This morning the Broome Community no gas campaign stopped Woodside’s bulldozer and clearing equipment on the Manari Road. Currently a protester is locked onto the bulldozer just south of Quondong on the Manari Road preventing the Woodside clearing equipment advancing along the road to the proposed 25 hectare clearing site. The Broome community is calling on the Federal Minister for Environment to intervene and to stop the clearing until this project has the required approvals to go ahead.

“This is appalling behaviour by Woodside, they do not have State or Federal Government approval for the gas refinery project. They are literally bulldozing the Kimberley, the Broome Community and the State and Federal Government process to select the site for gas refineries to process Browse Basin gas.”

The Federal Government has ultimate responsibility for this.

The Broome community is calling on the Federal Minister for the Environment Tony Burke and Federal Minister for Industry Martin Ferguson to reign in Woodside and the State Government.

Protesters are concerned that the gas refineries will be the foot in the door to industrialise the Kimberley.

WA Premier Colin Barnett is on the record saying that he’d like the Kimberley to be the next Pilbara, expanding the heavily industrialised North West of Western Australia.

“The International Community need to know that the Western Australian Government is intent on destroying the Kimberley and that Woodside, BP, BHP, Shell and Chevron are part of this plan. This is at the time when the world is just beginning to understand the global, natural and cultural wonders of the Kimberley.

Teresa Roe, mother of native title claimant Joseph Roe, tells woodside workers “Take them back – please take them back today,”MURRANJI PHOTOGRAPHY 2011

Blue King Brown has teamed up with THE BODY SHOP & CHILDWISE to help the fight against against Sex Trafficking..
There are currently 1.8 million children around the world who are victim to sex trafficking. Every country is implicated, including Australia. It’s modern day slavery and a human rights abuse that can be prevented.

To help raise awareness Blue King Brown are giving away their latest single ‘Women’s Revolution’ all you need to do is fill in your name and email at this link an you will  be sent a link and password to download the track. You will automatically be added to the Blue King Brown mailing list. You can unsubscribe at any time.

http://www.childwise.net
http://www.thebodyshop.com.au

The idea of “ethical consumerism” or “conscious consuming” is a social movement based around the idea that people should be mindful of the impact their purchases have on the environment and the health and well being of the people involved in making those products.

Consumers are now looking at ethics when they buy. It goes with the territory of being more careful where they spend their money in a tight economy. “Following a period when conspicuous consumption was both socially acceptable and economically feasible, consumer behaviour is likely to become more “conscious,” spurring a trend toward ethical consumption,’’ Citigroup analyst Edward Kerschner says*.

The movement advocates abandoning the relentless and fruitless drive to find satisfaction in endless consumption. Shoppers are starting to care about where their products come from, how they were made and how they impact the planet, says Peita Gardiman, who has launched Ethikl.com.au, the first Australian trading website for eco-friendly and people-friendly products made using natural, organic, or recycled materials. The online marketplace also allows consumers to communicate directly with sellers, many of whom hand-make the products themselves.

We live in a time of human rights abuse, animal cruelty, genetically modified foods and the massive impact of industry on the environment. These can often seem beyond our control and quite removed from our everyday life. However, the fact is that every time we buy something, our spending dollar endorses a company and its activities, whether we are aware of it or not – whether we like it or not.

It is the responsibility of consumers to support the environment and rights of workers who produce goods for them. More than the government and green companies, it is the responsibility of consumers to realise their role in creating real change. Money makes the world go round, and deciding how we spend our money might just help save it.

* http://blogs.watoday.com.au/executive-style/managementline/temp.pdf

A new online marketplace connecting ethical shoppers with small artisan producers of ethically sourced, handmade and eco friendly products has launched at www.ethikl.com.au.You won’t find anything mass-produced. All of the products are one-of-a-kind pieces from gourmet food to handmade jewellery.

Buying and selling on Ethikl takes commerce back to a time before the Industrial Revolution when customers were intimately linked to the artisans that produced their goods. Social networking features on the site allow people to meet the makers of all the incredible products providing a way to make buying decisions that favour ethical products, be they fair trade, cruelty free, organic, recycled, handmade or produced locally.

Ethikl is the place where small, independent businesses can stay independent and reach buyers all over the world. Sellers have the opportunity to set up virtual storefronts to post their wares and share information. This direct selling model means the producer gets to keep almost 100% of the selling price of the product (whereas in traditional distribution anywhere from 50% of the ultimate selling price never makes it back to the producer). This adds a fundamental new dynamic to the small producer business model. The producer keeps the lion’s share of the profit and the consumer gets a unique product.

According to Peita Gardiman, the founder, one of the main aims of Ethikl is to promote and support the ethical consumer movement and encourage shoppers to make positive buying decisions, such as favoring ethical products, be they fair trade, cruelty free, organic, recycled, re-used, or produced locally.

“One of our goals is to change the way the economy works and begin to change people’s consumption habits. Many people are tired of mass produced, chemically- packed products and want to get back to basics,” says Peita.

“We live in a culture of excess, we want more and more and then throw it away faster and faster. When you buy something from Ethikl, there’s a story behind it. There’s a person behind it. If people start to rediscover handmade, natural products, they will learn to treasure them and become more ethical consumers.”

While there is nothing like the experience of going to a farmer’s market, smelling the fresh produce, tasting samples, and interacting with producers themselves, not everyone can afford the time, leisure, or access to do so, but now you can explore Ethikl’s online marketplace and discover handcrafted jewellery, clothing, homewares, unique gifts, specialty foods and more at www.ethikl.com.au

They make clothing from natural organic fabrics in a Fairwear Foundation audited, wind powered factory, but really what they are about is communication – It’s not that people dont care about child labour, the environment, our climate, it’s just they dont know. At Rapanui they make it easier for people to see where clothing comes from and how it is made so they can make informed choices. It’s called Traceability. www.rapanuiclothing.com

A new, free, nonprofit, magazine, available online and in print. The magazine focuses on problems worldwide and how we are all connected. Currently in Australia, we feel there is a lack of opportunity for those wanting to help make the world a little better, other than merely donating to a cause. People feel disconnected. They read about global problems but have few outlets to participate in working against them, and so adopt the attitude of “But what can I do”?

Read More at www.vagmag.org