In 2003, California passed legislation that sets no-sweat standards for the procurement of state clothing such as uniforms. Three other states—Maine, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania—have similar laws in place. Twenty-six cities, 28 school districts, and 10 counties also have no-sweat procurement regulations. Campus activists have been working for years to ensure that university-licensed caps, t-shirts and sweatshirts are made in dignified conditions.

In the coming year, GX will be working closely with people around the U.S. to increase the number of cities and states with no-sweat procurement laws. We will travel to the dozens of communities where sweat-free campaigns are already happening to bolster ongoing efforts by offering organizer trainings, media support, and assistance with strategic planning. We will also ignite new campaigns in select cities such as Berkeley, Seattle and Portland, OR.

To help educate people about the need to eliminate sweatshop abuses, we will be sponsoring speaking events for Chie Abad, a former sweatshop worker who has become a leading voice for workers' rights. Abad used to work for a factory in the U.S. territory of Saipan that made clothing for Gap and other major retailers. After suffering from years of abuse, Abad tried to organize a union. Her organizing drive was met by repression from factory management, and Abad left Saipan to come to the mainland U.S. to raise awareness about sweatshop abuses. She says taking the anti-sweatshop effort to the realm of public policy and passing sweat-free ordinances is key to improving factory conditions and workers' wages.

"This campaign will help workers because it will create a market for sweat-free garments," says Abad. "It will lead to more sweat-free factories, and that will give workers more chances to work under dignified conditions."

Nearly 10 years after the first contemporary sweatshop exposes shocked the conscience of the nation, it is safe to say that most people know sweatshops exist. Whereas people used to read about sweatshops in their history books, today they learn about sweatshops from the morning newspaper. Our task, then, is no longer to simply expose the problem, but to provide solutions. Survey after survey has shown that most U.S. consumers—as many as 7 in 10—say they would pay more for garments if they knew they weren't made in abusive conditions. The challenge before us is to extend that ethic to our public purchasing.

Real solidarity lies not in merely denouncing and decrying injustice, but in taking direct action to remedy injustice. When it comes to sweatshop abuses, that means putting our money where our heart is—not only in our own decisions, but also in the decisions made by the government agencies our tax dollars support. "We know that people want sweatshop-free clothes," says former sweatshop worker Abad. "What we have to do is build the market so that people can get those kinds of clothes."