Hello friends. It has been quite some time since I have been here. I am sorry if you have missed me. I was sick... so so sick... I thought for a minute that I might not make it. Sickness is an aweful thing. I think that the awefulness of the whole thing might be made worse because I am such a whiny baby. Oh, the poor people who have to deal with me when I am ill. I am sorry, and thank you, for being my friend through these rough spots. In regard to my having been gone for a few days, I have just updated myself on all of the activities of your blogs. There is a plethera of comments that I have left on your blogs from days gone by. If you are interested, you will have to go back and look. I hope that you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.

Sweatshops and responsible shopping. I am amazed and incredibly impressed by anyone who successfully lives their physical life to emulate the standards that come out of their mouth. I think that sweatshop labor and child labor is a horrendous injustice. Sadly, my thinking that, has had no impact in my life. I am a US citizen who has become quite accustomed to my luxury and convienience. It is sad. I am quite unhappy with myself. Is this enough to cause me to change? I don't know. One day, I hope that I will become a bigger person than I am currently.

Some tips to those of you who are pursing this lifestyle of boycotting those injustices of our world and society.
Coffee: Seattle's Best, formerly independent, Coffee which is now owned by the Starbucks Corporation, is all about Fair Trade and Certified Organic coffees. They are in fact all quite good. You should look into them. I must say here, I am incredibly displeased with Starbucks. They are the largest coffee company in the world, and they have only one "officially" Fair Trade coffee. This is a shame. Being that they have so much money, I feel that they should go the extra mile and make all of their coffees Fair Trade. This may seem drastic, but AMT (an English indie joint which is actually quite well-established in Great Britian) has recently made all of their coffees Fair Trade. It seems to me that if a drastically smaller, thus less profitable, company is capable of making all of their coffee Fair Trade than a huge corporation such as Starbucks should make some changes and put into action the standards that they claim.
Clothing: Patagonia (the clothing company, not the region in Chile) is the mecca of social conciousness. They put great emphasis on environmental conservation, proper labor conditions and treatment of employees, equal benefits to all individuals, and the manufactoring of a superior product. Sadly, their products are very high priced, but it is most definately money well spent. American Apparel is a great company with great products. All of their clothing is Made in the USA, and sweatshop free. They support Farm Aid and several other socially and environmentally concious organizations. They are all about giving back to the land and standing up for what is right. Another focus, one I particularly enjoy, is their support of environmentally and socially active artists and musicians. They offer a plethera of musicans the manufacturing and printing of t-shirts with profit going to designated organizations. So, look for the AA t-shirts next time you are at a concert. They also have a great website.
Personal Care: Aveda produces and markets beauty/salon products. This company is really impressive. They use no animal testing, and their products are all-natural. They use absolutely no chemicals. Check them out, their stuff is for boys and girls.

I have been researching these issues as of late. The wheels up there are spinning. I have come up with no final decision, but I have reached a point that I am saddened and frustrated with myself. I complain about these problems, but I have done nothing to stop them. The first step is to change my actions and decisions, but I changed nothing about my actions and lifestyle. That said, Talya, are there plans to write letters or a letter to Starbucks? If there aren't plans than there needs to be. I have some words. I am done now. Sorry, if that was all incredibly boring for you, I thought it might be helpful and interesting to some of you.