written by: Andrew Hermann | Seattle Preparatory School, Class of 2013

Inspired by the injustices I witnessed on an immersion trip to the Dominican Republic, I returned and dedicated my time to the anti-sweatshop movement. I started by bringing sweatshop-free apparel to my high school and the Seattle community.  I become involved with Alta Gracia — a living-wage, unionized factory in the Dominican Republic — and my work led me to an internship with Ethix Ventures, a socially conscious apparel and promotional goods distributor.

The focus of my internship is to increase the amount of living wage apparel at institutions in the Ignatian family across the United States. I have had some amazing conversations with inspired faculty, staff, and students at the Jesuit colleges and universities who are willing to spread the word about Ethix, but the work is just beginning.

My goal is for clubs, organizations, events, Greek life, service trips and departments to order their printed merchandise through Ethix Ventures in an effort to support the rights of workers and the environment throughout the world.

If you are interested in helping your institution participate in the global movement for justice by purchasing socially and environmentally conscious apparel please feel free contact me.

Visit the website for Alta Gracia and Ethix Ventures.

Have a great start to the school year!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Ethix Ventures is one of many companies working to promote a socially and environmentally conscious society.  The following resources offer some additional companies and organizations that offer such products:

Resource List from Fair World Project
Green America “Green Pages” Apparel Listing