Part of the Presbyterian Hunger Program (http://www.pcusa.org/hunger/) is Enough for Everyone (http://www.pcusa.org/enough/). At the heart of Enough For Everyone is deep concern for global economic justice and a commitment to live out our faith in Jesus Christ with integrity.

The Sweat-Free T program encourages Presbytrians to purchase sweat-free T's when buying T  Shirts for church events. Most apparel we wear is made in sweatshops, frequently in third world countries.  T Shirts are usually produced this way so our denomination helped a worker-owned cooperative in Nicaragua get started and created a way for our churches to buy T Shirts made my workers that are fairly compensated and work in an environment thay control.

To find out more about ordering Sweat-Free T shirts, click.

The Shirts come in all sizes, and are high-quality, 100% cotton tees come blank and ready to print with your group’s logo or design. Only the Sweat-Free logo is pre-printed in black on the sleeve. Colors available through Presbyterian Distribution Service (PDS) are White (conventionally produced cotton), Natural (organically produced cotton), and Royal Blue (“Presbyterian blue”).

Sweat-Free clothing is a growing industry.  Google "sweatfree" and you will see what's available. Sweatshops are bad for the people who work in them and bad for or society which prides itself on huan rights. Sweatshop workers are frequently exposed to toxic chemicals, paid below minimum wage, and treated badly.  Clothing, like coffee is, by and large, an unjust industry leaving the one who does the labor poorly compensated and often abused while people who actually sell the proudcts profit greatly.  Looking for proof of the just working arrangments for the clothing you buy is tedious but gratifying.  As Christians, we don;t want to profit from the degredation of others.

Here are ideas for living sweat-free:

-  Shop for Sweat-Free clothing (mostly on the internet)

-  Do not buy anything which has not been made in America

-  Buy used clothing

- Support local seamstresses and pay them fair wages for making your clothing.

-  Make your own clothing,

Links to interesting and informative web sites on this issue:

http://www.pcusa.org/sweatfree/learnmore.htm

http://www.cleanclothesconnection.org/

http://www.sweatfree.org/shopping

http://www.sweatshopwatch.org/

For more information on Sweat-Free clothing, contact Pat Plant at the Presbytery of San Jose, (408)279-0220.