followthethings.com

A database of trade justice activism making 'real' hidden relations between producers & consumers of everyday things.

[Jeff Ballinger @press4change]

RT @propublica New: In 1992, Cicih Sukaesih led fellow Indonesian factory workers in a strike, part of a movement that led Nike to create its first code of conduct. She reflects on her achievements & what’s happened since. cc @followthethings @labourlabel https://t.co/F5WjHMLhqq

[followthethings.com @followthethings]

It's one month to Valentine's Day. Our gift to you is this: almost everything ever said online about the making, reception of impacts of Kanye West's (2005) 'Diamonds are from Sierra Leone'. #valentinesday #diamonds #followthething #kanye

[followthethings.com @followthethings]

If you're teaching trade justice this term, check the selection of Valentine's - sorry, International Flower Workers' - Day resources on https://t.co/0qWkSmCbeA. It's time to talk seriously about ❤️ love ❤️ More to come... #tradejustice #activism #flowers #diamonds #chocolate

[followthethings.com @followthethings]

Nationalists are waving & painting flags in the UK rn. But what if they're made overseas? By kids? #Banksy's asked this during Queen Elizabeth's 2012 Diamond Jubilee. #slavelabour's message was amplified *and* derailed by the art market. 😫 https://t.co/bZUJYEmI2H

[followthethings.com @followthethings]

Nationalists are waving & painting flags in the UK rn. But what if they're made overseas? By kids? #Banksy's asked this during Queen Elizabeth's 2012 Diamond Jubilee. #slavelabour's message was amplified *and* derailed by the art market. 😫 https://t.co/bZUJYEmI2H

[followthethings.com @followthethings]

In difficult times, when the seeds of division are being sown, #followthething work can 'cross cultures' & 'pop the bubble' not only of commodity fetishism, but of nationalism & its 'us & them' thinking. 🤝 Check the examples here https://t.co/CX0R566JGk

[followthethings.com @followthethings]

😘 Love this! "Drawn from oil-producing nations around the world, the tacky paperweights embody both the seductive allure of extraction and the pomposity and fragility of its resulting wealth and power" @icalondon #oil #art
https://t.co/t9Ht6NhAID

[followthethings.com @followthethings]

We're creeping it real 4 #Halloween 2025. 🎃 Check your decorations for help notes from factory workers. ✍️ Ask if your #trickortreat #chocolate was picked by kids. 👋 Find out what dangerous supply chain practices keep your kids safe from danger. 😱 https://t.co/P108xYe1Wv

[followthethings.com @followthethings]

One for #christmas, two for #fruit, three for the women who should be in #Nike ads.

These short videos are a great way to 'pop the bubble' of #commodityfetishism & to encourage students to think about the people who make their stuff.
https://t.co/LAjOVkX7W8

[followthethings.com @followthethings]

We've been sad to hear about the death of poet Tony Harrison this weekend. We loved the way this poem captured the pleasures & troubles of consumption whose entanglement - we've argued - should be worked with not separated. [CC image from Donnchadh H on Flickr] #RIP

[followthethings.com @followthethings]

#followthethings academic #quoteoftheweek, especially for #Halloween 🎃. Where commodity fetishism meets cyborg ontology in trade justice activism. Screenshot taken from the must-watch participatory doc 'Maquilapolis: city of factories'
😘 https://t.co/dvr5HKlFYR

[followthethings.com @followthethings]

Want to work out how #tradejusticeactivism works and what it can do? Looking for #dissertationinspiration? https://t.co/0qWkSmCbeA contains secondary data on the making, reception & impacts of 100+ films, artworks, stunts & more. Shop around https://t.co/SfIcDerLKi

[followthethings.com @followthethings]

Including haunting & horror is the most basic tactic used in trade justice activism. The spirits of supply chain workers remain in the commodities you buy. They’re with you when you use them. You can sense this. See our handbook page on this
https://t.co/VKG8yeUeEw

[followthethings.com @followthethings]

#Halloween is coming. Time for this creeperific example of #followthethings activism. A letter from a Chinese prison factory worker found in a box of 👻 decorations. "Please kindly resend this ... to the World Human Right Organization". WHY?>>
https://t.co/C0EgQCk87X

[followthethings.com @followthethings]

The most hummable #followthething you'll ever see. People make Santa hats & Christmas decorations by hand in a Chinese factory while kids sing 'Jungle Bells' in Cantonese. It's a jarring conversation starter for the classroom or dinner table.
https://t.co/vXyGEiSF8c

[followthethings.com @followthethings]

As the UK announces its recognition of the State of #Palestine today, commentators are reflecting on the history of its involvement in the region. This doc about the history of #jaffa #oranges is an excellent source of information & debate. https://t.co/f3royzT2DK

[followthethings.com @followthethings]

✔️ Sweets for trick or treating 🎃
✔️ Haunted Halloween children's book 👻
✔️ Halloween graveyard decorations 🪦
Visit our store. We've got the lot, Christmas is next.
https://t.co/psY2e4vO4Q
#whomademystuff #hauntedhalloween #followthethings

[followthethings.com @followthethings]

If football, rugby or athletics is your thing, these comedy shows, video games, pranks & advert-stripping examples ask who else is on the field & whose skilled performances players & fans could be supporting. #labourrights
https://t.co/bmHWtONdkM

[followthethings.com @followthethings]

POV: a bullet. Starts in a factory. Inspected. Crated. Travelling. To Sierra Leone. A soldier loads it in an AK-47. Gunfire. You're in the air. Flying. Killing a child soldier. The end. #OtD in 2005 #LordOfWar is released. This was its intro
https://t.co/5HaGadlVw0

[followthethings.com @followthethings]

There's a weirdly-early mix of Halloween & Christmas presents appearing in stores right now (including our store). It's unsettling in lots of ways. There's never a better time to think about supply chain workers' pay & conditions. Click
https://t.co/P108xYe1Wv & connect