Empowerment Not Exploitation

The writer of Ecclesiastes (Ecc 5.8) reminds us that the exploitation of the vulnerable by the powerful is a problem that has been with us since time immemorial. In our globally interconnected world, this exploitation takes on a modern face. Our purchasing decisions often have damaging (and usually unintended) consequences for vulnerable people across the world.

Through the products we buy and the consumption decisions we make, we find complex modern supply chains connect us to people and children that are enslaved and exploited across the world, and connected to communities whose environments are ravaged and whose rights are denied.

As Christians we know that this is inconsistent with the biblical call to defend the rights of the poor and needy and ensure that justice prevails.