The Capitalist Christian

Executive director of the National Labor Committee Charles Kernaghan has reported that crucifixes sold by the Singer Company, a member of the Association for Christian Retail (CBA), were manufactured under horrific conditions in a Chinese sweatshop. The “Christian” retail association’s response: “Nuh uh. Liar liar pants on fire.”

Bill Anderson, president of the Association for Christian Retail, a trade group, said in a statement yesterday that Mr. Kernaghan’s claims about manufacture of religious items overseas were “unfounded and irresponsible.” He said the group has never received concrete proof that items sold by its members were manufactured in sweatshops. In fact, he said, the organization’s members make regular trips to overseas factories to “ensure quality control as well as inspect working conditions.”

The CBA is most likely right. I mean, Kernaghan’s track record includes outing only Disney, Fruit of the Loom, Gap, JCPenney, Kmart, Kohl’s, Levi’s, Nike, Puff Daddy/P Diddy/Diddy, and Target, among others. Like Kathy Lee Gifford. Kernaghan has no idea what he’s talking about. CBA members sell Christian stuff, duh. Jesus would totally manufacture merchandise as cheaply as possible and then mark it way up and sell it to his followers, especially to his followers who think it’s more important to look Christian than to act Christian. As long as his name was on their T-shirts and his method of death was hanging around their necks, Jesus wouldn’t really care if they actually followed his teachings.

But I digress.

This AP article shows pictures of the crucifixes, including model number and where they were bought. A protest was held yesterday in front of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, one of the churches who sold Singer crucifixes. The article also includes pictures of the sweatshop, where Chinese women work one hundred hours a week, for seven days a week, for twenty-six cents an hour, with no sick time or vacation time. The young women’s living conditions are disgusting; the dorms are filthy and their food is slop. Another church selling the crucifixes was Episcopal Trinity on Wall Street. Both churches removed the crucifixes immediately when they were told of the merchandise’s origins. The crucifixes did not include the required “Made in China” sticker, and the churches believed that the crucifixes were made in Italy, as Singer had told them.

So if you are planning to buy Christian paraphernalia for Christmas, for Christ’s sake please make sure the vendor is not a member of the Association for Christian Retail.

The National Labor Committee’s report can be found here.



Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it fully.
Proverbs 28:5.