The goal of Corporate Responsibility Monday’s (at least my part) is to expose you to companies that are doing a good job, that are making the world a better place, that you can shop at with a clean conscience. Since my goal is to give you alternatives for items that you are currently purchasing, I’ll be highlighting another clothing company, No Sweat Apparel. Be sure to check out Josh’s Post for a company with shadier ethics.

No Sweat Apparel runs as a 100% union made apparel company. They are an “open source” company in that they provide links and detailed info on each manufacturer that makes their products. It’s a brilliant idea and a wonderful way to hear the story behind the clothing your purchasing.

They are both environmentally and labor conscience as they point out in their http://nosweatapparel.com/faqs/question4.html:

The exploitation of humans & the environment are intimately related. However, our first and foremost objective is to provide quality working conditions and a decent living wage for the garment workers. We believe that when humans are exploited they care little about the environment. Their first concern, understandably, is to feed their families. So we start at the root cause, exploitation of humans. The second step, for us, will be to improve the environmental impact of production processes.

And their goal is to be a global company, not just domestic:

For the long-term we expect to that at least 30% of our production will be domestic. But this movement is not about free trade versus protectionism. It’s about free trade versus fair trade. The women in the developing world desperately need these jobs. Our mission is to support their struggle against exploitation–not take their jobs away. Vigorous unions in the developing world will certainly take some pressure off UNITE members here. We believe the only way to protect workers anywhere is to defend workers’ rights everywhere.

Now that your fully convinced of the wonderfulness of buying fair trade clothing from No Sweat Apparel let me highlight some of the quality products available. You see, most of you and others, will ‘amen’ everything about the ethics behind buying fair trade in that it supports the values above, but when it comes to doing it, it’s either to inconvenient to buy online or you say it’s too expensive. So, let’s take a brief shopping trip together and let me highlight some of the great products from my favorite section, Clearance.

So, I don’t know how much Yoga Pants are usually, but right now they are on sale for just $18. For women looking for some black slip on shoes, how about a pair for $7! (By the way, they use UPS and most orders are about $6-9 for shipping. Though if you order $100 worth of items shipping is free!). You know the really nice vintage tee material? They have shirts and tank tops for just $10 each!

So, I’m not sure what your waiting for, but I suggest you stop by there and take a look around. By clothing that supports a sustainable world. And if you don’t want to buy clothing at least buy these sweet pink sneakers, for just $11!

And for a company NOT to shop at check out Josh’s post.

Now that we’ve laid some groundwork for discussing Hip Hop, I’d like to jump into the first lesson we can learn: Listen to People’s Struggles. I work with a lot of urban and rural youth, many of whom are a part of the hip hop culture, some of whom are not. At times, there are youth who share some of the same comments that many adults share, “that music is so negative.” My caution to them is that, though it is okay to disagree with some of the content, it is important to listen to a person’s struggle when they are sharing it.
Song writing is an art form, and it often involves vulnerability and the bearing of one’s soul to some degree.  Now, not all songs are like this (Nelly’s song Grillz would be a good example, and I’m sure you can think of others in different genres), but many are to varying degrees. There are many hip hop songs that talk about violence, drugs, hustling, gangs and other issues, but through the lyrics you hear the struggles of a person trying to find meaning and purpose.

Tupac (I’ll probably reference him more in these posts) has many songs that talk about struggle. Here is an excerpt from Dear Mama:

They say I’m wrong and I’m heartless
But all along I was looking for a father, he was gone
I hung around with the thugs and even though they sold drugs
They showed a young brother love

And then there is the Notorious B.I.G. who sings in Juicy:

I never thought it could happen, this rappin’ stuff
I was too used to packin’ gats and stuff
…
Puttin’ 5 karats in my baby girl’s ears
Lunches, brunches, interviews by the pool
Considered a fool ’cause I dropped out of high school
Stereotypes of a black male misunderstood
And it’s still all good

I referenced these two songs for a particular reason. One of the local Hip Hop stations (101 the Beat), consistently plays those two songs throughout the day (probably the only two songs they play that are more than a year old). In other words, these are songs and lyrics that many people connect with. They are struggles many people today still understand and share.

What songs do you know that contain lyrics of people sharing their struggles?
(It doesn’t have to be exclusively Hip Hop)