Ethical Update from Australia

View on mobile June-July 2018 Everyday choices to change your world

Choose to refuse - single-use plastic ​​​More than 6 out of 10 of us are already refusing plastic shopping bags, avoiding pre-packed fruit and veg, picking up other people's litter and avoiding buying bottled water. If you’ve ever wanted to reduce your reliance on harmful plastic products and reduce your plastic waste, then this is the month to do it. Register for the Plastic Free July challenge. See the Enviro Shop for items to help you reduce plastic use, and some Hints from Rose.

Big Banks - how ethical? What would the big four banks do with a 17 billion dollar tax cut if they got one? Perhaps more jobs and fairer (fatter) pay packets for employees. Given the recent Royal Commission, and continuing criticisms (including fossil fuel funding and foreign land grabs), "investing" in the big banks in this way may not be backing the most "ethical" horse. Check out these resources to find a bank that reflects your values. See Get Up!'s Brighter Banks campaign - partnering with 100% customer-owned Bank Australia.

The Kind guide - made with compassion The fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world, employing millions of people worldwide of which many are underpaid, overworked and enslaved. A new resource, The Kind guide, advocates for brands with strong ethics and are constantly asking who, where and how products are made. See their directory. Check out this vid from Citizen Wolf, one of the featured brands, explaining what they do. See more on clothing alternatives at Shop Ethical Clothing.

Be Inspired: towards a plant-based diet Change the world - one bite at a time! A plant-based diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds and limits meat, fish, dairy, eggs, cheese and other animal by-products. It differs largely from a vegan and vegetarian diet in that it promotes unprocessed foods. Yep, no tofurkey! This month's Be Inspired feature explores the benefits of a plant-based diet, including the "reducetarian" movement, empowering individuals to eat less meat in an easy and manageable way.

Cash for containers - it makes cents! April saw Boomerang Alliance hit the road with a 3 metre-long Coke Bottle on a mission to sway the Victorian government to implement a statewide 10 cents Container Deposit Scheme. Similar schemes have been hugely successful in NT, SA and NSW, and within the next six months, WA, QLD and ACT will introduce their own legislation, leaving Victorians, along with Tasmanians, unable to reap the rewards. Sign up to the Cash for Containers campaign and find out more about the Big Bottle Tour.

Quick Bites Apple has been fined $9m for misleading Australia customers about their warranty rights by refusing to inspect or fix faulty devices without charge if they had been repaired by a third party.  Guardian Does you AFL footy team profit from pokies? Nine AFL clubs around Australia use pokies to fund their footy clubs. Sign the petition to help clubs get out of the pokies.   Pokies Play You McCafé is the largest producer of coffee cup waste in Australia, using over 84 million cups each year. Their plastic lining means that most are never recycled. Sign the petition.   Sum of Us The government has suspended the export licence of Emanuel Exports, the biggest live sheep trading exporter and the company responsible for the 2017 Awassi Express shipment.   The Conversation In a bid to reduce ocean pollution, Japan has passed a bill calling on companies to cease use of microplastics in their products (especially face washes and toothpastes).   Global Cosmetics

THE DRESS CODE - A BASIS FOR DISCRIMINATION?

Read more about this here

To read more about the Sikhs and the turban
and its importance to them, please go here.

The editor of Beside The Creek wonders if any of the decision-makers at this school
know any Sikhs or know anything about their faith.
Their decision is sure to bring the school and its Christian faith
into disrepute in interfaith circles in Victoria.

For those who are not aware,
Sikh men do not cut their hair - and that goes for beards as well.
Having said that though, there are many Sikh men who do.
However, the standard and traditional practice is
to let the hair, face and head, grow.

The editor once had a doctor who was a Sikh.
As well as the turban, he had a sort of little pouch which
hooked behind his ears, and that kept his beard tidy.

All this to-do makes me wonder how this Christian school
might have treated an orthodox Jewish male wearing
a skull-cap or that stand-out black hat head-gear?
After all, Jesus was a Jew and, if he was back in
this modern world, what would he be wearing?
But then in this Christian school, maybe they would not allow
the skull-cap either.

Seems to this editor, that what these very particular Christians at Melton have done
is the usual discriminatory thing.
When all else fails and you don't want to say someone is not
welcome because .....
impose an arbitrary dress code.

From the Christian viewpoint, all are welcome in the Kingdom of God,
REGARDLESS
but at this school at Melton they have higher standards than that
and it can get down to what you put on your head.

Please take a visit to a Sikh Gurdwara here.

Further news on this topic from the ABC
Monday 24 July 2017

Editorial from The Age 
Wednesday 26 July 2017