I had heard about the Garifuna when I was doing research about Belize.

Your story is remarkable.

We used to have sweatshops in America, Europe, etc. Many people, including children, were injured. Some ladies burned to death in a factory fire in NYC due to the employers locking the doors so the workers could not escape. It is heartbreaking that people don't see their workers as fellow human beings.

I think it is important to support fair and equitable systems. I haven't bought clothes since Covid, but before that, I bought most of my garments from local shops. A simple shirt would cost $20 instead of $5, but the person was being paid a living wage. Plus, the quality was much better and I could pay a little more for custom details. I also have bought clothes from fair trade networks where women in the third world are being fairly compensated for their work or are allowed to keep some of the profits.

There are also outfits that work with Native Americans here in America. Many of them suffer in horrible poverty. Yet they are also often very talented artistically. I was lucky enough to find some venues whereby I have been able to buy some beautiful, quality goods that help lift people out of poverty instead of exploiting them.

Finding places to buy quality goods takes time and effort, it's more work than going to Walmart. But I think it's worth it because I don't want to subsidize someone who takes advantage of suffering people.

And it's not just clothes. I was reading about the actors in Slumdog Millionaire, how they were paid very poorly despite the movie doing so well. It seems to me that if you as a producer make millions and you know that your actors are living in slums - could you not at the very least offer to pay for their education and that of their siblings? Better yet would be to offer them a fair cut of the profits. It would be the moral thing to do.