December, 21 2010, 09:47am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Kilian Moote,
NFSC, kilian[at]notforsalecampaign.
Tim Newman, ILRF,
tim.newman[at]ilrf.org, 202-347-4100 x113
NFSC, kilian[at]notforsalecampaign.
Tim Newman, ILRF,
tim.newman[at]ilrf.org, 202-347-4100 x113
Free2Work iPhone App Helps Shoppers Avoid Gifts Made with Child Labor
Consumers now have a tool to
ensure that they do not support forced and child slave labor this holiday season.
Free2Work.org is an innovative and
easy reference guide for consumers that rates products and companies on an A through F scale based on their
policies related for forced and child
labor. The new Free2Work iPhone app is the first and only smart phone tool that allows consumers to
access the ratings as they shop for products from Jelly Belly candy canes to Amazon's Kindle to Gap sweaters
and many more top holiday
pr
WASHINGTON
Consumers now have a tool to
ensure that they do not support forced and child slave labor this holiday season.
Free2Work.org is an innovative and
easy reference guide for consumers that rates products and companies on an A through F scale based on their
policies related for forced and child
labor. The new Free2Work iPhone app is the first and only smart phone tool that allows consumers to
access the ratings as they shop for products from Jelly Belly candy canes to Amazon's Kindle to Gap sweaters
and many more top holiday
products.
About the iPhone
Application
The mobile application, Free2Work
which is supported by Juniper Networks (www.JuniperNetworks.com), and was named one of the "11 Great Apps for 2011" by
the SF AppShow, is also available for consumers this holiday season as a free
download on iTunes.
About
Free2Work
The website Free2Work.org and just launched Free2Work
iPhone application have been expanded to include ratings of this year's hottest
holiday items based on the companies' policies to address child labor
and forced labor. New holiday
ratings include Jelly Belly candy
canes, Amazon's Kindle, Bakers and
Ghirardelli baking cocoa. These ratings follow assessments of other top
products including Apple's iPad, Hasbro's Beyblades, Pillow Pets Consumers
and Leapster Learning Systems as well
as key baking ingredients such as vanilla, cloves, cocoa, sugar and oranges.
Free2Work is a collaboration of
the Not for Sale Campaign (NFSC) and
the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF). It provides consumers with
important information on the labor standards and business practices of the companies who
manufacture their favorite products so that they can further their engagement in
ending forced and child labor through
their consumption decisions.
The Free2Work site recently added a
rating section and information on
certification systems including IMO Fair for Life and UTZ Good Inside Certification in addition to the
Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, and
Goodweave ratings that were added in conjunction with
Thanksgiving. Tim Newman, Campaigns Director of the International
Labor Rights Forum said, "A broad range of certification programs
exist that claim to protect worker rights. The volume and variety of these systems and product labels can be confusing to
consumers. Free2Work helps to reduce the confusion and demonstrate to consumers how each program
differs."
"A growing mass of
consumers want to know about the conditions under which their holiday gifts were
produced. The Free2Work application will provide conscious consumers with
valuable information and company
evaluations at the moment they need it most - when they shop,"
explains Not For Sale Campaign President, David Batstone.
The Free2Work rating
program is
an ongoing joint endeavor by the Not for Sale Campaign and International
Labor Rights Forum and is supported by Juniper Networks and the US
Department of State's Office to Monitor
and Combat Trafficking in Persons.
Additional products will be rated during and after the holiday season
and consumers are encouraged to indicate what
products they would like to see rated in the future.
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