via OXFAM

Why is actress and singer Minnie Driver covered in cotton??? For charity of course! A 2004 campaign for Oxfam America included ads of celebrities covered in everything from milk and sugar to cotton in order to raise awareness about the importance of fair trade. Minnie Driver is one of Oxfam’s leading supporters. She was inspired to do the ad after her trips to Cambodia and Thailand for the organization’s sweat shop campaign. She was deeply affected by what she saw—-the horrible conditions and excruciating labor for menial wages. Other celebrities who took part in the campaign were Colin Firth, Antonio Banderas, Bono, Coldplay's lead singer Chris Martin, R.E.M.'s lead singer Michael Stipe, Alanis Morrissette, and Radiohead's lead singer Thom Yorke.

Minnie Driver performs and speaks at annual events for Oxfam all over the country. She has supported the organization for years now. Oxfam International is an organization dedicated to bringing world peace by fighting for human rights through advocacy campaigns, development programs and emergency response. They combat human rights violations by both responding to atrocity with immediate emergency relief and also by working to lobby and change policy to prevent issues in the future. Most importantly, they work to teach the community how to be self-sustainable through education. It was founded in 1942 at the end of World War II in order to provide famine relief to people in Nazi-occupied Greece. Today they have thirteen sectors working in 100 countries and many different projects!

Minnie Driver told Reuters that she chose to fight for fair trade because "I like the underdog, and trade is like the ugly stepsister to a lot of policies that exist. It's not sexy, there is no vaccine. It's a slow process." The Make Fair Trade campaign has been especially effective in pushing companies like Starbucks to be more conscious about their negative impacts on Africa where they get most of their coffee. The fashion industry is also feeding into the problem buy outsourcing to places like Africa where they pay less for the goods because of the sweatshop industry and forced labor. Oxfam America estimates that from 2001 to 2003, the presence of artificially cheap American cotton on the world market caused an estimated $400 million in losses to farmers in these West African nations.

By pushing companies to respect human rights and international trade laws as well as lobbying for policy, Oxfam is making a lot of progress. This past month nineteen actors, musicians, and writers got together and signed a letter drafted by Oxfam to tackle climate change. Among those who signed it were Scarlett Johansson, Colin Firth, and Gael Garcia Bernal. CGG readers can do the same thing by writing to companies and the government.

And we weren’t kidding about the camel. Oxfam has stores around the world selling fair-trade items and clothing. You can also send gifts from their website: oxfamamericaunwrapped.com and send a camel, one of many gift items, to a family in need. Minnie Driver gave one to Ellen DeGeneres last year! "I'm a big fan of camels because even though we don't have camels where I live, they are remarkably useful in and around Sub-Saharan Africa," Driver said in an interview, "It's this amazing gifting program where you can give gifts to your friends that go to those in need." On their website, you can purchase anything from a water purifier to a goat or camel in a friend’s name. They will receive a card with information about how the gift is going to help the world! For $125 you can buy a camel for someone in a developing country! If you don’t have that kind of cash, buy a can of worms for $18! Pretty cool, eh?