Poverty and the Environment

Poverty has universal and devastating effects on our planet. If a country is unstable economically, chances are the people of said country, will turn to unregulated, dangerous and even deadly ways of making money to support their families. When you have unregulated factories all over the world supplying Europe and America with leather goods that come from and are made in unsavory places, you want to mull over some interesting facts about why poverty on the other side of the world would affect the environment and what you can do to help. “Issues about environment, economics and politics are inter-related through the way humans interact with their surroundings and with each other.” Here is an article as to why the environment, economics and politics are one and they should be treated as one issue if we are ever going to tackle the issue of poverty and the environment.

This article is not directly speak about the leather industry, but the reader does not have to stretch the imagination to see why this article should be included in our blog. Unstable economies create nefarious actions.  With demands always increasing for leathers to be produced in bigger supplies, unregulated factories will cut corners to produce their leather fast and dangerous.

http://www.globalissues.org/article/425/poverty-and-the-environment

The price is paid by the environment, the humans who work in sweatshop conditions and of course the animals who are killed for their skins. “The relationship between the rich and poor, and the impacts on the environment go deep. Economics is meant to be about efficient allocation of resources to meet everyone’s needs. However, international power politics and ideologies have continued to influence policies in such a way that decision-making remains concentrated in the hands of a few narrow interests. The result is that the world’s resources are allocated to meet a few people’s wants, not everyone’s needs.”

“Technological solutions, such as more environmentally friendly technologies, while extremely important, do not address underlying political, social and economic causes. Just as doctors highlight the need to prevent illnesses in the first place, and resort to cures when needed, so too do we need to understand these deeper issues in a more holistic manner. The interconnectedness needs more recognition if environmental degradation, poverty and other global problems can begin to be addressed.”

We need to simply make the connection between the environment, economics and politics and work on sustainable solutions that can save our planet, protect the workers all over the world and keep our animals safe. We can this, we just need to find a balance within the confines of our proud attitudes and realize that we have one planet. We can change our habits, and educate everyone we meet. It only takes one person to stand up for what’s right.