to gov-ernment committees responsible for draft-ing cancer plans and strategies, they caninfluence research directions by identify-ing ‘gaps’ in research programmes (largelytreatment or cure focused) which they per-ceive as more worthy of inclusion. Thereis consequently little likelihood of occupa-tional and environmental risk factorsreceiving any attention from such politi-cally influential decision-making bodies.

Internationally, less than 4% of globalresearch spending is allocated to primaryprevention and only 2% on exogenous(external) factors like chemical exposures.The UK National Cancer ResearchInstitute spends 4% on prevention throughfunding research projects for its partners.

While no one would quibble abouttreatments, care and support for womenwith breast cancer being made available at

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the highest possible standard, we should beasking questions about what the exclusionof environmental and occupational riskssays about the research that is supported byfunds from these sources. For example theUK supermarket ASDA’s “Tickled Pink”campaign has raised £49 million since1996 to support the Breast Cancer Careand Breast Cancer Now charities while theUS Breast Cancer Research Foundation,founded by former Estée Lauder SeniorVP, Evelyn Lauder, has raised $207 millionin donations since 1993.

A Line in the SandA line was drawn in the sand in 2014

when the Susan G. Komen Foundationteamed up with Baker Hughes, one of theworld’s largest oilfield service companies,to remind people of the importance ofsupporting breast cancer screening andresearch for a cure. Hughes promoted thismessage by painting 1000 of their frack-ing drill bits pink. Dubbed the ‘sex toyfrom hell’ by anti-fracking campaigner,Sandra Steingraber, the drill bits weresupposedly aimed at informing staff on

rigs about breast cancer and a cheque for$100,000 was presented to the KomenFoundation. However, fluids from frack-ing operations have been linked to breastcancer among other diseases. Levels of

benzene — a proven human carcinogen— have been found at dangerous levels inthe urine of workers in the fracking, oiland gas industries. (Steingraber 2014).

In this prime example of public reaction

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to pinkwashing, the Komen Foundation’ssocial media pages were taken over bythousands of comments including: “Whatgives me strength is not an organizationthat pinkwashes. Watching my Mom fighther hard battle with BC is what gives mestrength! Not some organization that takesblood money ... money that is made bycausing cancer!”

Subdued ActivismNow firmly entrenched as the univer-

sally recognized pink identifier for anyoneor anything associated with breast cancer,the insidious pink take-over of the earlierbreast cancer agenda that was set by womenthemselves has been a highly successfulenterprise, not only in the marketing sensebut also in the reshaping of that agenda.

Barbara Ehrenreich, author and activist,puts this into perspective in the film PinkRibbons, Inc.:

“I think, the fact of the whole pink rib-bon culture was to drain and deflect the kindof militancy we had as women who wereappalled to have a disease that is epidemicand yet, that we don’t even know the causeof. We found sisterhood from other womenand looking critically at what was going onwith our health care. The sisterhood is nowsupposed to be supplied by the runs andraces for the cure.” (Pink Ribbons, Inc, 2011)

Samantha King, author of the book PinkRibbons, Inc., suggests that big players inthe cancer establishment have boards ofdirectors with representatives from the phar-maceutical, chemical and the energy indus-tries, making it almost impossible to sepa-rate the people who might be responsible forthe perpetuation of this disease from thosewho are responsible for trying to find a wayto its cure or even better, its prevention. It isobvious that emotions like anger, dissent,disbelief, and questions about exposures atwork, home or in the wider environmenthave no place in this festival of pink.

ConclusionIt is undoubtedly the endlessly repeat-

ed and regular sightings of pink ribbons,in association with breast cancer, that goa long way towards explaining our generalblindness to and ignorance of breast can-cer as an environmental and occupationaldisease which may therefore be largelypreventable.

Like a cancer itself, and as a directconsequence of the corporate takeover ofCharlotte Haley’s peach ribbon idea, butnot its message, the relentless spread of thepinkwashing practice has added a global,profit-driven barrier to the rightful placefor real breast cancer prevention in publicand policy debate and agenda setting.

www.frompinktoprevention.orgA campaign was formed in 2013 by

Deborah Burton Tipping Point North South,Helen Lynn Alliance Cancer Prevention andDiana Ward Working Group on PrimaryPrevention of Breast Cancer. We campaignto move the agenda From Pink to Preventionby Stopping Breast Cancer Before It Starts.Diana Ward is an Australian-based author,cartoonist and activist who has had cancerpatient experiences in the UK and Australiafrom the early 90s and more than 30 yearsexperience of campaigning for change, primarily for the prevention of breast cancer.From 2004-2007 she served as the Chair of the charity Breast Cancer UK, and is a Co-founder of the No More Breast Cancer campaign and a member of the UK WorkingGroup on Primary Prevention of Breast Cancer.

Deborah Burton is co-founder of TippingPoint North South, a non-profit organisationset up to support feature documentary filmsand single-issue campaigns. Before that she worked in NGO campaigning — peacemovement, environment and public health,trade, tax and climate justice.

Helen Lynn has worked on issues linkingwomen, health and the environment since1995, initially at the Women’s EnvironmentalNetwork then as a freelance researcher. She facilitates the Alliance for CancerPrevention and is a Visiting Researcher atthe Occupational and Environmental HealthResearch group, University of Stirling.

References and Further ResourcesBreast Cancer Action (BCA). Group WarnsConsumers About Pink ProductProfiteering: Tells Corporations toDisclose Profits Compared to CharitableGiving. Press Release 27th Sept. 2005.Breast Cancer Action. Think Before YouPink Toolkit. 2011. California: BreastCancer Action.Carter, M. Backlash against “pinkwashing”of breast cancer awareness campaigns.BMJ BMJ2015; 351.Steingraber, S. Pinkwashing: FrackingCompany Teams Up With Susan G.Komen to ‘End Breast Cancer Forever’.Ecowatch. 8th Oct 2014.King, Samantha. (2008). Pink Ribbons,Inc.: Breast Cancer and the Politics ofPhilanthropy. Minnesota: University ofMinnesota Press.

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By Penn Kemp

Plumb Line is by Penn Kemp, a London Ontario performance poet, activistand playwright and a Life Member of the League of Canadian Poets andtheir 2015 Spoken Word Artist of the Year. As Writer-in-Residence forWestern University, her project was the DVD, Luminous Entrance: a SoundOpera for Climate Change Action, Pendas Productions. Her latest worksare two anthologies for the Feminist Caucus Archives of the League ofCanadian Poets: Performing Women and Women and Multimedia, thatwere launched at The Writers' Summit in June 2016. Forthcoming is a newcollection of poetry, Barbaric Cultural Practice, as well as a play, TheTriumph of Teresa Harris. For more information, seewww.pennkemp.wordpress.com and www.mytown.ca.pennkemp

Plumb Line

Mourning doves this afternoon pluck through long grasspeck at indeterminate food possibilities. A soft waddle,

plump-prowed. Listening intent, ignoring ambient sounds of mowers but alert to the strange or errant. Soft pickings,

morsels for hawks and foxes, tender bones crushed andcrunched. Protectrice, I sit among doves in our backyard

reading The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert. Past mass extinctions, we’re now in

the Sixth. Toads croak on, oblivious: myriad amphibians in mottled dun, warning other males, welcoming mates.

Gone in an evolutionary flash. Just as the tadpoles all... disappeared overnight. Were they caught by raccoons?

Drowning? I know I am responsible somehow. NIMB, the warning so close to home. Species die. Or diversify.


What Does Ethical Consumption Mean? Some Canadian data

By Dolon Chakravartty

WE Research

he past few decades have seengrowing environmental concernand awareness reflected in actions

and habits such as recycling, reusing andpurchasing environmentally friendlyproducts. Widespread availability of low-cost goods has also raised concerns aboutethical issues in the production of thesegoods, such as the low wages and poorworking conditions of those employed inindustries such as garment production,coffee growing and many others.

Ethical consumption can be defined asthe practice of purchasing products and ser-vices produced in a way that minimisessocial and/or environmental damage, whileavoiding products and services deemed tohave a negative impact on society or theenvironment (igd.com). It can also includea boycott of a company or product, a typeof personal consumer activism, such asavoiding shopping at Walmart because ofpoor labour standards. Boycotting as a formof non-traditional political participation sawthe biggest growth from mid-1970s to early2000s in industrialized countries.

The idea that citizens can effectchange through their behaviour and con-sumer choices has become part of envi-ronmental and activist discourse and somepolitical scientists consider ethical con-sumption, including boycotting, a form ofpolitical action since its objective is toeffect social change. In response to con-sumer boycotts, companies have dedicatedresources to “corporate social responsibili-ty” (or CSR) with some industries produc-ing “fair trade” or “socially responsible”items that are argued to be grown, manu-factured, or distributed in ways that aremore fair to workers and less harmful tothe environment.

Examining Ethical Consumption in Canada

A 2010 study analyzing data from the2003 and 2008 General Social Survey (apopulation health survey that gathers data onsocial trends) looked at ethical consumptionacross Canada. The study asked questionsabout why consumers choose some prod-ucts and boycott others based on ethical cri-teria, who is most likely to choose or boy-cott a product for ethical reasons and howthe evolution of ethical consumption com-pares with other forms of political participa-tion. The findings were surprising. They

revealed that political participation rates inactivities such as voting and volunteeringfor a political party were declining overtime, but two areas of civic participationwere growing: searching for political infor-mation online, and ethical consumption.

Other findings of the study include:• Level of education was strongly and

positively associated with both politicalparticipation and ethical consumption;

• Higher income is associated with higherrates of ethical consumption;

• So-called “post-materialist” values(self-expression, autonomy, quality oflife, freedom of expression and secular-ization) were associated with ethicalconsumption and boycotting;

• Provinces with the highest reported

rates of ethical consumption wereBritish Columbia, Quebec, Ontario;

• In general, ethical consumption was morecommon in larger urban areas (could bedue to accessibility of products);

• Other forms of political activity such asattending public meetings (requiringhigh degree of time) was highest outsideurban areas;

• Recent immigrants were less likely tochoose or boycott products for ethicalreasons;

• Those aged 65 and older were least likelyto choose products for ethical reasons;

• People who have greater belief in personal control — i.e. that their actionscombined with those of others will havean impact — report the highest levelsof ethical consumption; and

• Men were as likely as women to havechosen or boycotted a product for ethical reasons.

Gender, Socio-Economic Status andEthical Consumption

Although the Statistics Canada studydoesn’t report gender-based differences inchoosing to boycott or purchase a productfor ethical reasons, other research has foundthat women are more likely than men toexhibit environmental values, are largelyresponsible for household purchasing in

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The study asked questions about why consumerschoose some products and boycott others based onethical criteria, who is most likely to choose or boycotta product for ethical reasons and how the evolution ofethical consumption compares with other forms ofpolitical participation.


families, and most likely to engage in ‘pre-cautionary consumption’ (MacKendrick,2010). In doing so, women may be stucknavigating a ‘moral maze’ of weighing thehealth, environmental and social benefitsin searching and buying the ‘right’ productthat causes the least harm, both personallyand through global production and manu-facturing chains. Since fair trade or sociallyresponsible products also tend to costmore, being an ethical consumer can beseen as a way for those with higherincomes to stand out socially by appearing“more green”, or in some ways, morallysuperior to others through better purchas-ing power. Conversely, for those with lessfinancial means, where choice in buying ismost often dictated by affordability, ethi-cal purchasing is not an option. This canresult in negative assumptions about thoseof lower socio-economic-status not beingas socially aware or conscious.

Does Ethical Consumption ReallyMake a Difference?

Some argue that consumers have agreat deal of power and influence overcorporate conduct and government policy,so that, as an example, consumers canhold producers to fair trade standardswhich does eventually lead to improvedworking conditions. Further, proponentsbelieve that boycotting and ethical con-sumption is a way for youth and youngerpopulations to become socially consciousand politically engaged.

However, for ethical consumption tobe effective, consumers need to be knowl-edgeable. This would involve companiesproviding adequate labelling, as a mini-mum, as well as a compelling justificationor explanation about why and how a prod-uct might be more ‘ethical’ than the alter-natives. For example, this could be some-thing about how the product has less pack-aging, or is produced in a way that is moreenvironmentally and socially sustainable.

Critics of the practice argue that thisform of individual action, especially if itis to remain relatively easy, will notchange things as effectively as legislationand regulations. One major obstacle tobeing a more effective form of politicalaction is how hard it is for individuals to

absorb the enormous amount of informa-tion necessary to make ethical purchasingdecisions on every occasion, assumingone even has the time, education andfinancial means to do so.

In trying to use our consumer buyingpower to search for the “right” fair trade,organic, sustainable, green, sweatshop-free products, are we really changing theworld? Or is it an easy way to ease ouranxiety about widespread inequalities anddamage as a result of global capitalism?

While well-intentioned as an individualresponse, is ethical consumption a form ofmoral commodification that fails to con-front the root of the problem? It dependson who you ask.

Dolon Chakravartty is a Ph.D. student inSocial and Behavioural Health Sciences atthe Dalla Lana School of Public Health andshe is part of the Environment and HealthCollaborative Program at the University ofToronto’s School of the Environment.


he Romani (Gypsies) of Europehave traditionally scavenged andtraded scrap metal and waste to sur-

vive and earn cash. Roma rag pickers andscrap metal collectors supplying goods topaper mills and foundries have been doc-umented in Europe as early as the 17thcentury. European industrialization andurbanization led to the growth of informalwaste collecting, due to increased urbanwaste, demand for raw materials forindustry, and more urban dwellers in needof a livelihood.

By the mid-20th century waste pick-ing decreased in Europe, as waste man-agement industries were formalized andwelfare states reduced the poor’s relianceon informal recycling.

Beginning in the mid-1990s, however,informal recycling in Western Europeexploded again. The demand for recyclingsurged due to an increased waste stream,declining room in landfills, new recyclingtechnologies, and environmentalism.

In the Paris suburbs, Roma squattercamps often contain heaps of metal thatare mixed with hazardous materials. Thereis a high potential for infectious diseasesamong Roma scavengers due to exposureto fecal matter, paper saturated by toxicmaterials, bottles and containers withchemical residues, contaminated needlesand heavy metals from batteries and elec-tronic waste.

Scavengers typically suffer from occu-pational injuries such as back and handinjuries caused by lifting heavy objectswith little equipment. Waste pickers whowork in open dumps are often exposed tolarge amounts of toxic fumes provokingrespiratory effects. They also risk beinghit by trucks or caught in surface subsi-dence, trash slides and fires.

Because waste-picking activity is ille-gal or unpermitted, the Roma often face

harassment by police and authorities.Maria, a Roma woman in an informal set-tlement in the Parisian suburbs, spent eightmonths in prison for hopping the fence ofa landfill site looking for valuable garbageto sell or use for home furnishings. Romascavengers like Maria often suffer scornfrom the public because of their povertyand perceived lack of hygiene.

Verana is a mother of six living in asquatter camp in the suburbs of Pariswhose husband formerly collected scrapmetal to sell for cash. The work made himsick and gave him chronic asthma; theFrench doctors told him not to do thistype of work anymore. Today, they haveno cash and no means of earning income.

Recycled HousesVerana’s caravan (mobile home) like

many in the Roma camp where she lives, is5th or 6th hand via the internal market of theRoma across Europe. The Manouche (FrenchGypsies whose families have been in Francelonger) look down upon these Roma fromEastern Europe as the lowest of all.

Caravans are joined together to createcommon living areas in the Roma campswith extra pieces of wood and other mate-rials including old pieces of plastic, metal,and drywall that have turned mouldy withtime due to the damp cold climate ofParis. Nevertheless, with recovered furni-ture, colourful fabrics and objects theRoma turn their caravans into lovely cozyenvironments.

To keep warm, they make stoves outof old oil drums, burning any material thatis combustible, with little ventilation.Temperature regulation is difficult and attimes caravans can be suffocating.

Recycled FoodFrance is one of the first countries to

make it a legal requirement for supermar-

kets to donate their unsold food to avoidfood waste. Piles of unsold food make theirway to the Roma camp by means of vari-ous charities and are dumped on theunpaved ground where only meat, sweetsor coca cola are taken while lettuce,endives, and bananas are often left for therats to feast upon. I have often been toldthat in Romania the Rom like to eat “meat”.

Trying to address the issue of obesity— a common chronic condition amongthe Roma as it is generally among thepoor in developed economies — is a chal-lenging undertaking. Messages such asthe importance of eating the right types offood 3 times a day are often seen aspatronizing and hypocritical. Anka, oneRoma woman remarked,

“In France you eat 3 times a dayat set times… In Romania wedon’t even know if we will haveenough food to eat once a day….In France we can get food but wenever know what it will be.”

Nevertheless, when I recently inter-viewed Roma teenagers (2016) aboutwhether there was enough to eat in France,a big smile would light up on their facesas they affirmed that the French were verygenerous. Despite the high prevalence ofobesity and diabetes in this population it isdifficult to pass messages on a healthy dietwhen for the most part the Roma don’t seethemselves as having much of a choice.

Recycled CashIn order to obtain cash that might

allow some consumer choice, the Romtake on jobs such as house cleaning or har-vesting, but one of the traditional ‘occupa-tions’ is begging. For the Rom begging istraditionally seen as a valid occupation.

The 10-20 centimes or even 1 euro they

Who Consumes What?Recycling, Ethics, and Social Difference

By Nita Chaudhuri

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may get from begging are small change inthe minds of the rich. This excess moneyfilters down to the Rom. Making 15 eurosa day in small change by begging for 9hours is considered a hard day’s work andwell paid.

In a women’s health group Arabellaonce said,

“When I beg I feel ashamed but ifI don’t earn cash and buy thingsfor my children they will stealthem….”

For the Roma being harassed by thepolice and being thrown in jail is a regularoccurrence. She goes on poignantly,

“When a child gives me money I pray for her… it is mostly the Moroccan chil-dren that give me money….”

It is somewhat poetic that the childrenof the often-marginalized Muslim NorthAfrican diaspora in France give money tothe Rom. This practice of charity, animportant tenet of Islam, is somehownever mentioned in this increasinglypolarized and stratified world.

Parallels can be also seen in the mod-est dress of traditional Roma and Muslimgirls and their resulting lack of acceptancein French society where wearing the hijabis sometimes penalized.

Recycled ClothesIn Paris, the fashion capital of the world,

many girls and women are obsessed with theway they dress. Aesthetics and beauty arehigh on their agenda. With clothes becom-ing cheaper in both quality and quantity,they are easily given away. The poor such asthe Roma, therefore, do not want for attire.

Yet their sense of style does not alwaysmeet the standards of the French as aRomanian social worker working in Frenchsquatter camps pointed out haughtily,

“There is a way of dressing inorder to integrate.”

Scarves and long skirts to cover legsare standard for Roma girls when theyreach the age of puberty. This distinguishesthem from the rest of the French girls andfor some affects their perceived freedom.

Does Recycling Make ConsumptionEthical?

French people often ask why theRoma come to Paris from Romania iftheir living conditions are so miserablehere. The answer I often give is there’smore garbage here.

Since France is a more ‘developed’economy than Romania (which hasrecently entered the EU), it is possible forthe Roma to have a ‘better’ life in Francethan in their home country by reusing andselling the ‘garbage’ of their hosts. TheRoma, refugees and the marginalized liveoff the garbage of French and developedWestern European economies.

Environmentalists, on social media,sometimes glorify recycling. For example,in one recent video, a handsome, buff,young Australian man boasts about thetent he made of recycled material with anenergy efficient stove, second hand futonmattress, recycled oil drums for nighttables and a 12 dollar dining table, allreclaimed cast-offs obtained cheaply andfrom various dumps. For the middle andupper class this is seen as ‘shabby chic’.This is the same method the Roma use tosurvive in France, yet they are considereddirty, marginal scavengers.

Recycled People?The marginalization and poverty that

the Rom and other immigrant groups suf-fer in Europe make it a necessity for themto be innovative in finding value by reusing

or recycling other people’s garbage.Marginalization, racism, discrimination

and prevailing ideas about beauty, aesthet-ics and social integration are all essentiallyinfluenced by material consumption andobsession with objects. What people“have” dictates who is ‘in’ and who is ‘out’.Who then is an ethical consumer and whatis ethical consumption?

Designing products for reuse andrecyclability, banning toxics, and promot-ing recycling will help make consumptionmore ethical, but won’t solve all the moralproblems with markets and their rein-forcement of difference in this highlyunequal world.

Dr. Nita Chaudhuri is an adjunct professor atthe American University of Paris and a PublicHealth and Environment specialist. She hasworked with the Roma in Paris for the lastfive years on various health promotion andenvironment initiatives with several localorganisations. She consults with WHO andUNESCO.

References

Binion,E., & Gutberlet, J. (March 2012).“The effects of handling solid waste onthe wellbeing of informal and organizedrecyclers: a review of the literature”(PDF). International Journal ofOccupational and Environmental Health18 (1): 43–52.

Binion, Eric (May 2012). “The perceptionof health with informal recyclers inBuenos Aires, Argentina” (PDF). Thesis.

Gutberlet, Jutta. (5 June 1997). “InformalRecycling and Occupational Health inSanto André, Brazil” (PDF). InternationalJournal of Environmental HealthResearch 18

http://romafacts.uni-graz.at/index.php/culture/introduction/roma-culture-an-introduction

Romani (Rom, Roma, Gypsy) populations are among the largest and poorest minority groups in Europe(≈12 million), and have suffered centuries of marginalization. There are approximately 20,000 Romaimmigrants from Romania and Bulgaria living in the Paris region. The original Romani people migratedfrom northern India, presumably from the northwestern Indian states Rajasthan and Punjab, about1000 years ago, mixing with local populations.


Social History of Mass ConsumptionBy Sayeh Dastgheib-Beheshti

aced with the reality that many ofthe ecological challenges humanityis facing are a result of the con-

sumption of resources, exceeding theregenerative capacity of the environment,I have embarked on a quest to betterunderstand who benefited from the estab-lishment of mass consumerism. Couldconsumerism be more than just the over-consumption of resources? If, as historianPeter Stearns suggests, our consumeristpractices of today are a way of seeking“meaning and pleasure” in our world, thenperhaps understanding the roots of thisurge may allow us to identify alternativeways and practices more compatible withthe Earth’s limits.

Up until the 1980’s the evolution ofconsumer society was believed to be theresult of the industrial revolution that tookplace at the end of the 18th century inEngland. However, records show that,almost a century earlier, the existence ofa fairly substantial growth in Europeanconsumption was fueling the demand foradvances in production techniques. Non-essential, but highly valued consumablesincluded household furnishings such aspaintings, ceramics and textiles as well aspersonal ornaments such as umbrellas andgloves. This increased consumption wasnot equally distributed either in society oreven within families, with clear differ-ences based on generation, class, and gen-der (Sassatelli, 2007).

Gender power dynamics were criticalin the consumption role assigned to upper-middle class women. The patriarchalstructure of English society prior to the16th century meant that women had strict,predefined roles within society — first asvirginal daughters, then as wives andmothers, and finally as widows — all con-fined to the private, domestic sphere.While a man’s place was in the fields,roads, and forests, women stayed in thehome and village and engaged in a multi-

tude of tasks, none of which were recog-nized as “work”, but instead were consid-ered women’s natural duties. These beganwith all housework, raising children, tak-ing care of the domestic animals, and oftenspinning or sewing for added income.

The exclusion of most women fromthe guilds that controlled various trades“relegate(d) them to the least-skilled andcertainly least-remunerative aspects of thetrade” (Epstein, 1991, p. 122). Womenwere more prominent in the textile pro-duction trades such as dyeing and spin-ning thread, but even in these trades, theywere paid substantially less than men.

With the flow of capital from coloniesand the establishment of urban centres in

Europe, visible work and productionmoved away from the household and intofactories. This led to a spatial separationof the spheres of production and con-sumption as well as further division ofsocial roles. Production, with its responsi-bilities and challenges, occupied the headof the family (male, seen as the strongergender), while women, regarded as deli-cate and fragile, were tasked with con-sumption in households. For a Puritanman, success was seen as a sign of divinereward for hard work and achievements.According to Colin Campbell, thisdichotomy explains the concurrent exis-tence of both Puritan and Romantic val-ues in English society.

F

With the flow of capital from colonies and the establishment of urban centres in Europe, visible work and production moved away from the householdand into factories.


Philosophers such as Shaftesbury, inCharacteristics of Man, Manners, Opinions,Times, published in 1711, suggested that“man” not only had an intuitive sense ofright and wrong that came out of truevirtue, but that this virtue was character-ized by beauty. Surrounding oneself withobjects of beauty would allow inner virtueto shine through. In an interesting twist,pleasure — which had been already estab-lished as a derivative of beauty — becamean indicator of virtue. Another way ofillustrating inner virtue was by embracingthe notion of romantic love.

As women became increasingly asso-ciated with beauty and love, the home wasdefined as a comfortable setting createdby a caring wife, from which all signs ofwork were removed. Women, serving asstatus symbols, were in charge of a con-structed form of household consumption,limited to items that contributed to thecomfort or image of their husbands(Veblen 1994, originally published in1899, Chapters III and IV). These items ofbeauty, including the wives, would showthe world the success and virtue of themen who worked.

One interesting outcome of the role ofwomen as “consumers-in-chief” was thetransition of women from the private intothe public sphere, where now, they had areason to be seen publicly since they hadto “go shopping”. Women used this new-found purchasing power as a political toolto make new demands for emancipation.

Based on the many viewpoints I haveencountered through my readings, Ibelieve that one of the most notable out-comes of the industrial revolution was thefurther removal of women from the visi-ble and recognized production economy.The definition of women as consumers,and cultural association of virtue withbeauty, created specific expectationsabout how women were to participate insociety. Beauty and beautiful environ-ments were seen as the legitimate ways todisplay virtue.

Sassatelli notes that “consumption is asocially and culturally standardized activi-ty” that has been, throughout the ages,either celebrated as a liberating or con-demned as a dominating practice. Modern

day advertising and marketing have onlyled to increased pressures to display innervalues and persona through ‘appropriate’consumption. Studies of consumption pat-terns in ‘liberal market’ societies haveintroduced terms such as “sterile owner-ship” which refers to the purchase ofexpensive leisure goods such as cameras,camping gear, and sports equipment bytime-pressured, high-income earners.Since the products never actually get used,they represent a wished-for identity thatpeople just don’t have the time to engage.

What are the ecological impacts of allthese products that serve no other purposethan an illusion of an identity? While inour current context, we construct conspic-uous consumption as ‘normal’, the factthat these practices vary through time andplace illustrates the hegemonic structurethat persists and dictates the ‘right’ or‘wrong’ form of consumption. Could thekey to achieving meaning without beingconsumerist reside in our ability to appre-ciate our inner virtues without the need todisplay them through possessions?

Sayeh Dastgheib-Beheshti is a graduate student at the Faculty of EnvironmentalStudies at York University. Her research aimsat developing a model for the socio-economicsystem of consumption of positional goods in order to identify leverage points for intervention. She can be reached [email protected].

References

Campbell, C. (2005). The romantic ethicand the spirit of modern consumerism.

Epstein, S. A. (1991). Wage labor andguilds in medieval Europe. UNC PressBooks.

Sassatelli, R. (2007). Consumer culture:History, theory and politics. Sage.

Stearns, P. (2006-04-18). Consumerismin World History: The Global Transforma-tion of Desire. Taylor and Francis.

By Katherine J. Munro

Originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, kjmunro moved to theYukon Territory in 1991. She is Membership Secretary for Haiku Canada, and isan Associate Member of the League of Canadian Poets. Her chapbook, summerevening, is available through Leaf Press as number ten in their oak leaflet series.(www.leafpress.ca)

breakfast epiphany

wasp buzzes in the sunny doorwayfat raindrops rattle & splashsomewhere a rainbow

Miss Golightly slowly lifts her cat maskfinds herself & her cat or flies to South Americasomewhere a cage of gold


hould I get my nails done? Aremanicures an opportunity for stressrelief, feminine bonding, toxic

exposure, labor exploitation or all of theabove?

Many women have grappled with thesequestions since the New York Times series“Unvarnished“ broke last summer, shiningmuch needed light on widespread laborrights violations, toxic exposures, andadverse health outcomes in New York Citynail salons. I commend Sarah Nir’s report-ing and Governor Cuomo’s swift responseto combat wage theft and health risks.There is no denying that these conditionsare widespread, and that nail-salon ownersmust be held responsible for violating laborlaws. At the same time, these conditionsare not new, and many advocates havebeen working to address them for years.Nir was not the first to cover these issues,nor unfortunately, will she be the last.Women and Environments Internationalran a comprehensive story on “The U.S.Nail Salon Industry: Booming Business,Growing Concern” in Fall/Winter 2008.

My book, The Managed Hand: Race,Gender and the Body in Beauty ServiceWork, published in 2010, also addressedthe broad social conditions shaping nailsalon work, which include customerdemand for cheap, quick services, lack ofregulation, lax enforcement of existinglaws, globalized labor migration flows,and ultimately, the bottom line of profit-driven, winner-take-all markets and men-talities. Here, I offer less academic analy-sis and more personal reflections, from theperspective of an advocate and consumer.

For various reasons, particularly herfocus on the salons as a “racial and ethniccaste system,” Nir’s articles clearly hit anerve. Here is a sampling of the com-

ments that poured in. “I’m done. Never again can I sit across

from the mousy, submissive worker whoexudes graciousness for my visit to thesalon — this is so sickening.”

“So sad these women have to sufferjust because lazy, privileged, women won’tdo their own nails. I mean how hard is itto cut your own freaking toenails.”

I can empathize with the difficult feel-ings many women confront as they try todecide whether to continue getting theirnails done. As someone who has re-searched and written a book on the nailindustry and is connected to a national net-

work of advocates, the fact that I still liketo get my nails done — and that I take mydaughter to get our nails done together —seems to surprise and even offend somepeople. Shouldn’t I know better?Shouldn’t we feel especially awkward, asAsian Americans, to have another Asianwoman waiting on us? Aren’t we morelikely to be mistaken as the providersrather than the recipients of these services?The answers to all of these questions areboth yes and no.

When my daughter, Sangha, was 9-years-old, I took her to get her first mani-cure at a nail salon in New York City. Ayoung manicurist, who told us her namewas Molly, attended to us. Molly was thedaughter of the salon owner, and mostlikely was working without a license. Shelooked like she was just a few years older

than my daughter. I sat watching thesetwo young Asian-American girls, theirsoft hands intertwined, thinking about thedifferent trajectories that had led them toeither side of the manicuring table. NorthAmericans so like to believe in meritocracy— that people end up where they arebecause of their own hard work, intelli-gence and moral conduct. But seeingthese two girls across from each other, itwas hard to make this case.

Molly was just as sharp, plucky andbeautiful as my daughter. She shared withus that she wanted to become an architect.But because her mother was an immigrant

small business owner who relies onunpaid family labor to keep her salonafloat, Molly’s chances of going to col-lege were far more constrained, modelminority stereotypes notwithstanding. Iwas glad that Sangha and Molly hit it off,that they both seemed to enjoy the givingand receiving of the manicure, and thatmy daughter tipped well using her ownmoney. But then we left the salon, andMolly stayed.

No one wants to feel that their lifestyleimposes harm on others. Everyone wantsto enjoy a little pampering now and then,and a mani-pedi can be the perfect salveat the end of a hard week, especially for abeleaguered working mother. So what’s awoman to do? And what’s a mom to do ona Saturday afternoon when she wants todo something special for herself and her

S

Is it Possible to Get a Safe,Fair Manicure?By Miliann Kang

In the Field

“So sad these women have to suffer just because lazy,privileged, women won’t do their own nails. I mean howhard is it to cut your own freaking toenails.”

child? This is a quandary I have struggledwith in my research and in my own life. Ihave to admit, when I first started thisresearch project, I was judgmental of thewomen who received manicures and per-plexed when I heard manicurists say thatthey actually enjoyed this work. I quote apassage from my book below:

From listening to customers, workersand owners, I have come to understandand respect the various needs that theseservices fulfill, and even to become a par-ticipant in the beauty service culturemyself, albeit a conflicted one.

Returning to our trip to New York,Sangha and I had our nails done together— not once, but twice: manicures at onesalon, pedicures at another. I was in thethick of writing my book, so these visitswere part research, but equally, part moth-ering. My husband was attending a con-ference so it would have been difficultand expensive to arrange for childcare inour hotel so like many women, I cartedmy daughter along to the salon. That day,after visiting Molly’s salon, we visitedanother salon which was being boycottedin support of Susan Kim, a nail salonworker who had been wrongfully dis-missed after demanding overtime andbreaks. Sangha stood on the picket line,holding a signboard saying, “Sweatshopsare not glamorous!”Later she wanted toknow more about what she had seen thatday. She asked why Susan Kim had notbeen paid fairly for work she had done.She asked why so many people hadignored the picket and walked into thesalon despite the protest. She asked if

Molly was being treated in a similar way.She asked if we should not have gottenour nails done.

I answered in what I thought wereclear but age-appropriate responses. Iexplained that the world is full of inequal-ities, and that we can work for change, butundoing these inequalities is a long and

complicated process. That while we mayfeel bad that Molly has to do nails for aliving, we also need to valorize this work.Manicurists like her need good customers,not customers who think that simplydoing their own nails washes their handsclean of responsibility for deeply embed-ded social problems. Sangha, however,was not buying it, and voiced the univer-sal outcry of children faced with injustice,“But it’s not fair!”

As an academic and activist, I long tohear this sense of outrage. But as a moth-er, seeing my daughter begin to grapplewith the injustice of the world both warmsand breaks my heart. I want her to under-stand that the lifestyle we lead as middle-class North Americans is dependent onthe labor of so many others, and the limit-ed and fragile resources of the earth. Iwant her to appreciate all she has withoutfeeling guilt, pity or superiority towardthose who have less, at least materially, orenvy, anger or inferiority toward thosewho have more. I don’t want her to takefor granted the level of consumption weenjoyed on our trip to New York. Yet, Iwant her to be able to enjoy a spa day,when needed or simply desired to assuagethe pressures of the day or to connect withothers. And I would like to enjoy this withher, in a way that supports other women,rather than exploits them.

It is difficult but possible to do both— to appreciate certain goods and ser-vices while also being committed toaddressing the inequalities and injusticesunder which they are produced and per-formed, in the nail industry and morebroadly...I draw parallels to the work ofactivists and scholars of domestic service,who have critiqued the unproductive waysthat privileged women judge each otherfor relying on paid help. Instead of thisfutile cycle of guilt and judgement, we


In the Women’s Studies, Sociology and Asian American Studies classes that I havetaught, I often find students intensely divided in these debates regarding beautyindustry and culture. While I agree that contemporary standards and regimens offeminine beauty have reached ridiculous extremes and fuel the exploitation ofwomen, I also recognize that beauty and its regimens can provide meaning andopportunities to some women. While critical of the distorted images of women’sbodies advertised for corporate profit, I doubt that the multi-billion dollar beautyindustry will disappear anytime soon. In addition, employment and self-employ-ment in nail salons will remain one of the more attractive job opportunities forAsian immigrant women as long as they are denied or deterred from entrance intoother employment niches. I also think that it is important to understand the variousneeds that manicured nails fulfill in customers’ lives, while at the same time creat-ing pathways for women to fulfill these needs other than cosmetically.

can value this work, learn how to beresponsible employers and work in soli-darity with domestic workers to improvethe conditions of this work. Similarly, wecan enjoy a manicure, respect the hardwork of those who provide these services(and pay a just wage for it), and we canpass on this enjoyment and respect to ourchildren, students and peers. Most impor-tantly, we can join hands with nail salonworkers, owners, advocates and policy-makers to make the manicure as safe andfair an exchange as possible.

Several years later, we were back inNew York and went and visited the same

salon where Molly had given Sangha amanicure. It was shuttered. My daughterand I peered into the empty salon andwondered if Molly had gone on tobecome an architect or if she was workingat another salon.

So where do we go from here? Howcan we remedy these problems withoutscapegoating and producing a backlashagainst already vulnerable immigrantworkers and small-business owners?What are the larger social conditions thatdraw women into these salons, to bothsides of the manicuring table, and how dothey set the stage for the conditions with-

in the salon? What kinds of approachescan confront these problems on theirmany levels?

Some people have asked me if this is acase of a few bad apples. Unfortunately, itis far more than a few bad apples. Theconditions in the salons are the bitter fruitat the end of a long food chain thatincludes customers’ desire for cheap, fastservices, toxic cosmetic products, and abroken immigration system that dependson the mobile, contingent labor of youngimmigrant women, especially from Asiaand Latin America, but does not recognizeor protect these workers.

Immigrant nail salon owners mustcomply with labor laws, but the fingershould not be pointed solely at them forsinglehandedly creating or solving thesewidespread problems. Many of thesesalons are small mom and pop operations,and rely on self-employment and familylabor. Several salon owners shared withme that the overhead to maintain thesesalons is high, and during slow periods,their take-home earnings are less thantheir workers. Rather than demonizingand closing down salons, we could listento owners and workers, learn about theobstacles they face and work together forlong-term and far-reaching solutions. Butcustomers also should not be vilified forwanting a service that brings them plea-sure, and in some cases, relief from nail-biting, arthritis and stress, and many wantto support good business practices. I inter-viewed many customers who felt like amanicure was the one thing they did forthemselves, and others did not see it as aluxury but a necessary part of self-care,both physical and emotional.

The solution is not simply to boycottthe salons, unless there is an active call toboycott a particular salon as part of anorganized campaign. Instead, customerscan pay a fair price, tip well, supportsalons that have good labor practices, joinlocal and national efforts to support salonworkers and demand less toxic, greenproducts.

In my book, The Managed Hand:Race, Gender and the Body in BeautyService Work, using the concept of “bodylabor,” I argue that manicures and other



beauty regimens that used to be done inthe privacy of one’s own bathroom areincreasingly being purchased. The unwrit-ten rules and expectations of these inti-mate exchanges between virtual strangersset up fraught encounters between cus-tomers, providers, and owners, across bar-riers of language, culture, race, class, andcitizenship status. I discuss how theseexchanges renegotiate the boundariesbetween public and private, local andglobal, market and non-market, individualand social.

The purpose of my book was not justto address working conditions in thesalons but also to understand the growthof this beauty service niche and the com-plex interactions that occur in them. Hereare a few ways that I believe my own andothers’ sociological research, and theongoing efforts of nail-salon worker advo-cates in labor, public health, communityorganizing, and media can inform the cur-rent debate.

Better Customers Make for Better Salons

Put simply, the current conditions innail salons could not exist without cus-tomer collusion. Customers’ desires forthe cheapest, quickest manicures createintense competition among salons, drivingdown prices, which then drives downwages and erodes working conditions.Boycotting the salons will not make theproblems go away. In the long run, creat-ing opportunities for other work is impor-tant, but in the short run, shuttering thesebusinesses when no such viable alterna-tives for employment exist will under-mine the economic security of thousandsof immigrant workers. While we look forthese long-term solutions, right now, cus-tomers can pay a fair price, understand thetime and skills it takes to provide a propermanicure, and support organized cam-paigns for workers’ rights, regulation oftoxic chemicals, and immigration reform.

Partnership Versus PunitiveApproaches to Labor RightsEnforcement

It would be a mistake to paint all own-ers with one brush or even worse, to infer

complicity based on race or ethnicity.Instead, officials, advocacy groups, cus-tomers, workers, and owners could workin partnership to enforce existing laws andimplement more effective ones. A ratingsystem, similar to that applied to restau-rants (Grade A, B, etc.) could recognize,reward, and encourage best practices,including “green” salons that prioritizeless toxic products, especially those thatdo not use the ‘Toxic Trio’ ingredients ofdibutyl phthalate (DBP), toluene, andformaldehyde. Various U.S.-based initia-tives are already underway in California,New York and other regions working withthe National Healthy Nail and BeautySalon Alliance. We can learn from andbuild on their successes.

The Regulation of Toxic CosmeticProducts

Even if every nail salon owner strictlyadhered to every aspect of the law, work-ers would continue to suffer due to chemi-cal exposures from the products they use.We need stronger protections that regulatemanufacturers’ use of known carcinogensand endocrine disrupting chemicals in cos-metic products and that recognize the dis-proportionate harm to workers who expe-rience long and compounded exposures.

Long-term Solutions, Attentiveto the Current Climate of Anti-immigrant Sentiment

Media coverage, advocacy, andresearch do not happen in a vacuum. Theissues addressed in the New York Timesseries did not emerge from a single cause.They did not crop up overnight, and willnot disappear overnight. A small but com-mitted group of researchers, journalists,policy makers, and advocates have beentrying to confront these problems forsome time, in ways that recognize theneed for industry-wide changes whilebeing careful not to vilify all immigrantsor immigrants from any one particularcountry or destabilize an already vulnera-ble workforce. Immigrant workers acrossthe country in sectors from domestic ser-vice, to restaurants, to nail salons are nowstanding up to demand their rights andthey need widespread support. But nail

salon owners also need support and edu-cation to run good businesses rather thanpunitive approaches to shut them down.

The recent news coverage is a stepforward in educating consumers aboutunfair, hazardous and exploitative condi-tions in the nail salons. But the next stepsneed to be taken carefully. Rather thanguilt-driven responses that may makepeople feel better, we need sustained,multi-pronged approaches that include:regulation of toxic chemicals; enforce-ment of labor rights; education and out-reach regarding occupational health andsafety; and long-term partnerships amongworkers, owners, customers and advo-cates to create more sustainable beautyproducts, practices and culture.

Portions of this article first appearedelsewhere and are republished here withpermission.

Miliann Kang is Associate Professor andGraduate Program Director of Women,Gender, Sexuality Studies and affiliated faculty in Sociology and Asian/Asian AmericanStudies at the University of Massachusetts,Amherst. Her book, The Managed Hand:Race, Gender and the Body in BeautyService Work, an ethnography of New YorkCity nail salons, won book awards from theNational Women’s Studies Association andthe American Sociological Association.

References

See “Trouble in the Nail Industry” http://contexts.org/blog/trouble-in-the-nail-industry/

“How to Find a Good Mani-Pedi” http://www.wcwonline.org/Women-=-Books-Blog/manipedi”

Of Nails and Moms” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/motherwoman/of-nails-and-moms-should_b_7772394.html

“The Price of Nice Nails” by Sarah MaslinNir. New York Times. May 07, 2015

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/10/nyregion/at-nail-salons-in-nyc-manicurists-are-underpaid-and-unprotected.html?comments&_r=1


his article will explore the integralwork being done by two womenaround safe and ethical consump-

tion of consumer products, and toxics pro-liferation and exposure. Both women havebackgrounds in environmental science/studies, and are using their capacity eitherin the academy through research, or in advo-cacy through policy work to bring aware-ness to environmental degradation, toxins inthe environment, and humans’ safe relation-ship to the environment around them —which includes safe and healthy consump-tion of natural resources. They are ArleneBlum of Green Science Policy Institute andUC Berkley University, and MiriamDiamond of the University of Toronto.

Arlene BlumDr. Blum has been working on the

front lines of anti-toxics organizing sincethe 1970s, when her actions brought atten-tion to, and then led to regulation of cancer-causing chemicals in childrens’ pajamas.Nearly thirty years later, Dr. Blum discov-ered that many of the chemicals she hadrallied to have controlled or banned, werestill in fact being used in many day-to-dayproducts. Her concern and frustration ledto co-founding the Green Science PolicyInstitute (GSPI). The GSPI focuses onbringing science to the public, industries,retailers, and politicians. The organizationhas been instrumental in initiatives thatcreate safe standards for consumer prod-ucts and building materials, and createsawareness around toxic chemical expo-sure to humans and their effects on humanhealth. GSPI also works to promote saferalternatives and non-toxic options formany products, as the organization real-izes many chemicals are not actively reg-ulated by government.

A 2009 article in the Wall Street Journal

explains Dr. Blum’s intense involvementin this organizing: “She spends much ofher time conducting scientific research,writing papers, talking to governmentsand policy organizations, and conductingpublic-information campaigns to raiseawareness about toxins. She has alsorecently expanded her work to China,where she hopes to get manufacturers toreduce the use of toxic chemicals in con-sumer products exported world-wide.” In

her most recent article in Science, Dr.Blum explains the “Six Classes” of toxicchemicals that will be the focus of a GSPIcampaign advocating for a 50% reductionof the toxics over the next five years. Fourmajor businesses are mentioned as lead-ers in these toxic chemical reductions,which Dr. Blum hopes will create a“snowball effect” for other companies andbusinesses to take similar initiatives.

Miriam DiamondDr. Diamond is a professor of Earth

Sciences at the University of Torontowhose research looks to understand thecomplex pathways followed by chemicalcontaminants from emission, through tohow they move through the environment,and ultimately human and ecologicalexposure. Her research group at U of T isdedicated to finding ways to reduce harm-ful and toxic contaminants in the environ-ment. Outside of the lab, Dr. Diamond sitson the Scientific Expert Advisory Panelfor Environmental Defense, is on theboard of the Canadian Environmental

Law Association, is involved with theCanadian Chemical Management SciencePlan, and was the co-chair of Ontario’sToxic Reduction Scientific Expert Panel,which was an advisory to the Minister ofEnvironment, who brought in Ontario’sToxics Use Reduction Act in 2009. Dr.Diamond emphasizes that her role inenabling the Toxics Use Reduction Act tobe adopted and enacted was one of themost meaningful events of her career.

When we interviewed Dr. Diamond,she emphasized the differences betweenher work and that of Dr. Blum’s; Dr.Diamond identifies herself as a scientistwho takes a precautionary approach in herresearch and relies on evidence-based sci-ence for decision-making. Dr. Diamondpointed out that while Dr. Blum is trainedas a scientist, her most effective role inenvironmental and anti-toxics work haslargely been that of an advocate (or in thewords of Dr. Diamond, Dr. Blum is a“leading and extraordinarily effectiveadvocate”). This big difference is whatallows their relationship to be so powerfuland meaningful: Dr. Diamond explainedthat she creates and brings the toxin-relatedscience to Dr. Blum, and Dr. Blum “animates” it and brings it to policy andadvocacy tables in extremely effectiveand strategic ways.

Gender and ConsumptionWhen asked about gender specific

opportunities or burdens when it comes toproduct consumption and toxics avoid-

She Cares, She Researches,She Advocates By Julianne Kucheran

T

She has also recently expanded her work to China,where she hopes to get manufacturers to reduce theuse of toxic chemicals in consumer products exportedworld-wide.


ance, Dr. Diamond referred to the typicalassumption that women will be the carri-ers of greater responsibilities in caring fortheir families — whether that be organiz-ing grocery lists and meals, planningevents like vacations and birthday parties,or purchasing clothing and householditems. In each of these scenarios, Dr.Diamond points out that women bear theresponsibility as the consumers to navi-gate through the “minefield of the market-place”, with a plethora of conflictinginformation, as well as misinformation.

Dr. Diamond goes on to add, that inour current individualistic society, a con-sumer choice model becomes very prob-lematic because it has built-in inequities,and adds to the stress of making “the rightchoice”. Furthermore, many consumersmay assume that government has regula-tions and compliance monitoring in placethat will protect them from harmful toxicsubstances in consumer goods. While thecivil service works hard to enact evi-dence-based policies backed by compli-ance monitoring, Dr. Diamond explainsthat since the 1960s, production of con-sumer goods has become increasinglyglobalized, which leads to greater optionsin the marketplace, but less control overwhat may go into the products, whichcould be harmful to human health and theenvironment.

Contaminants and Toxics: Effects onPeople and the Environment

Dr. Diamond concluded with her con-cerns about how contaminants and toxicsmay affect peoples’ health and the healthof the environment, and what that maymean for consumption of products. Shementioned the potential connectionsbetween behavioural issues in childrensuch as ADHD, learning disabilities, andanxiety, and toxic substances found insuch products as internet and communica-tion technology, which are used daily bytoday’s youth. She also spoke of the sus-tainability issues when it comes to toxicchemicals in consumer products such aselectronics. When these products are cre-ated, used, stored, and then discarded, Dr.Diamond pointed out that there’s an enor-mous environmental price that has not

been factored in to the life cycle of theseproducts, which has become completelyunsustainable. For Dr. Diamond, thisleads to the path of exploring connectionsbetween sustainability, global health, eco-nomics, and technology in her work.

Julianne Kucheran is a Masters studentstudying healthy city and community planningwithin the Faculty of Environmental Studiesat York University. Julianne is a Vancouver,B.C. native and has grown up with a strongconnection to the land and waters around her.While studying her undergraduate degree inEnvironmental Sciences at Simon FraserUniversity, Julianne enjoyed a semester inWestern Australia studying environmental

health, as well as a semester in Haida Gwaii,BC studying resource and environmentalmanagement, with a strong focus onIndigenous ways of knowing.

References www.arleneblum.comhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlene_Blumwww.greensciencepolicy.orgWall St. Journal (Nov. 14, 2009)Science (March 11, 2016)http://www.miriamldiamond.com/lab.htmlwww.es.utoronto.ca/people/faculty/diamond-miriam/Personal Communication with MiriamDiamond, March 31, 2016.

Dr. Diamond points out that women bear the responsibility as the consumer to navigate through the “minefield of the marketplace”, with a plethora ofconflicting information, as well as misinformation.


any people are unaware thatapparel is the second dirtiestindustry for overall pollution after

oil! It’s also “dirty” for human impacts.After the Rana Plaza garment factory col-lapse in Bangladesh in 2013, FashionTakes Action (FTA), a Canadian non-profit focusing on sustainability in thefashion industry, was inundated withrequests to teach about the human andenvironmental impacts of fashion. This iswhen ‘My Clothes, My World’ was born.

My Clothes, My World is a grade 4-12program that takes a “behind the catwalk”look at fashion through the lens of envi-ronmental stewardship, social equity, andcraft. It is powerful because ‘tweens andteens care about their style and think a lotabout fashion. They also care deeplyabout creating a world that is fair and aplanet that is thriving. It’s a perfect matchfor teachers and students alike.

Since 2014, our program has beendelivered to almost 4000 students andteachers with rave reviews. Over thecourse of our full day program, studentsdissect fashion’s global supply chain andlearn not only about the problems of thefashion industry, but also how they canmake a positive difference with dailyactions at home and when they shop.Students end the workshop with an upcy-cling project — turning old t-shirts fromhome into funky bags and using the scrapsto make laces for jewellery.

But even before we arrive to facilitateour workshop, our topic has struck a per-sonal chord with the students. To set thestage for our day together, the class haswatched the Fifth Estate documentary,Made in Bangladesh, where they meet thetraumatized surviving workers of RanaPlaza and see brands they know in the

wreckage. According to the InternationalLabor Organization, “fashion is one of themost labour intensive industries, directlyemploying at least 60 million people.Women represent the overwhelmingmajority of today’s garment workers andartisans.” (Fashion Revolution Day, 2015)When the students watch the documen-tary, it’s like they’ve met one of thewomen who personally made shirts orshorts they are wearing. Later on in theday they have the opportunity to channel

any feelings of injustice they may have atthe treatment of garment workers, bynegotiating fair wages for them in a role-play. Our hope as facilitators is that theyhave connected the dots between the(mostly) women in the global fashion sup-ply chain and the true cost of the cute,sequined fast fashion t-shirts they “need”because they are 3 for $15, and that theyhave some new tools to make more posi-tive shopping decisions.

Making It PersonalStudents connect the dots between their Fast Fashionand the women who made their clothes

Sarah Peel, Program Director, Fashion Takes Action

M

‘My Clothes, My World’ facilitators, Shannon O’Harra, Sarah Peel, and Cassandra Ciarallo holding upcards from the Life Cycle of a Pair of Jeans activity.


The Big PictureIt is no secret that the fashion industry

is facing many challenges, including but notlimited to: the use of pesticides and fertiliz-ers to grow cotton; the highly toxic chemi-cals used to process and treat fabric; sweat-shops and unfair labour practices; enor-mous amounts of water required to makeclothing; the unethical disposal of contami-nated water; and the fast fashion frenzy thatis contributing to the growing number oftextiles that end up in landfill each year.(Read more on the state of the industry inIt’s Time for a Fashion Revolution WhitePaper, December 2015.)

At FTA we realize that perfection doesn’texist in any fashion brand or individualconsumer. There are still so many ques-tions and not enough answers; and thereare many ways for fashion businesses tobecome sustainable, and for consumers toreduce their impacts. Our goal is to presentindustry and consumers with fair and accu-rate information, and to build the capacityto make smart decisions and take actionwhere possible. If we all make one smallchange in the right direction — a responsi-ble direction — then collectively we believewe can effect a fashion revolution.

More on Fashion Takes ActionSince 2009, FTA has worked with

more than 300 apparel businesses andentrepreneurs, participated in over 50events, collaborated with academics andNGOs and received millions of mediaimpressions. We look forward to continu-ing in this way, providing support to ourgrowing membership base and continuingto raise awareness with the public. We areexcited about our annual industry confer-ence, WEAR (World Ethical ApparelRoundtable), our education program, MyClothes My World, which will soon be inschool boards across Canada, and DesignForward, our award celebrating the best ofCanada’s innovative and conscious fash-ion designers.

We achieve our goals through socialmedia and PR, public speaking engage-ments, conferences, working with stu-dents and teachers, hosting fashion shows,and participating in tradeshows. Webelieve it is just as important for con-

Grade 5 and 6 students record the wage results from “labour negotiations”. Students in groups of 5must decide who makes what proportion of the earnings from a $10 t-shirt.

Grade 7 and 8 students tie the bottom of their up-cycled t-shirt bag (and goof around with the scraps).


sumers to understand the Buy it to Votementality, and the power that they holdwithin their wallets. The more consumersdemand and pay for ethical, sustainablefashion, the quicker we can get to wherewe need to be.

A graduate of York University (EnvironmentalStudies) and the University of Toronto(Education), Sarah Peel is the ProgramDirector of Fashion Takes Action. She considers herself lucky to be doing such fun,diverse and meaningful work. In addition toher work with FTA, she also blogs and doespersonal wardrobe styling at Love Ur Layers,always with a focus on sustainable fashion.Grade 11 and 12 Fashion students cutting the handles and fringes for their new totes.

We believe it is just asimportant for consumersto understand the Buy it to Vote mentality, and thepower that they hold withintheir wallets.


or those committed to the reductionof toxins and toxic exposures in ourenvironments and workplaces, the

proliferation of discount nail salons acrossCanada over the past decade has been aworrisome trend. If the products used inthese salons were free of endocrine-disrupt-ing and carcinogenic chemicals, their wide-spread presence may not be a source of con-cern; one could argue that there is no inher-ent harm in body decoration, and the salonsprovide a ready source of work for growingnumbers of newcomer women. However,the harsh truth is that most discount nailsalons are unhealthy places to work.

The products used in many salons —polishes, enamels, gels, solvents, cuticlesofteners, and acrylics — contain a varietyof chemicals that put human health at risk(Nail Products and Polishes That ContainChemicals of Concern. Women’s Voicesfor the Earth). The major offenders includeformaldehyde, toluene and dibutylphtha-late (“The Toxic Trio”), acrylamide, ace-tone, ethyl and methyl methacrylate. Thereis no definitive list to target because man-ufacturers are not required to label cos-metic products — an issue of concern forthose trying to research the health effectsof these chemicals. Health problems asso-ciated with the physical contact andinhalation of chemicals in nail salon prod-ucts range from dermatological (differentforms of dermatitis, hives), to respiratory(asthma, Reactive Airway DysfunctionSyndrome), to reproductive health issues(miscarriage, infertility, low birth weight,neuro-developmental problems), to cancer(breast, ovarian, uterine, bladder, lung, andnon-Hodgkin’s lymphoma).

At the National Network on Environ-ments and Women’s Health (NNEWH) atYork University in Toronto, we have beenresearching the impact of chemical expo-sures on women’s health for close to ten

years. As a policy-based women’s healthresearch centre, our focus has been onexamining the gender-based policy impli-cations of chemical exposures and thedirect impact to women’s health resultingfrom decisions made at various govern-ment levels. Our focus on chemicals wasin part a response to the establishment ofCanada’s Chemicals Management Plan,launched by the federal Departments ofHealth and the Environment in 2006(Canada’s Chemical’s Management Plan).

Research on the risk of breast cancer

for women working in the plastics sectorof Canada’s auto industry led NNEWH toconsider other occupational settings wherewomen are continually exposed to haz-ardous chemicals, such as those of the nailsalon industry. At the same time that ourinterest was drawn to this issue, staff atToronto’s Queen West-Central TorontoCHC (QW-CTCHC), were noticing moreand more women who worked in nailsalons coming in with skin and respiratoryproblems. The QW-CTCHC subsequentlysought funding for educational interven-

Healthy Nail Salon Network (Toronto)Building a Coalition for Change

By Anne Rochon Ford

F “...certain women benefitfrom the intimate body and emotional labor of otherwomen at great cost to boththose who serve them and thegoal of more egalitarianrelations — not just betweenwomen and men, but betweenwomen across multipleboundaries of race, class,immigration and citizenship.”

Miliann Kang, The Managed Hand:

Race, Gender and the Body in Beauty

Service Work, p.13

Illustrated for the Healthy Nail SalonNetwork by Bjoern Arthurs

Source: National Network onEnvironments and Women’s Health


tions aimed at improving the safety ofworking conditions in Toronto nail salons.

In 2014, we were fortunate to be able toteam up with the health promotion staff atQW-CTCHC, who hired a number of nailtechnicians as Peer Health Workers to holdfocus groups with a larger group of nailsalon workers. The health promotion staffidentified early that the best way to reachnail technicians in their workplaces wasthrough a train-the-trainer approach withother nail technicians. They also recognizedthe importance of taking an inter-sectionalapproach that was sensitive to issues of gen-der as well as racialized identities, language,immigration, and the income status of thisparticularly vulnerable group of workers.

Nail salon workers in discount salonsin Toronto are typically — although notexclusively — newcomer women fromChina and Vietnam. They work primarilyin small businesses where many experi-ence precariousness in labour practices;salons may be owned by a family memberor friend. Many receive their training onthe job, making nail salons an easy entrypoint to the workforce for women new toCanada. Their command of English isoften limited, as is their awareness of howto protect themselves on the job andknowledge of their rights as workers(Information obtained from a focus groupconducted by Linor David in 2014:http://ctchc.org/wp-content/uploads/Focus-Group-Summary.pdf).

NNEWH and the Queen West CTCHCcombined efforts in 2015 to form Toronto’sHealthy Nail Salon Network (HNSN), acollaborative coalition of nail technicians,salon owners, non-profit and governmentagencies, and researchers with the unitedfocus of improving the health and safety ofnail salons. We have been inspired andencouraged by the work of the CaliforniaHealthy Nail Salon Collaborative(http://www.cahealthynailsalons.org/),which has been working for more than 10years to improve the health of nail salonsfor both workers and users. Rather thantaking a purely punitive approach againstthose who violate regulations, the focus inCalifornia has been to encourage participa-tion in a healthier nail salon movement,with support from state and municipal leg-

islators. The Toronto network has beenequally committed to this approach, and toensuring that the voices of women whowork in salons are at the forefront of anydiscussions for change.

The current focus of the HNSN is thereproductive health of women who workin nail salons. Concern about pregnancyand the effects of chemical exposure wasraised by nail technicians in a 2014 focusgroup. While the scientific literature onthis issue is slim, many feel that enoughis known to warrant caution (Rochon Ford2015). For example, some of the chemicalsused in nail salon products are endocrinedisruptors, which have been shown in ani-mal research to cause birth anomalies inanimal offspring exposed in utero. Inrelated human research, a study of salonworkers by Garlantezec showed higherrates of oral clefts, urinary tract malfor-mations, and male genital malformationsin the children who had been exposed tosolvents in utero (Garlantezec et al. 2009).Other research has found that womenworking in nail salons are at higher riskfor having spontaneous abortions (miscar-riages) and low birth weight babies(Herdt-Losavio et al. 2009).

One nail technician the HNSN workswith commented that, of her friends whodo nails for a living, 7 out of 10 have expe-rienced miscarriages. Coming from China,she pointed out the cruel irony of how herhome country’s recently-eliminated one-child policy contrasted with Canada —where people can have as many childrenas they like but may find themselves injobs that put their reproductive health at risk.

In Toronto, and across Canada, regula-tory standards addressing ventilation,chemical exposures, and the licensing andmonitoring of nail salons, are weak.Working with municipal, provincial, andfederal regulators is an ongoing priority ofthe HNSN. We also know that workingsimultaneously with the public is a criticalfactor in making change. Customers whoregularly use the services of discount nailsalons are also exposing themselves totoxic substances that may ultimately affecttheir health. By encouraging salon ownersto improve conditions in their salons (betterventilation, better working conditions for

their technicians, purchasing of less toxicproducts) everyone wins. Customers mustalso be encouraged to advocate for thesechanges not just within individual salonsbut to the governments that oversee them.

We recognize that while immediatechange can be made to improve conditionsin individual salons through educationalefforts, we ultimately will not see wide-spread improvement until change occursacross government levels. Healthy nailsalons will only be realized when munici-pal licensing of salons is tightened, ade-quate ventilation is a condition of opening asalon, occupational health and safety fornail salon workers is legislated, and thetoxic chemicals used in nail products havebeen phased out or banned. Although thebanning of toxic chemicals is a more chal-lenging change to make, other jurisdictionshave shown that all these measures are pos-sible — if the will exists to take them. Fromthe ground up, Toronto’s Healthy NailSalon Network is working to build momen-tum and make these changes a reality.

Anne Rochon Ford is a long-time women’shealth writer, researcher, advocate, and Co-Director of the National Network onEnvironments and Women’s Health. She isthe author of A Path Not Strewn with Roses:100 Years of Women at the University ofToronto and co-editor of The Push toPrescribe: Women and Canadian Drug Policy.

References

Ford, Anne Rochon (2015). Overexposed,Underinformed: Nail Salon Workers andHazards to their Health/A Review of theLiterature. National Network onEnvironments and Women’s Health. http://www.cwhn.ca/sites/default/files/lit%20review%20Jan%202015.pdf

Garlantezec, R., Monfort, C., Rouget, F.,and Cordier, S. (2009). Maternal occupa-tional exposure to solvents and congeni-tal malformations: A prospective study inthe general population. Occupational andEnvironmental Medicine, 66: 456-463.

Herdt-Losavio, M.L., Lin, S., Druschel, C.M.,Hwang, S.A., Mauer, M.P., and Carlson,G.A. (2009). The risk of having a low birthweight or preterm infant among cosme-tologists in New York State. MaternalChild Health Journal, 13(1): 90-97.


n the face of growing health concernsrelated to the foods we eat, consumersare being asked to take responsibility by

deciding which products to purchase andwhich to avoid. An example of this recentform of activism is starting to catch on inrelation to canned foods. Canned goodscontain an inside lining meant to protectfrom rusting and corrosion (Cao et al,2004). This lining, called an epoxy resin,contains the industrial chemical bisphenolA or BPA, an endocrine disruptor that hasalso been linked to breast cancer (Vogel,2009). Consumer awareness on the healththreat of BPA in canned goods is growingwith the aid of recent publications likeBuyer Beware, a joint collaborationbetween six organizations and campaignsaimed at informing buyers about thehealth threat of canned goods. Pressurefrom consumers has meant that canbrands like Campbell’s and Del Montehave promised to transition away fromusing BPA in their products. But cannedgoods also pose a health threat to workerswithin the canning industry who have noprotection from constant BPA exposure inthe workplace. There is a particular risk towomen’s health present, as women’s hor-mones, along with timing of exposure anddifferences in biological factors leavethem more vulnerable than their malecounterparts (Arbuckle, 2006).

In Canada, there are 8,894 workers inthe fruit and vegetable canning, pickling,and drying industry (Industry Canada,n.d), many of them working in southwest-ern Ontario, while in the United States,173,000 people are employed in theindustry, with women making up 32% ofthe employees (Bureau of Labor Statistics,2016). There are currently no occupation-al exposure limits for BPA within theworkplace, either in Canada or the US;however,tolerable daily intake levelsexist, and are meant to protect consumersfrom ingesting BPA through food. The

Canned GoodsBy Amanda Smiljkovic

I

ILLUSTRATIONS PAGES 41, 42: HTTP://WWW.TOXICFOODCANS.ORG/


presence of exposure limits for consumersand not for workers highlights a major

gap in protection with respect to thehealth threat posed by BPA. Consumers

must take action in order for worker’ssafety to be considered, and buyers mustbegin to be conscious about the healthrisks that are present in the industry — notsimply the risks they face, but the threatthat exists for workers as well. Ethicaldecision-making then means taking abroader lens that can demand that toxicsare taken out of all can liners, rather thansimply getting the right information sothat consumers can avoid certain brands.

Amanda Smiljkovic is an undergraduate student at the Faculty of EnvironmentalStudies at York University, and her interest is in using social media and pop culture as a tool to explore and spread awareness ofenvironmental health and justice issues.

References

Arbuckle, T. E. (2006). Are There Sex and Gender Differences in Acute Exposure toChemicals in the Same Setting? Environmental Research, 101(2).Pp. 195-204.

Bureau of Labor Statistics.(2016). Labor Force Statistics from the Current PopulationSurvey. Retrieved Feb 27, 2016 from http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat18.htm

Cao, X-L., Perez-Locas, C., Dufresne, G., Clement, Clement, G., Popovic, S., Beraldin, F.,Dabeka, R.W., Feeley, M. (2011). Concentrations of Bisphenol A in the Composite FoodSamples from the 2008 Canadian Total Diet Study in Quebec City and Dietary IntakeEstimates. Food Additives and Contaminants, 28(6).Pp. 791-798

Industry Canada (n.d). Fruit and Vegetable Canning, Pickling and Drying (NAICS 33142):Employment. Retrieved Nov 11, 2015 from https://www.ic.gc.ca/app/scr/sbms/sbb/cis/employment.html?code=31142&lang=eng

Vogel, S. A. (2009). The Politics of Plastics: The Making and Unmaking of Bisphenol A

“Safety”. American Journal of Public Health, 99(3).Pp 559-566.


By Anne Swannell

Happy Birthday, Girl!

It’s your birthday, and he’s sent flowers.Place the bouquet on the glass coffee table, under the window.Go to the kitchen to find a suitable vase.

In an hour or so, there’s a desperate little noise—coming from inside the bouquet?Part the blossoms, the greenery, and find—the size of your baby finger—a fledgling hummingbird, its feet stuck to the tape on the cellophane the flowers were wrapped in.As the little body comes to life in the warmth of your room it calls frantically! For nectar! For its parents!

How cautiously you free the wire-thin feet from the cellophane!How trepidatiously you hold the tiny bird in your hand!

How carefully you put it in a box with a warm towel and close the flaps! How vigilantly you go down in the elevator, get in the car, and carry the desperation-filled box in to Wild Arc,where they feed it with their smallest syringe.

Searching at home, you find an unbelievably-small nest of mossclinging to the salal florists useto bulk up arrangements like this, make them lookas though you got more than you paid for.

You imagine that tiny creature in the fridge in the back of the shopfor several days without food, its metabolism slowedto the point of near-death. You picture ittravelling in a refrigerated truck to arrive at the fifth floorof your condo— and now there’s the telephone—

how quickly that little bird has learned to sip from the wild currant’s pendulous pink trumpets! Anne Swannell lives in Victoria,

BC, where she writes, paints,makes mosaics, and is a scenicpainter/set-designer for local theatre companies.


In Print

n December 2015, Canada’s newly-elected Liberal government launched anational inquiry into the murder and

disappearance of Indigenous women andgirls from across the country. This inquiryfollows extensive grassroots awareness-building around the issue, and numerousreports and studies on violence towardsIndigenous women in Canada.

Amidst this increasing visibility ofmissing and murdered Indigenous womenas a matter of public concern, LoriShenher’s powerful personal account ofthe investigation of serial killer RobertPickton was published. In 2007, Picktonwas convicted of six counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to life inprison; the DNA or remains of 33 womenwere found on his pig farm. Many ofthese women were Indigenous.

Shenher, a former Vancouver policedetective, took the lead on the now infa-mous Missing and Murdered Womeninvestigation in 1998. It is no small matterthat within a week of her assignment, shereceived an anonymous tip namingPickton as an arrogant killer. This began adifficult 14-year journey to solve the casesand convict Pickton, and then relive theprocess in public for the 2012 MissingWomen Commission of Inquiry.

Besides detailing her role in, and frus-trations with the investigation, whichfaced repeated institutional failures,Shenher provides insight into her result-ing mental health struggles. Her futile

attempts to pursue justice in the face ofsystemic indifference, and her efforts toremain accountable to an increasing num-ber of victims and families, eventuallyresulted in depression and post-traumaticstress disorder. Shenher is upfront aboutthe toll of mental illness on her personaland professional life. However, whilesharing her personal story, Shenher takespains to acknowledge that what she hasendured as a result of this investigationpales in comparison to the experiences ofvictims and their families. “The tragedy,”Shenher writes, “is the cataclysmicdemise of far too many disenfranchisedwomen.” The book is her attempt to “pur-sue the deeper truth behind the causes ofthis tragedy and the myriad ways the sys-tem failed to protect vulnerable people.”

The reader is taken on Shenher’s jour-ney within the world of law enforcement,and bears witness to troubling systemicattitudes of sexism, racism, and generalprejudice against marginalized membersof society. Her account is at times upset-ting to read, but Shenher’s storytellingremains clear and humble throughout, andher writing is emotionally honest withoutbecoming sentimental. Unlike some truecrime stories, this book does not sensa-tionalize the events in question, andremains grounded through Shenher’s con-nection with the missing and murderedwomen and their advocates. Interspersedthroughout the story are letters written tovarious victims with whom Shenher had a

relationship. Here, she speaks to them,and in doing so provides a window intothe lives and personalities of these womenand the people who refused to let the sys-tem forget them.

A compelling read, the story of thisinvestigation is in turns disturbing, shock-ing, and disheartening. The sense of pow-erlessness it conveys in the face of deep-rooted discrimination can be simultane-ously infuriating and overwhelming.Shenher’s account serves as a reminderthat we have a long way to go in seekingequity and justice for women in Canada.It also highlights the importance of indi-vidual and collective action in support ofpeople who face violence, stigma, poverty,and institutionalized sexism, classism, andracism. In our current political climate ofIslamophobia, backlash against refugees,civilian protests that Black Lives Matter,and a federal government promising torenew relationships with Indigenous peo-ples, this book raises timely questions ofsystemic accountability, personal respon-sibility, and the need for social change inthe pursuit of justice.

Katherine Chung is a Master’s student in the Faculty of Environmental Studies, YorkUniversity. Her research interests includeissues of social and environmental justice inthe context of food and water systems, andthe use of popular education praxis to disrupt power structures that foster inequity.

That Lonely Section of HellThe Botched Investigation of a Serial Killer Who Almost Got Away

By Lori ShenherGreystone Books Ltd. — Vancouver/Berkeley, 2015348 pages, list price $32.95 CAD

Review by Katherine Chung

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ur everyday realities are shaped bychemical exposures, and DaynaNadine Scott, editor of the book

Our Chemical Selves, illustrates this onboth a micro and macro level. Each chap-ter of the four-part book examines a spe-cific issue related to chemical exposuresand walks readers through how commonchemical exposures are in our lives. Fromtap water to manufacturing we are allimpacted and the four parts that comprisethe book: Consuming Chemicals; Routesof Women’s Exposures; Hormones as theMessengers of Gender?; and Consumptionin the Production Process are well assem-bled and encompass essays that are com-plimentary and in conversation with eachother. The book features essays from avariety of contributors from a multitude offields including law, public policy, scienceand social services. The chapters in thebook range from pieces on the genderedhealth impacts of drinking tap water toanalysis of plastic industry workers andbreast cancer risk.

Scott’s curating of the four parts seam-lessly highlights the processes by whichchemical exposures produce detrimentalimpacts to our lives. The collection ofessays broken down into four parts bril-liantly covers a breadth of topics under theumbrella of the intersecting subjects ofgender, toxins and environmental health.One of the most notable parts of this col-lection is the push beyond many main-stream water discourses. This book keepsan intersectional analysis with gender as abackbone to the essays but also incorpo-rates the social, political and economicdimensions which impacts our lived reali-

ties and the subsequent chemical produc-tion, exposures and consumption.

Our Chemical Selves exceeds typicalanalysis of environmental toxins, empha-sizing the disproportionate genderedimpact of chemical exposures in additionto transcending traditional analysis. By theend of the book, readers will also under-stand the political economy that underliestoxin exposures but also the prevalence ofsuch chemical exposures in marginalizedcommunities. Although chemical expo-sures harm everyone, Scott’s collectionhighlights the ways in which class, ethnic-ity, socioeconomic status and Indigeneityare social locations where people who aremost vulnerable are harmed excessively.Our Chemical Selves speaks to the inter-connectedness of our lives with toxins andhow this entrenched relationship renders

overwhelmingly disastrous health out-comes. This book is not a mere critiquebut a harnessing of key informant and cit-izen voices to make us all rethink every-day interactions with chemicals.

Nashwa Khan’s work has been published ina variety of places including Vice, Rewire,This Magazine, and The New York Times.She is currently enrolled in the Masters ofEnvironmental Studies at York Universitywith areas of concentration focused on narrative medicine, community and publichealth.

Our Chemical SelvesGender, Toxins and Environmental Health

Edited by Dayna Nadine ScottUBC Press 2015436 pages, list price $39.95 paperback

Review by Nashwa Khan

O


fter taking on the corporate andbrand bullies in No Logo and TheShock Doctrine, Naomi Klein

tackles climate change in This ChangesEverything: Capitalism vs. The Climate.While there are still many who believe theclimate problem will solve itself or thattechnology will save us as shown in mostArmageddon films, the increasing numberof natural disasters and human healthissues demonstrates that this is not thecase. At a time when climate changedenial is a booming industry, Klein facesthe problem head-on. She delves deep intothe complex connections between govern-ments, corporations, and the average con-sumer, and outlines solutions that everycitizen can partake in. This book is essen-tial. The need for change is pressing andincreasingly more people are directlyaffected by global warming and are look-ing for a change.

Klein offers us a complete analysis ofthe climate change problem on a globalscale, critiquing the capitalist philosophyof making money at any cost, be it humanor ecological. She clarifies numerousfacets of the issue, such as environmentalorganizations that serve capitalist inter-ests, free-trade agreements, carbon cred-its, propaganda, environmental summits,and technological solutions. Klein arguesthat a huge economic reform is necessaryif we are to minimize the climate’s immi-nent, disastrous, and world-encompassingchanges. She gives concrete examples ofplaces like Denmark and Germany whichhave shown that changing our oil-depen-dent economy does not cripple it, butstrengthens it by creating more jobs. The

change to a sustainable world is not onlyfeasible, Klein maintains, but economicallyprofitable.

This Changes Everything calls on usto stop looking away and face climatechange for what it is, an urgent, full-blown crisis. The author acknowledgesthe fear induced by doing this and pre-scribes taking action as an anecdote topanic. We need to view climate change asa catalyst, as a potentially galvanizingforce for the creation of better, safer, andmore just societies. In fact, climate actionis inextricable from social justiceactivism, since global warming is aninjustice caused primarily by the privi-leged and affecting first and foremost theunderprivileged. Klein dedicates the lastportion of her book to examples of cli-mate action movements from all aroundthe world; numerous groups organizinglocally to stop extraction companies,Indigenous groups protesting for theirrights to clean water, and farmers fightingfor their land. These groups fight for theirown water, air, food, and thus survival,but in fact, they are all fighting the samefight — the fight for environmental jus-tice, against climate change, and againstthe current social and economic systemsthat allow it to continue.

Klein advocates for a network, a move-ment of many movements. By bringingtogether not only environmentalists, butworkers, unions, Indigenous peoples, anti-racism groups, students, and other alliances,governments would be forced to listen tothe demands for a safe future for all,regaining leverage of banks and corpora-tions, implementing regulations at every

level, and switching societies to renew-able energies.

This is a guidebook to climate change— a long read that deals in depth with allthe players involved in global warming —consumers, corporations, governments,and environmental organizations. It isjam-packed with information, examples,anecdotes, so everyone has something tolearn from it. Klein accomplishes a finebalancing act. Her rigorous investigationis nonetheless personal. Her presentationof frightening circumstances inspires hopeand courage. This is a must-read, even ifjust partially, perhaps flipping to the chap-ters most relevant to you. And if neverthe-less, the size of the book intimidates you,there’s always This Changes Everything— the film.

Ana-Maria Nistor is a student in YorkUniversity’s Master of Education program.Her interest in changing our society’s dependence on carbon is taking her toFreiburg, Germany where she will completea case study of one of the world’s most sustainable cities.

This Changes EverythingCapitalism vs. The Climate

By Naomi KleinKnopf Canada 2014566 pages, $36.95 CAD hardcover

Review by Ana-Maria Nistor

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In Film

n a vividly alarming documentary,Cosima Dannoritzer describes the glob-al tragedy that is electronic waste. By

tracking the journey of several environ-mental activists worldwide, Dannoritzerdraws powerful conclusions concerningthe interconnected responsibility ofnations to internalize the shocking social,environmental and economic impactsresulting from global e-waste.

The journey starts with environmentaljournalist, Mike Anane, as we see how dis-carded computer equipment from variousorganizations in the UK has turned up inMike’s homeland, Ghana. Despite thepresence of agreements like the 1989Basel Convention, which bans the sale ortrade of hazardous waste materials (includ-ing e-waste), and recycling laws, regula-tions and levies on electronic equipment,the lack of enforcement, awareness andseaport auditors means millions of tons ofe-waste, generated in developed countries,finds its way to underdeveloped and devel-oping nations. This e-waste pollutes localecosystems and leaves many residents toclean up the toxic mess, exposing them toa cocktail of cancer-inducing and hor-mone-disrupting chemicals.

Despite conscious consumers playingtheir part in delivering unwanted appli-ances to collection points or retailers,Dannoritzer unveils the alarming statisticthat 67% of European e-waste nevermakes it to a recycling plant, and uncov-ers a disturbing shadow economy thatsees 50% of UK e-waste being sold on theblack market. Dannoritzer follows thestory of Belén Ramos, Senior Environ-mental Project Manager from Organization

of Consumers and Users (OCU) whoimplanted trackers into several wasteappliances before handing them to collec-tion points around Spain. Her findings aredevastatingly clear; despite being legallydeposited at collection points, trackersshowed that appliances were often stolen,dismantled to extract useful pieces, thendiscarded in abandoned plots, with thevaluable materials being sold to scrapdealers on the black market.

By exposing an underground ring offake recycling and treatment facilities inoperation around the world, Dannoritzerbrings to the forefront the desperate needfor enforced regulation and robust moni-toring to address the illegal acquisition ofe-waste. Evolving technology and innova-tive circumvention strategies often meansthat illicit trade largely happens through

The E-Waste Tragedy Director: Cosima DannoritzerProducer: Joan Ubeda2014

Review by Jenessa Doherty

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legal channels, including container ship-ping and ground transportation.

This story is not unique to Europe, asthe focus turns to Lai Yun, a GreenpeaceChina activist investigating the route of e-waste containers that make their way tomainland China. Here we are introducedto a terrifying underground industry,where illicit microchips, intended to besold on the black market, are acquiredthrough “burn-and-sniff” sorting and acidbath separation techniques — all done inthe outside environment without protec-tive equipment or any form of chemicalcontainment. The microchips, found inalmost all technological devices from carsand planes to phones and computers, arerefurbished and sold as new, having thepotential to create catastrophic conse-quences since their diminished capacitycauses them to become defective withoutwarning.

The E-waste Tragedy depicts the gorydetails of an industry-gone-wrong throughinconsistent regulatory regimes, corrup-tion, poverty and the wilful ignorance ofgoverning bodies. The insidious evolutionof a design-for-the-dump culture, hasresulted in a materials economy thatdefines success by the number of unitssold. But despite highlighting the dangersthis growing e-waste epidemic presents,Dannoritzer challenges us, as consumers,to question the role we play in thistragedy. She suggests that stopping thecycle starts with questioning what drivesour need for the latest models or newdevices when only components are need-ed, or simply the need for ownership inand of itself. Perhaps it is only when westart to challenge this vicious cycle, thatwe can begin making meaningful progressin stopping this e-waste tragedy once andfor all.

Jenessa Doherty is a Masters candidate inthe Environmental Studies Program at YorkUniversity where she is currently conductingresearch into Responsible Business andGreening Supply Chains. She is a passionateenvironmental advocate who has spent over20 years coaching and teaching students ofall ages in communities around the world.

ainted Nails is a film about onewoman’s journey towards enlight-enment and empowerment based

on her experience of working in her ownnail salon business. This inspiring filmfollows Van on a journey from a self-con-fessed shy woman to one who testifiesbefore the U.S. Congress.

Open 7 days a week, New York Nails,based in San Francisco is a busy place.Theowner Van Hoang, a Vietnamese immi-grant, and her husband, spend 12 hours aday at the salon, only going home to sleep.Hard work is nothing new to Van’s familywhere her mother ran her own business tosupport her family. Van dropped out ofschool early to help waking up at 3am tocarry the heavy loads of pho soup to themarket. But her own dreams were realisedwhen she opened her salon.

Synthetic nails are attached with gluethen painted or sprayed using an air brush,a technique which Van’s husband spe-cialises in at the salon. Van notes, as she

talks about some of the toxic ingredientsshe applies to a customer’s nails, that heronly protection is a dust mask. One of theproducts used in this process is dangerousfor children and burns the skin instantlyon contact.

While there seems to be some aware-ness among customers that the salon is anunhealthy place for children, many bringtheir toddlers with them to have their nailspainted. “Mani-pedi parties” are very pop-ular with children as young as 6. WhileVan is aware her job is toxic, she feels shehas few options due to lack of formal edu-cation. But she doesn’t want her daughterto work in the salon.

We are given a brief insight into thelives of a diverse range of women comingto get their nails done. A simple painting andbuffing makes them feel pampered and fem-inine. It gives them a sense of accomplish-ment, inch-long nails being an extension ofthemselves, a form of self-expression. It’sironic that women see this harmful beauty

PAINTED NAILS A documentary

Directors/Producers: Dianne Griffin and Erica Jordan with DigAll Media Associate Producer: Nhung Pham2016

Review by Helen Lynn

P

It’s ironic thatwomen see thisharmful beauty

practice as something that will

enhance their femininity or makethem feel valued

when it can in factdamage their

health.PHOTOGRAPH: PAINTED NAILS DIGALL MEDIA 2016 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED


practice as something that will enhance theirfemininity or make them feel valued whenit can in fact damage their health.

At just over $30 for a mani-pedi, self-expression is big business. In the US $8.54billion was spent on nail services in 2014.

Halfway through the film we find outthat Van has had two miscarriages and ispregnant again. Maybe it is this that pro-vokes her to attend a town hall meetingorganised by the California Healthy NailSalon Collaborative (CHNSC) to supporta state ordinance for change in nail salons.The film follows her ultimate testimonyto congress in Washington calling for theintroduction of the Safe Cosmetics andPersonal Care Products Act.

San Francisco is the first city to intro-duce the Healthy Nail Salon RecognitionOrdinance which offers official recognitionto salons which stop using products con-taining the ‘Toxic Trio’ and protects nailsalon workers and their patrons. This iscredited to the work done by the CHNSCwhich helps identify and raise awarenessabout toxic free products.

At the Congressional hearing we hearabout the effects that Van’s work has had onher health, most worryingly about her mis-carriages. She asks that the legislation ispassed to make all cosmetics products safeand so she doesn’t have to work in fear. In2015 the Personal Care Products Act wasintroduced in the United States for the firsttime. The bill legislates that public disclosureof all ingredients is required on cosmetics,including all professional salon products.

This is a must-see film for anyoneworking in the nail salon industry and forcustomers who use nail salon services.

Helen Lynn has worked on issues linkingwomen, health and the environment since1995, initially at the Women’s EnvironmentalNetwork then as a freelance researcher. Shefacilitates the Alliance for Cancer Preventionand is a Visiting Researcher at theOccupational and Environmental HealthResearch group, University of Stirling.

hat is the true cost of today’s fastfashion? This is the questionAndrew Morgan explores in his

film The True Cost, which provides afirst-hand account of the devastating hid-den truths behind the second most pollut-ing industry on earth — an industry thatis second only to oil.

Morgan presents a number of shock-ing statistics that helps to put the fashionindustry into context: One in every sixpeople works in some aspect of the globalfashion industry, making it the mostlabour-dependent industry on our planet.Today we purchase over 80 billion piecesof clothing each year, a 400% increasefrom just two decades ago. Yet in this 3trillion dollar, globally dominating indus-try, cutting corners and disregarding safe-ty measures have become an acceptedpart of a business model that functions ina profit-oriented economic structure. Wehave reached the era of fast fashion, whereclothing trends are taken from the catwalkto store racks with excessive speed andunprecedented turnover. This requiresquick and cheap suppliers in order to offerconsumers the newest trends at lowprices, encouraging a relentlessly continu-ous shift in new products and clothinglines. The United States, for example, wasmanufacturing 95% of their clothing upuntil the 1960s. In a country that currentlyproduces an average of 11 million tons oftextile waste every year, the U.S. nowonly makes 3% of its clothing, leaving 97%to be outsourced to developing countries.

Around the world, the supply chain isthe same. Prominent Western brands suchas the Gap, Zara, Target, and H&M (thesecond-largest corporation in history) out-source their production to developing

nations with low-cost economies wherewages are low, human rights are constantlyabused, and environmental regulation isessentially non-existent. Since the bigbrands do not officially employ the work-ers or own any of the factories, they areable to intensify production at morallydepriving rates and continue to profit,while remaining free of the responsibilityof poverty wages, factory and environ-mental disasters, and the violent mistreat-ment and abuse of workers.

From the garment factories of Bang-ladesh and Cambodia to the clothing land-fills of Haiti, and the cotton fields and leatherfactories of India, Morgan demonstratesthe disastrous social and environmentalconsequences of this ever-expanding

industry. The 2013 tragedy at Rana Plazain Bangladesh, where a factory that wasalready deemed unsafe collapsed (killingover 1,000 employees) exemplifies thereality of garment workers’ conditions.Bangladesh is home to four million gar-ment factory workers — 85% of whomare women, working for poverty wages.The hardships brought about by the fastfashion movement were also demonstrat-ed in Punjab, India, where intensive pesti-cide use causes devastating health impacts,

The True Cost Director: Andrew MorganProducer: Michael Ross 2015

Review by Sophia Sanniti

W

The 2013 tragedy at Rana Plazain Bangladesh, where a factory

that was already deemedunsafe collapsed (killing over1,000 employees) exemplifies

the reality of garment workers’ conditions.


including cancer, birth defects, and mentalillnesses. The little income farmers earnfrom their crops leaves them incapable ofaffording treatment or repaying theirfinancial debts. In light of this, a record-ed 250,000 farmer suicides have occurredin India over the last 16 years (one suicideevery 30 minutes), making it the largestwave of recorded suicides in history.

The complex supply chain of the fastfashion industry allows the most vulnera-ble and least compensated to absorb therisks, while the corporate giants reap therewards. But Morgan illuminates a connec-tion that brings clothing producers andconsumers together by highlighting theimpacts of a model built on careless pro-duction and endless consumption. As thefilm concludes, Morgan finds that the man-date of profit at all costs is beginning tostand in direct opposition to the values thatwe share as a global society. We are giventhe illusion of wealth by the low prices ofclothing, and millions of dollars are spenton advertising to encourage the belief thathappiness is based on an increase in mater-ial possessions. This manufactured belief isnot only mistaken (the more materialisticthe values, the more depressed and anxiousthe individual); it is destroying our envi-ronment and causing horrifying social con-sequences globally. Morgan notes that, asconsumers, we must be critical of ourassumptions and actions, and realize thepower each and every shopper has tochange how this model functions.

All consumers can be activists, and it is

essential for the health of our planet andfuture generations that we demand a fair andequitable production line, as we realize thetrue scope of impact our shopping habitshave on our shared and common home.

While Morgan delivers an empower-ing message to his film’s viewers, influ-ence on the future of this industry shouldnot be limited to the consumer at the cashregister. Instead, it is most impactful toenact changes at the policy level. This isof particular relevance since the fastest-growing demand for apparel between2008-2013 was in China, Eastern Europe,India, Turkey, and Brazil; not, in fact, theconsumer audience targeted in True Cost.It was found that garment exports fromBangladesh to other poor regions havegrown by up to 50% per year, and theshare of consumption from wealthyWesternized nations is expected to shrinkas the nature of demand shifts to accom-modate poor yet populated regions of theworld (Hobbes 2016). True Cost’s mes-sage, while certainly crucial, might bemore relevant to the countries striving toreach Westernized incomes and lifestyleswhile lacking the proper regulating insti-tutional infrastructures. Having more strin-gent policies around manufacturing,labour, health and safety, and environmen-tal concern can result in more positive sys-temic effects on the workers and the land,shifting towards a long-term outlook ofsustainability and justice that limits abu-sive and dangerous practices. Increasingregulations and accountability allows for

institutional integrity that protects andcares for its citizens. It is not just aboutmaking educated consumer choices, butthe elimination of all harmful alternatives.

Sophia Sanniti is currently completing aMasters in Environmental Studies at YorkUniversity with a core focus in ecologicaleconomics. Sophia plans to investigate theunconscious motivations behind capitalaccumulation, and to explore alternatives to our structurally pro growth economy (and society) in order to align human activitywithin the finite limits of our biosphere.

References

Hobbes, M (2016). ‘The myth of the ethicalshopper’. The Huffington Post. http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/the-myth-of-the-ethical-shopper/

To learn more and take action, visitwww.truecostmovie.com

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In the News

n October of 2015, Dr. Vandana Shiva— the internationally-renowned author,scientist, eco-feminist, and environ-

mental activist – visited Toronto. In townto accept an Eco-Hero Award from thePlanet in Focus Environmental FilmFestival, Dr. Shiva was being recognizedfor the significance of her work to raiseawareness on environmental issues. Eachyear, Planet in Focus names bothCanadian and International Eco-Heroes,and this was the first time that all hon-orees were women. The presentation ofthe Eco-Hero Award was part of a specialpublic event, where Dr. Shiva gave akeynote address to an enthusiastic audi-ence in a crowded auditorium. The fol-lowing day, Dr. Shiva was part of a speakerseries hosted by the Faculty of Environ-mental Studies at York University. We hadthe good fortune of attending both ofthese inspiring and informative events.

The large audience at the award pre-sentation collectively hung on her everyword, sporadically breaking into applause;the excitement was palpable. The moreintimate university event was also well-attended by eager students and facultymembers. Dr. Shiva’s warm personalityand vibrant energy shone through in bothinstances, complementing the articulatepassion with which she spoke.

Themes that recur throughout Dr.Shiva’s work include biodiversity, indige-nous knowledges, social justice, agricul-ture and water issues, and the problems ofgenetic engineering and corporate-ledglobalization. Her talks in Torontofocused on several of these themes, focus-ing especially on seed-related biodiversity.In describing her preoccupation withseeds, Dr. Shiva shared a vow: “The rest ofmy life will be dedicated to saving seedfreedom.” Viewing the saving and distrib-

ution of seeds as a duty, Dr. Shiva found-ed Navdanya — meaning ‘nine seeds’, or‘new gift’ in Sanskrit — which is a woman-centred organization devoted to promot-ing and protecting the diversity, integrity,and accessibility of living resources suchas seeds.

Within a single seed, Dr. Shiva says,lies a link to past and future generations.Accordingly, this “intelligence of the beanor grain” is an example of the self-orga-nizing complexity of all living organisms.In other words, “everything is its ownpotential,” such as the innate complexitythat transforms a seed into a plant, or ababy into an adult. Linking biodiversitywith ecological and social resilience, andcontrasting it with the “monoculture of themind” promoted by a focus on monocropssuch as corn or cotton, Dr. Shiva com-mented that “the main thing diversity isteaching us is [the importance of] diversity

of the mind.” The act of growing food, one of human-

ity’s oldest traditions, has been subject toviolent practices — genetic modification,chemical treatments, and global monopo-lies. With the introduction of ‘gene guns’(used to inject cells with genetic informa-tion to make transgenic organisms), a seedis viewed as a machine — something sep-arate from life, something that can be pos-sessed and patented. Life is not a machine.Dr. Shiva made clear that mechanisticcontrol over the food system is not for thehealth of the planet and people, but forglobal control by giant agricultural corpo-rations. The fight for food transparencybegins with the awareness of sustainablefood systems and consumption practicesthat support ethically-produced foods. Dr.Shiva’s energy in fighting for changeinspires us with the reminder that lifebegins with the birth of a single seed.

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Vandana Shiva Visits TorontoBy Katherine Chung & Samantha Stiavnicky

Vandana Shiva speaking at the 2015 Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival, after receiving theFestival’s International Eco-Hero Award

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In addition, Dr. Shiva spoke of thediversity-limiting dangers of multi-nation-al chemical and bio-engineering firms,and the excessive power they holdthrough global free trade agreements andlaws recognizing corporations as persons.Of particular concern is the “seed slavery”imposed by companies such as Monsanto,which often forces farmers to purchasenon-reproducing ‘terminator seeds’ orbio-engineered seeds that are reliant onchemical fertilizers.

Dr. Shiva condemned “the biggestmyth of our time: that without chemicals,we won’t have food.” She linked thebelief in and perpetuation of this myth toproblems such as the reduced nutritionalquality of plants bred for chemical toler-ance, and the unclear health risks ofgenetically modified foods. She also con-nected this myth to the silencing of scien-tific researchers whose findings questionthe safety of these foods, and the currentfunction of industrially-produced food ascommodity rather than nourishment.While addressing these serious, troublingtopics, Dr. Shiva encouraged her audi-ences to maintain hope by “living on thisplanet with love.”

Change is a slow process. A seed nest-ed in a bed of soil is unwearied by thetransformation it endures. Dr. Shivareminds us how precious and beautifullife is. Her passion for food safety andsovereignty urges consumers to join theconversation and recognize the impor-tance of sustainable food practices in allareas, from production to consumption.Dr. Shiva is confident that with informedconsumers and producers, transparencyand strong value systems will eventuallywin the race for our plates.

When Dr. Shiva speaks on theseissues, it is as though a flame burns with-in her. Silence fills the room, and for thatmoment all other noises become irrele-vant. Dr. Shiva is a powerful reminderthat change and transformation are possi-ble. Watching her speak rekindles thispassion within us, and reminds us of theimportance of compassion and authenticity.Humanity’s delicate relationship with theplanet allows our needs to be met throughcooperation. In this balance, the support

of one another as well as the planet allowsfor a closed cycle. Dr. Shiva urges us toslow down, and live according to thevibration of peace.

Dr. Shiva’s work reminds us that ashumans, we do not exist independentlyfrom nature. Life exists within us andwithout us, and the act of separating thisrelationship is an act of violence towardseach other and the self. Much of Dr.Shiva’s work discusses how life hasgrown susceptible to mechanistic control.Bio-engineering technology has alteredthe relationship in which nature andhumans coexist. Compassion is not bornfrom reaching capitalist objectives, butrather, through mindfulness and givingrise to our spiritual selves. Dr. Shiva rais-es these important conversations andreminds us that to achieve the highestlevel of being, we must care for the circleof life. It is for this reason that Dr. Shivais recognized for her outstanding effortstowards food safety and food transparen-cy. She brings peaceful change to today’sworld, instilling others with hope, strengthand courage.

Dr. Shiva’s overarching message toher Toronto audiences was to “recognize[that] we are citizens of one planet andshare one humanity,” and that we mustnot let our attention be diverted from

important global issues surrounding farm-ers, food, and the land. In order to moreeffectively work together on global prob-lems, she called on us to bridge and con-nect diverse causes into a single “rainbowmovement” with passion, love, and gen-erosity. One student sought advice on howto contribute to positive change in theworld; in response, Dr. Shiva spoke of herown approach of setting priorities basedon the combined guidance of her mind,heart, and conscience. We were left withthe message that if we are to createchange, we must seek and find our ownways to do so — together.

Katherine Chung is a Master’s student in the Faculty of Environmental Studies, YorkUniversity. Her research interests includeissues of social and environmental justice inthe context of food and water systems, andthe use of popular education praxis to disruptpower structures that foster inequity.

Samantha Stiavnicky is a second year studentin the Masters of Environmental Studies(MES) program at York University. She alsoteaches science, music and drama at RogerWhite Academy, a holistic private school inher hometown. Her passions include holisticeducation, mindfulness and organic farming.

Dr. Shiva engages audiences with her warm personality, vibrant energy, and articulate passion

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ender and Climate ChangeThere is ongoing discussion and

wide consensus amongst memberstates and non-member states over inten-sified anthropogenic climate change andits significance in hindering and eveneroding global efforts made towards sus-tainable development and poverty allevia-tion. This is a particularly timely topic ofdiscussion as nations continue to strive forthe improvement of the economic wellbe-ing of their citizens through economicgrowth. This growth, particularly indeveloping countries tends to be carbonintensive, exacerbating environmentaldegradation, which disproportionatelyaffects groups of people already madevulnerable to climate change, particularlywomen. As a result, international effortsmade towards development and climatechange adaptation and mitigation shouldbe inclusive and gender-just, placing thewellbeing of women and men and theintegrity of the environment at the core ofinternational climate change decisions.

In communities whose livelihoods andwellbeing depend directly on the naturalenvironment, women often develop anintimate understanding of ecosystemsthrough their experiences as primaryhousehold resource collectors and endusers because of their gendered social andeconomic responsibilities. This hasstrengthened the adaptive capacity ofmany communities, enhancing climateresilience. The imperative to draw uponthe community-based ecological knowl-edge and resource management skills ofwomen on a larger scale strengthens withtime as the consequences of mismanagednatural resources will worsen with theintensification of climate change. Resources

including water and fuels for householdcooking will become more difficult to col-lect, food more difficult to produce,ecosystems more fragile and communitiesmore vulnerable. Therefore, the uniqueexperiences and perspectives of women aseffective resource managers should bereflected in international climate changepolicy to facilitate ambitious climateaction and to develop gender-responsivesolutions based on the ecological knowl-edge and best practices of women. This isespecially important during a time whenresources continue to be greatly misman-aged at the global level.

In order to effectively mainstreamgender-responsive strategies in adaptationand mitigation efforts, it is vital to supporta paradigm shift that respects women asagents of change who contribute to solu-tions — not as victims. To set the prece-dent for this on the international level,women’s experiences, knowledge, andperspectives must be reflected throughoutthe discussions on climate change.

The UNFCCC ProcessThe United Nations Framework

Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)is an intergovernmental treaty that enteredinto force in 1994 to tackle issues of cli-mate change. Member states that are partyto the UNFCCC convene annually at theConference of the Parties (COP) and arejoined by academics, constituency groups,civil society organizations and businesses,amongst others, to discuss and negotiateregional and international strategies andpolicy interventions for timely solutionsthat will guide nations forward in the faceof climate change. These strategies andinterventions are drafted in a text prior to

the convening of the COP to allow inter-ested stakeholder groups, including civilsociety, to provide their inputs to the text.This text is then negotiated at the COPuntil parties to the UNFCCC reach con-sensus on the document, which thenbecomes the guiding tool for developinginternational and national climate changepolicies.

The Women and Gender Constituency(WGC) is one of nine UNFCCC con-stituencies. The WGC incorporates thebroad perspectives and priorities of a net-work of civil society organizations,women’s rights advocates and their alliesaround the world on issues of gender andthe environment. WGC members, inadvocating for gender equality, recognizethat in order to develop a truly inclusiveagreement, climate strategies and solu-tions must respond to “women’s and com-munities’ needs and build on alreadyexisting traditional technologies andcapacities” (Schalatek et al; Burns et al.) .Furthermore, the WGC calls for the inte-gration of women’s priorities in all aspectsof the negotiated text, including in adap-tation, mitigation, technology develop-ment and transfer provisions.

COP21Heading into the 21st Conference of

the Parties (COP21) in Paris, the WGCdeveloped a clear set of gender-sensitivelanguage to be included in the operativetext of the 2015 Paris Agreement which isthe action-oriented / legally binding com-ponent of the text. This language pro-posed by the WGC called for the respectand protection of human rights for all andthe promotion of gender equality. Despitethese collaborative efforts, language spe-

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The Outcome for Gender Equality inthe COP21, Paris Climate ChangeNegotiations By Joanna Patouris


cts of consumption are an inevitablepart of our everyday activities:water usage in our morning rou-

tines, food consumed throughout the day,transportation emissions to and fromschool or work, and all the little (or big)things we buy and use along the way.Through the pursuit of various socialpractices we are involved in the ‘incon-spicuous consumption’ of resources(LWEC 2015), which are having drasticenvironmental and social consequencesaround the globe. In order to successfullytransition our society towards a more sus-tainable way of life, the social organiza-tion of consumption will play an essentialrole in strategically shifting the very natureof what it means to consume.

Here are a few things to consider:according to the Water Footprint Network(2008), the average hamburger requiresabout 2,400 litres (635 gallons) of water, apair of blue jeans needs about 10,850litres (2,900 gallons), and one kilogram ofchocolate requires 17,000 litres (4,490gallons) from source to consumption. Themajority of our resource-intensive activi-ties produce the food we eat, power ourlives, and create the products we use on adaily basis. Interestingly, the householdconsumption of a resource like wateractually accounts for only 10% of ouroverall usage. Why, then, are policiesincreasingly focused on individual behav-iours and consumer choices if the bulk ofsociety’s resource consumption is muchhigher up the supply chain?

The Sustainable Consumption Institute(SCI) out of the University of Manchesterinvestigated this intriguing question in areport published in November 2015.Thereport highlights the systemic nature of

our consumption habits, reviews pastapproaches to alter consumer behaviour,and offers ideas on ways to shift everydaypractices that can advance the sustainabil-ity agenda. Although we might believethat a focus on individual consumerbehaviour through campaigns, social mar-keting, and education can shift attitudesand allow for more informed decisions,the SCI finds that policies focused on con-sumer choices have largely failed at cut-ting our emissions and reducing the con-sequential environmental impacts. This isbecause the ever-increasing environmen-tal impacts are caused by the production-consumption systems inherent in thedelivery of goods and services. Theseconsumer-focused approaches also tend torely on a number of behavior and attitudi-nal assumptions that fail to consider fac-tors such as the gender roles behind thetargeted resource-intensive activities, likehousehold chores.

The Pew Research Center (2015) foundthat a significant gender gap continues toexist in the roles and responsibilities ofhousehold labour. Pew conducted a sur-vey of 1,807 American parents with chil-dren under the age of 18, finding thatmothers often take on more of the respon-sibility for parenting tasks and householdchores even though fathers are 10% morelikely to say that their domestic chores areshared equally. Mothers play a larger rolein managing their children’s schedulesand activities, caring for sick children, andundertaking more household chores andresponsibilities. This implies that the inter-ventions initiated by government andbusinesses attempting to curb energy orwater usage will usually have genderedeffects. When implementing conservation

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cific to gender equality was compromisedduring the negotiation of the ParisAgreement, and moved to the preamble,which is not legally binding. For manywomen and gender advocates at COP21,this was considered a disappointment forclimate justice, representing a failure ofgovernments to take into account therights and integrity of people and theplanet. By taking a weak stance towardsgender equality in the Paris Agreement,the international community has under-mined the opportunity to incorporatewomen’s first-hand perspectives andexperiences into the climate discussionsand outcomes.

Since the adoption of the Paris Agree-ment, women’s groups and other feministorganizations continue to develop partner-ships with various constituencies and civilsociety groups. These partnerships areformed around mobilizing in solidarity toensure that in moving forward from theParis Agreement, work conducted bythese groups will continue to prioritizeand facilitate the much needed inclusive,gender-just transition towards a more sus-tainable world.

Joanna Patouris is a masters student in theFaculty of Environmental Studies at YorkUniversity. She has been participating in theUNFCCC process since COP 19. Joanna hasworked on issues of climate induced migration, gender and climate change, energysecurity for poverty alleviation in sub-SaharanAfrica and is currently exploring the role ofequity and transparency as key proceduralcomponents in climate change governance.

References:

Schalatek, Liane, and Bridget Burns.“Gender-responsive Climate Policy witha Focus on Mitigation Action andTechnology Development and Transfer(2015): n. pag.

Burns, Bridget and Camille Andre.“Ensuring Women’s Access and Influenceon Climate Change Policy.” (2014): n.pag.Women’s Environment and DevelopmentOrganization, Nov. 2014. Web. 2015

The Women’s Global Call for ClimateJustice http://womenclimatejustice.org/

Redefining the Role ofConsumption for aSustainable FutureBy Sophia Sanniti


campaigns and other behaviour-changinginitiatives, it is important to consider thisgender gap and the implications behindindividual-oriented behaviour targets.

The SCI finds, however, that we mustmove beyond specific modifications ofindividual behaviour and instead focusour efforts on the ways that consumptionpractices are organized. The report pointsout that while individuals have a certaindegree of control, actions and behavioursare constrained by infrastructures, institu-tions and access to resources. In addition,the pursuit of social practices is intercon-nected; grocery shopping, for example,relates to eating habits, transportation, andsocializing. These interrelated activitieshave a dynamic, co-evolving relationshipwith the infrastructures, technologies, andcultural practices existing around them.SCI therefore calls on businesses, govern-ments, and non-governmental organiza-tions to play a leading role in identifyingpathways to achieve a shared vision offuture practices, which can result in a sig-nificant change in consumer behaviour.SCI claims these key actors both instigateand reproduce practices across the produc-tion-consumption system, and the crucialfocus is to avoid creating new unsustain-able practices as much as changing currentunsustainable ones.

An example of a systemic interventionthat interrupts routine, environmentallydamaging behaviour on a broad scalecomes from the Canadian non-profit OurHorizon. This group is advocating acrossNorth America and potentially around theworld for municipal-level bylaws thatimpose mandatory climate change warn-ing labels on gas pump nozzles. The firstbylaw of its kind was passed in NorthVancouver in November 2015, and inter-est in the idea has been demonstratedfrom communities across the globe. Theidea is to transform current public percep-tion and behaviour around climate changethrough the normalized consumption offossil fuels by providing the opportunityfor the honest disclosure of risk in a morequalitative format, stimulating a shift indemand and greater support for alterna-tives and more meaningful action (seesample labels above right).

Addressing the systemic nature ofthese interrelated problems is an essentialstep towards sustainability, particularlysince the damaging social and environ-mental impacts of this giant force do notnecessarily occur where the causes anddrivers persist. While short-term interven-tions can certainly play a helpful part, theradical, broad scale of the transition werequire demands system innovations overlong-term horizons to achieve true sus-tainability. A dramatic shift in both whatbut also how we consume is required ifwe are to preserve rather than exploit ournatural ecosystems and keep our planetwithin a 2 degree global temperatureincrease.

Sophia Sanniti is currently completing aMasters in Environmental Studies at YorkUniversity with a core focus in ecologicaleconomics. Sophia plans to investigate theunconscious motivations behind capitalaccumulation, and to explore alternatives toour structurally pro-growth economy (andsociety) in order to align human activity withinthe finite limits of our biosphere.

A big Thank you to Our Horizon for granting use oftheir images.

References

Living With Environmental Change(LWEC) (2015). Rethinking the role ofindividuals’ behaviours in sustainableconsumption. Living with EnvironmentalChange Policy and Practice Notes: NoteNo. 21, November 2015. http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/partnerships/lwec/products/ppn/ppn21/

Our Horizon (2016).Our campaign:Overview. http://ourhorizon.org/overview/

Pew Research Center (2015). ‘Raisingkids and running a household: Howworking parents share the load’. http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/11/04/raising-kids-and-running-a-household-how-working-parents-share-the-load/

Water Footprint Network (2008). WaterFootprint Network: Securing freshwaterfor everyone. http://waterfootprint.org/en/

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n October 22nd 2015, bell hooks— the acclaimed feminist intellec-tual, cultural critic, teacher, author

and activist — spoke at York University.Her talk dealt with a myriad of issuesrelated to direct violence and structuralviolence, perpetuated by imperialist white-supremacist capitalist patriarchy — aterm coined by Dr. hooks to denote theinterlocking systems of oppression thatoperate globally.

Dr. hooks noted the various outcomesof such violence, including stress-inducedpoor health, which disproportionatelyimpacts Black women. Of specific rela-tion to academia, she noted, “I just knowso many Black women in the academy inthe U.S... Our hair is falling out, we’resuicidal, we’re depressed. We suffer allkinds of aggressions by our colleaguesthat then are discounted”. Quoting PaulKivel’s (1992) work, “Men’s Work: Howto Stop the Violence that Tears Our LivesApart”, Dr. hooks read: “[A]ll violenceleads to shorter or stunted lives… All vio-lence is life-denying” (p. 96).

Resistance to such violence, via love,emerged as a central theme. “Living with-in a culture of domination, of imperialistwhite supremacist capitalist patriarchy, tochoose love is both counter-hegemonicand revolutionary. Any time we do thework of love, we are doing the work ofending domination” (hooks, 2015). In par-ticular, she urged self-love as a powerfulchallenge to internalized oppression, andas such, is a political act. However, this isnot an easy feat for racialized women. Dr.hooks noted, “[T]o me, one of the realdeep issues for women of color… is thatnobody really wants us to engage self-care, so we often get a lot of negativefeedback...”. Loving ourselves — and byextension, our communities — is, after all,

a threat to imperialist white supremacistcapitalist patriarchy.

I found myself deeply moved by Dr.hooks’ remarks on the transformativepower of self-love, as well as her com-ments on the toxic media portrayals ofracialized bodies. As she noted, “Let’sface it, media is… the number one pur-veyor of imperialist white supremacistcapitalist patriarchy” (hooks, 2015). Thismoved me to reflect on years of internal-ized racism and self-loathing.

Growing up in Sydney, Australia, Iwas one of a handful of South Asian stu-dents in my elementary school. I mayhave been too young to understand theunderlying systems that produce and per-petuate racism, but I can recall the mani-festations of it. I knew that attractivenesswas linked to Whiteness (and blonde-ness), and as such, I only wanted Whiteand blonde Barbie Dolls. I also recallwishing that my name was Renee, ratherthan Reena. In my teen years, I worelightly colored contact lenses (coveringmy dark brown eyes), and routinely light-ened and straightened my hair (maskingmy thick, coarse, black hair). These areexamples of visible symptoms of anunderlying self-hate; however, this self-hate often encompasses a rejection of farmore than just aesthetics. From traditionallanguages and knowledges, to variousaspects of our cultures and histories, welose ourselves.

The media I consumed played animportant role. In Western media, thisinvolves the invisibility, stereotypical por-trayal, use of White actors/actresses (attimes) in brownface, and/or the inclusionof South Asian actresses that exemplifyEurocentric beauty ideals. In South Asianmedia, this includes the Eurocentric beautyideals perpetuated by Bollywood, and

other South Asian film and televisionindustries — which, for many diasporicSouth Asians, represents an importantconnection to our roots. Incidentally, suchdepictions portray characters with lighterfeatures as not only more attractive, butalso morally superior, more intelligent,and more successful. These depictionsare, in effect, rooted in anti-blackness.

Regarding toxic media portrayals, Dr.hooks shared an important observation:“[T]hink about children that are watchingTV 24/7. How are we gonna have theselittle black and brown children love them-selves?... [T]hen we’re gonna act sur-prised? ‘Oh, Johnny hates himself ’.Johnny was looking at all the images ofBlack masculinity on TV that are abouthate, and... he’s supposed to know… afterall of that you must love yourself?”

Importantly, Dr. hooks noted thatmedia can promote self-love: “[M]ediacan be such an amazing tool for helping uschange our ways of thinking and seeing,it’s just that dominator culture does notencourage that kind of media...”. Moreover,she noted, “[T]he only way we’re gonnachange how we see each other is when wehave varieties of images constructed thatconvey: this is beautiful, but this is alsobeautiful, but in a non-competitive way”.In effect, it is the conscious decision to,where possible, consume self-love induc-ing media alternatives; media that does notdiminish our being.

I believe that alternative media, in par-ticular, is shedding light on such self-loveinducing alternatives, as well as creating aspace that can unite women of color fromdiverse geographic and other communities,to affirm our strength, knowledge, resilien-cy and beauty. As Dr. hooks emphasized,such collectives are integral to affirmingour power. Consider the Unfair and Lovely

Reflections on bell hooks and theTransformative Power of Self-Love By Reena Shadaan

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campaign, created by three University ofTexas students to challenge colorism withinracialized communities. Colorism isdetailed powerfully in Hemma’s work,“Fighting with Colour: The Struggles of aDark-Skinned Indian Girl” (2016), as wellas in Nayani Thiyagarajah’s documentary,“Shadeism” (2010).

In addition, consider the work ofHarnaam Kaur, a U.K. based Punjabiwoman with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome,which causes excessive hair growth. Kaurcelebrates and showcases her facial hair. Shehas been featured in a highly publicizedbridal photo-shoot, and walked the runwayfor jewellery designer, Marianna Harutunian.Kaur’s work is significant, as South Asianwomen are routinely shamed for ourfacial/body hair. Shailee Koranne beautifullydetails this struggle in her reflection, “Me,My Hair, and My Brownness” (2015), asdoes Nish Irani in “Body Hair Politics: ABrown Girl’s Point of View” (2016).

These voices embody Dr. hooks’assertion that we must say “yes” to our-selves. Yes, my dark skin is beautiful. Yes,my facial/body hair is beautiful. Yes, allthe indicators of my South Asian-ness —that do not reflect Eurocentric standards— are beautiful.

The pioneering work of Dr. hooks andother Black women in creating the foun-dation to challenge imperialist white-supremacist capitalist patriarchy cannotbe overstated. Many anti-racist initiativesemployed by non-Black people of color inNorth America find their roots in theknowledge, theory and struggles pio-neered by Black women, and work fromthe spaces for action that this foundationalwork created. For instance, #OscarsSoWhite(created by April Reign) was the sparkthat prompted a boycott of the 88thAcademy Awards in 2016, initiated largelyby Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee. This,in turn, created a space for Asian Academy

members to publically condemn the bla-tant displays of racism towards Asiansduring the telecast. Unfair and Lovely,too, stems, in part, from Black women’slabour — specifically, Pax Jones, in addi-tion to Mirusha Yogarajah and Yan-usha Yogarajah, two Eelam Tamil women.Importantly, initiatives to challenge col-orism also exist in South Asia, such as theDark is Beautiful campaign popularizedby Indian actress, Nandita Das. However,I wonder if Dark is Beautiful has roots inthe Black is Beautiful movement of the1960s.

As we move towards challenging inter-nalized racism and embracing the revolu-tionary power of self-love, we must honorthose who helped to create the foundationsfor us to do so, including Dr. hooks.

Reena Shadaan is a Ph.D Candidate inEnvironmental Studies at York University,focusing on women’s experiences of environmental racism, and struggles forenvironmental justice. For the past severalyears, she has been a CoordinatingCommittee member of the North Americansolidarity tier of the International Campaignfor Justice in Bhopal.


Hemma (2016, March). Fighting withColour: The Struggles of a Dark-SkinnedIndian Girl. Chutney SG. Retrieved fromhttp://chutneysg.com/2016/03/29/fight-ing-with-colour-the-struggles-of-a-dark-skinned-indian-girl/

Irani, N. (2016, January). Body HairPolitics: A Brown Girl’s Point of View.Shameless. Retrieved from http://shamelessmag.com/blog/entry/body-hair-politics-a-brown-girls-point-of-view

Khosroshahy, P. (2016, March). NotShaving Isn’t Always a Choice for Womenof Colour. gal-dem. Retrieved fromhttp://www.gal-dem.com/shavingforwoc/

Kivel, P. (2010). Men’s Work: How to Stopthe Violence that Tears Our Lives Apart.Center City, MN: Hazelden Publishing.

Koranne, S. (2015, July). Me, My Hair, andMy Brownness. The Aerogram. Retrievedfrom http://theaerogram.com/hair-brownness/

Thiyagarajah, N. (2010). Shadeism.Canada: Refuge Productions.

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WE Resources

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FROM OUR AUTHORS

From author Rimi Khan in Doing good and looking goodat page 7:

Klein, N. (2000). No Logo: Taking Aim at the BrandBullies. New York: Picador.

Littler, J. (2009). Radical consumption: shopping forchange in contemporary culture. Berkshire, OpenUniversity.

Morgan, A. (2015). The True Cost, Life is My MovieEntertainment Company: 92 minutes.

Ross, A. (Ed.). (1997). No sweat. New York: Verso.

Siegle, L. (2011). To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out theWorld? London, Fourth Estate.

From authors Diana Ward, Deborah Burton and Helen Lynin Pinkwashing and the Breast Cancer PreventionMovement at page 18:

McArthur, J., 2014. Toronto Star Coverage and the Politicsof Breast Cancer. Synaesthesia Journal, (Summer), pp.207– 222.

New York City Department of Consumer Affairs. FromCradle to Cane: The Cost of Being a Female Consumer.2015. http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dca/downloads/pdf/partners/Study-of-Gender-Pricing-in-NYC.pdf

Osuch J et al. A Historical Perspective on Breast CancerActivism in the United States: From Education and Supportto Partnership in Scientific Research. J Womens Health(Larchmt). 2012 Mar; 21(3): 355–362.

Pool, L. Pink Ribbons, Inc. First Run Features Film. 2011.

Scott, D.N., 2015. Our Chemical Selves. Gender, Toxics andEnvironmental Health. D. N. Scott, ed., UBC Press.

Think Before You Pink. http://thinkbeforeyoupink.org/

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From author Anne Rochon Ford in Health Nail SalonNetwork (Toronto) at page 39:

The Healthy Nail Salon Network – Toronto – Facebook page at,

https://www.facebook.com/TOHealthyNailSalonNetwork/http://www.who.int/cancer/detection/breastcancer/en/index2.htmle

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By Morag Parnell

WorkplaceHazards

[Every day across the world more than 125 people die from workplace related illness.This poem was written in 1998 after hundreds of women workers at a local DaksSimpson clothing factory were exposed to a toxic carcinogenic agent, most likely tohave been formaldehyde, used for permanent crease and drip dry finishes.

This poem reflects the industrial economic growth project that treats human life, andall life forms, with utter callousness, and camouflages its crimes by seducing us withbaubles like drip dry clothes.]

Take out your drip dry shirts, your well creased suits,immaculately tailored, symbols of power and fame.You put them on, and with them your chosen character, Teacher, Doctor, Lawyer, Politician, Sir or Dame. You’re ready to play your part, to carve out your niche,to stand out, to make your name.

How often do you wonder where that suit came from?I don’t mean the high class tailor or the department store,but where you’ll find girls and women workinglong tedious shifts for low wages on the factory floor.Did you know about their skins and eyes all red and itching,that their noses constantly run, their lungs wheeze, their lips smart and swell,and do you know that their long-term health is compromised,just to let the rest of us dress up and dress well.So we become unwittingly complicitin this vastly profitable big sell.

Now that you know that these things are devoid of justice, what will you do, and will you saylike Gandhi, I will wear only plain homespun,or as our National Bard might choose, wear honest hodden grey.And will you pause and think that every hour of every dayone hundred and twenty five are deadfor working for their hard earned pay.Even in our clothes, like in so much more, hazards are hidden, and what will we do to have such practices forbidden.

Morag Parnell was born 1928 in West Highland slate quarrying village. 1939-1945secondary school in Oban, from where planes accompanied Atlantic convoys. Graduated Medicine Edinburgh 1952. GP 20 years; Community Child Health 8 years.Involved in Peace and Environmental Health Campaigns since the 70s. 3 children, 8 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild.

Illustrated for theHealthy Nail SalonNetwork by BjoernArthurs

Source: NationalNetwork onEnvironments andWomen’s Health

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