1. Electronics
I know they are something teens love, and frankly everyone seems to love them. The problem with them is that they are produced by slaves, in both African mines, and Chinese factories! The second reason is that they're very addictive. I know, I waste so much time on my phone and the computer. We most certainly don't need any more distractions to keep us from spending quality time with God, and our family and friends.
2. Chocolate
The moment I tell someone I don't like chocolate I get a round of horrified gasps, and immediately the questions pop up. Truth is this is many people's favourite food. It certainly seems like a good gift, but I beg you don't buy it. All the big chocolate companies use child labour and slave labour to produce the chocolate. Think about it, if the person you're buying the gift for were working there with no pay, using dangerous chemicals would you still buy it? If you really really want to buy chocolate please make sure it's fair trade, so at least there some chance that it hasn't been produce through forced labour. Nestle, Hershey, and Mars are just a few of the really bad companies.
3. Clothes
Some clothes are fine to buy but there are many companies who I strongly urge you not to buy from. H&M, Nike, Victoria's Secret, Walmart, Gap, La Senza, Disney (I know I'm really disappointed that they use sweat shops.), Sears, Joe Fresh, Forever 21, Urban Outfitters, Aeropostale, & Mark and Spenser. There are many more but these are some of the worst for using sweat shops, and slavery.
4. Cheap Toys and Toys R' Us
It might seem a good idea to find a last minute gift for a nephew or grandchild, or cousin, but please do not buy china made toys. Dollar store toys are most probably made in a factory by children, and Toys R' Us has been found to use forced and child labour. Think about it the toys you're buying for a child, were made by a child, and not in good terms either. If the child you are buying the gift for was in that situation would you still buy it?
7. Bath & Body Works
This is a very popular place to buy christmas presents. Every time I walk into that store I literally feel sick. It smells horrific to me, but that's not why I included it on this list. Did you know that it funds planned parenthood? So does Ben & Jerry, and Avon, so please don't buy from them.
8. Starbucks
It might be tempting to simply get a starbucks gift certificate but please don't. On top of them using slavery for their coffee, they also fund planned parenthood.
Here's an official list of the companies that fund planned parenthood. Adobe, American Cancer Society, American Express, AT&T, Avon, Bank of America, Bath & Body Works, Ben & Jerry’s, Clorox, Converse, Deutsche Bank, Dockers, Energizer, Expedia, ExxonMobil, Fannie Mae, Groupon, Intuit, Johnson & Johnson, La Senza, Levi Strauss, Liberty Mutual, Macy’s, March of Dimes, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Nike, Oracle, PepsiCo, Pfizer, Progressive, Starbucks, Susan G. Komen, Tostitos, Unilever, United Way, Verizon, Wells Fargo.
Please don't think that it's impossible to find a gift. It's not, I'm just asking you to consider whether you will still buy the item if your friend was the one making it, if your nephew or niece was the one being aborted. Also ask yourself if Christ would approve of this gift.
I know that I appreciate gifts that are homemade, or something that will help me spend time with the giver. A good book can always do the trick also! Also don't forget that we should be giving our money to those who need it most, and not only this time of year.
Sincerely, Rachel
