Happy Labor Day!
Wishing you a pleasant holiday with your loved ones today as we celebrate the many workers and unions in the US that have fought hard for the workers’ rights that we recognize today. And, we honor those who are still working to protect those rights.
Text reads, "Happy Labor Day! Your choices matter." Photo is of a Black mother wearing her daughter in a Carousel of Colors Lenny Upgrade with Mesh panel. Mom is smiling as her daughter pretends to sleep with the hood up.
Although here in the US we no longer have endless dangerous factory shifts, we require overtime pay, and we have made child labor illegal, there are many parts of the world where these rights and many others are not guaranteed. Where going to work may not be a choice, and where those workplaces are dangerous. Where wages cannot support a family and where debts to employers are ever-growing with no chance of escape. There are many parts of the world where this is just reality.
It’s easy to choose convenience and “low costs” for many of our family needs, and sometimes there aren’t other options available. Child labor and forced labor are realities worldwide, and some products, like the phones and computers we all use, simply don’t have alternatives that are free from this cruelty. Sometimes we have to look harder to find alternatives that provide for the families of others instead of harming them, and this can be really difficult and overwhelming.
But when I started Mama & Roo’s, I wanted something better for families. As someone who cared deeply about reducing the suffering of others (humans and animals), I didn’t want motherhood to be a distraction from doing good work in the world. I wanted my choices of products for my family to matter, and I wanted to help others to make those choices more easily, too.
Mama & Roo’s makes buying high quality, ethically made items for your family easy to do. It can be hard to know who to trust – that’s why we interview the manufacturers we want to work with and read up on labor practices and laws where our items are made. We review certificates, and we’re not afraid to make our choices known – we only want to provide caregivers in our community with products that make the world a better place, not cause suffering to the people making these products. And we have told other companies “no” because of their answers.
When you buy from us, you are supporting not only our family, but the families of those we partner with all over the world – in Poland, Germany, Guatemala, the UK, Spain, and the US, with more to come! When you choose to spend your hard-earned money on products made without forced or child labor, you tell the market that we want better for our families and for our world. You become part of the solution. Your choices matter.
Together, we can change the climate of children’s products. Instead of focusing on the “best deals,” no matter the human cost, we can tell the market that we want products that are made to last and are made with safe working conditions, by people choosing to work, who are being paid living wages, and who are making safe products for our children.
Thank you for being a part of our community and supporting our vision to make this world a better place.
Wishing you and your family peace and joy,
-Alexandra Puppelo
Founder
Mama & Roo’s