Hello all, this is Johnny, the Peace Program Director here at Glenbrook Day Camp. The other day I was walking to the Peace Barn when I saw a certain Chuck the Chicken waltzing around in a brand spanking new Glenbrook T-shirt. He had a smile as wide as the Willowgrove creek and when I asked him what he was so happy about he was quick to cluck! Now my “Chicken” isn’t as good as it used to be so you’ll have to excuse my translation, but from my understanding, here is what Chuck had to say:
Here at Glenbrook Day Camp peace is part of who we are and to us it means ‘living in harmony with all of God’s creation… no matter what.’
Unfortunately, I have recently found out that many of our t-shirts haven’t always been made in ways that would fit our Mission Statement. Many t-shirts that aren’t made in
North America or Europe don’t pay their workers very well, allow child labour, use dangerous chemicals, and have to be shipped long distances to reach us here in Canada.This year at Glenbrook Day Camp, I’m proud to say, that we are now sweat-shop free! This means that our t-shirts are now made from cotton grown in the United Sates (where
cotton farming is highly regulated and doesn’t need to be shipped overseas), the cotton was then woven, cut, dyed, and stitched in Toronto in a vertically integrated facility (this means
that the workers were paid fairly and that each step took place in the same factory which reduces shipping and our Carbon Footprint), finally our printing was done in Waterloo
with non-toxic dyes.Some might say that this is taking money away from those working in these bad conditions but the majority of people who work in unfair work places do not have a choice. It is their employers that make choices and who decide what to pay someone or what dyes to use and it is these same employers that want our business. As peaceful folks we have high standards at GDC and don’t want anything to do with companies that aren’t being peaceful because when GDC gets fairly made t-shirts, peaceful companies get our business, and the nice people who made our shirts (wherever they live) are treated with the respect they deserve: everyone wins.
Now, this means that the price of our shirts have gone up this year but it’s nothing to loose your feathers about. Sure it would be easier to overlook these things to save a few bucks but then we wouldn’t be honest because we wouldn’t be living up to the same standards we challenge our campers and staff with here at GDC.
‘Living in harmony with all of God’s creation,’ begins right here at camp.
Chuck, what would we do without you? Thanks for being such a peaceful poultry and for challenging us to all do our part! I can’t wait to get my hands on this years shirt, check out the design on the back!
Peace,
-Johnny
2011 T-Shirt
2011 Back
Glenbrook Chuck
Joel
Johnny
