Scientology: How We Help—Fair-Trade Fashion Show Seeks Broader Participation

Fair-trade clothing and accessory designers and manufacturers invited to participate in the third annual Colors of the World Fair-Trade Fashion Show.

To raise awareness of human trafficking and forced labor in the United States and abroad and to support safe conditions and equitable treatment for those who work in or supply raw materials for the fashion industry, Youth for Human Rights Florida is calling for fair-trade clothing manufacturers to submit fashions and accessories to be showcased in the third annual Colors of the World fashion show at the Church of Scientology in Tampa in July 2013.

Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) is a non-profit with the purpose of teaching youth around the world about human rights so they become advocates for tolerance and peace.

Many Americans consider that hazardous and unfair treatment of garment workers in America is a thing of the past. The movement to end sweatshops gained momentum following the tragedy of March 25, 1911, when 146 young women, most of them 13–23, lost their lives in the New York Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. By the late 1930s, sweatshops in the United States had been eliminated or so history books present it.

“Sweatshops have again become a part of the garment industry,” says Dustin McGahee, president of Youth for Human Rights Tampa. “Last year the United States Labor Department conducted 374 different investigations and found 2,215 workers in Southern California and New York who had not been paid minimum wage.”

The World Fair Trade Organization defines fair trade as “a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers.”

Each summer, the Church of Scientology Tampa hosts the fair-trade fashion show Colors of the World, organized by Youth for Human Rights Florida. The fashion show has featured fair-trade clothing by Green Verdana, Indigenous Designs, Green Heart Shop, Novica and Urban Inca Shoes.

To raise awareness of the many alternatives for shoppers to support fair trade, Youth for Human Rights invites all fair-trade companies to feature their fashions or accessories. To submit items to the fashion show or for more information, contact Youth for Human Rights Florida, info@youthforhumanrightsflorida.org.

Scientologists on five continents engage in collaborative efforts with government agencies and nongovernmental organizations to bring about broad-scale awareness and implementation of the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the world’s premier human rights document.

The Church of Scientology published Scientology: How We Help—United for Human Rights: Making Human Rights a Global Reality, to meet requests for more information about the human rights education and awareness initiative the Church supports. To learn more, visit Scientology.org/HumanRights.

Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard wrote, “Human rights must be made a fact, not an idealistic dream,” and the Scientology religion is based on the principles of human rights. The Code of a Scientologist calls on all members of the religion to dedicate themselves “to support true humanitarian endeavors in the fields of human rights.”