Hippy Dippy

Today I brought lunch to my sister while she was at work and she said she wanted to hang out tomorrow night. She threw around a few ideas and one of them was going shopping. With a little hesitation I shot that idea down for two reasons; One, I am poor and can't afford to go shopping and Two, I just went to a Human Trafficking conference and have been feeling a little convicted about the clothing I buy.

Let me explain a little. Almost two weeks ago (March 25th to be exact) was the 200th anniversary of Britain's abolishment of the slave trade. However, there are more slaves today then there were when slavery was legal (27,000,000 people). In honor of that day and of the millions of people trapped in modern day slavery, Vanguard University hosted a Freedom Day Rally called One Voice to End Slavery. I attended this conference with Ryan and Amber Smith, Jeff and Danielle Sloneker, and Daniel Barnett (the art teacher and NHS). Freedom Day consisted of two sessions in which we could choose a lecture/discussion/movie that all talked about modern day slavery. The first session I went to a lecture/discussion about slavery and the war in Iraq. It was super interesting and I could write a whole other blog on what we talked about. One thing that really stuck with me was the breakdown of modern day slavery. Around 50% of today's slavery is in sexual exploitation which gets the majority of people's concerns (and rightfully so; it should get a great deal of attention). However, the other 50% is rarely ever talked about (agriculture and clothing industry). I have been feeling really convicted in this area of modern day slavery; from the coffee and chocolate I eat and drink to the shoes and clothes I buy, I decided it was time for a change. It's time to buy fair.

So back to my story. After my hesitation to go shopping, my sister said I was becoming Hippy Dippy. While I know many other people who are much more Hippy Dippy then I am, I am ok with being called Hippy Dippy. If Hippy Dippy means caring about God's creation and the people in it enough to be conscious about what I buy, then so be it. I am Hippy Dippy.

PS: for more information about Human Trafficking visit StoptheTraffik.org or FreetheSlaves.net or just email me and I can refer you to many other organizations.