Holy See says avoid buying brands produced through child labor

Rome, Italy, May 12, 2004 / 22:00 pm

A spokesman for the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace is calling on believers to avoid buying products that are produced through the exploitation of children.

At a press conference during the First World Congress on Child Exploitation in Florence, Italy, Archbishop Giampaolo Crepaldi, secretary of the council, said: “The use of products that are made through the exploitation of enslaved young children is intolerable and therefore immoral for Christians.”

Three hundred children who have worked in such conditions are participating in the Florence gathering.

It is believed that throughout the world 246 million children — one out of every six minors – work. Of these, 179 million work in jobs of an intense physical, moral or mental nature.  Between eight and 20 million are victims of slavery or prostitution.