Cards Against Humanity and Ethics in Voices Windward

So Cards Against Humanity gave their factory workers in China a paid week of leave and the world sings their praises.

What about the other 51 weeks?

Let’s also not forget that the next part of “Eight Sensible Gifts for Hanukkah” promotion. involves a threat to purchase and cut up a Picasso.”Tete de Faune,” a 1962 linocut of a faun’s head by Picasso, was purchased using cash from 150,000 customers who each gave $15 each… voting opens on the 26th… Customers can vote to either donate or destroy the artwork… a test perhaps, but guys, this is the internet.Those 150,000 suscribers will either validate themselves or be naughty anonymous renegades, either way, I suspect their number of suscribers will shoot up as in Labour tradition, you have to sign up to have a say.

Not to denounce them entirely, they give back to their employees and even bought an island to be a nature researve but we should have a little perspective here, AdMagic Inc (the partners who do the making bit) make a lot of random Chinese tosh and contribute daily to the suffering brought by global capitalism and perhaps more to the point, they employ nine people in New Jersey and dozens in China.

This is all just seems like white washing to masking the very large sums of money that go into the pockets of a few… sure they donated $70,000 to their work force but their current kickstarer “Exploding Kittens” is sitting on $3.7 Million and their revenue stream is massive, Let alone CAH (Whose Kickstarter was $15,000) but from merc and sales of several board / card games as well as playing cards and all manner of gaming bits and bobs that make them the largest independant in the US.

I applaud them for giving back and trade with China is simply a reality of operating a buisness… It just concerns me the arrogance in celebrating 1 week in 52.

This may all come of a bit trite as I’m founding a retail outlet for board games myself and yes many of the things we sell will have been produced in questionable circumstances,I like to think if it comes to production we’d act ethically and all but least to say I’d be the first to put my hand up and say “just another cog”… apologisms for the sad nature of any buisness in this modern world aside I rather hope some day we’re in a position to affect change too…

SO…Alternatives?

• Local source production, higher cost to end customer sure, but if illustrating how people are actually essentially nice is the aim perhaps employing some of New Jersey’s 12,000 homeless?

• Establishing and working with a workers co-operative in China/America or working with operations with established quality of care for employees, one whose name you would be happy to share instead of leaving absent from your media regarding it.

• Make aid and support a year round process, not a marketing campaign during Yule and at the very least don’t use the suffering of the work force and your all so benevalent granting of a little liberty as the drive behind sales.

• Don’t make suggestions of chopping up artwork.