“Inside The Label” is part of United World Week giving people the chance to make a difference by choosing good quality, ethically produced goods and social responsibility. Note the date. 11 May, just a few days after United World Week (1-7 May 2019) is “Inside the Label” day when we can “vote as we spend”. This is one of the main actions for 2019 planned by the Focolare’s Youth for a United World, an exercise in “economic democracy”, as the Italian economist, Leonardo Becchetti, who started the day, has called it. Let’s see what it is about and how we can get involved. According to Becchetti, “Voting as you spend expresses the sovereignty of the consumer, who decides with their purchasing and saving power whether to reward or penalise companies and/or countries that act responsibly or irresponsibly from a social and environmental point of view… Many problems we face, as Pope Francis says, are due to an economic system which is no longer able to solve people’s problems and those relating to the environment. The solution is to create a new and sustainable economic model which is both inclusive and participative.” Leonardo Becchetti affirms that “the only way to do this is to build it up from the grassroots, together. Hence the idea of voting as you spend: becoming responsible consumers, conscious of the role we can play and the power we have to reward companies that make profits, without harming their employees, customers or the environment, through the items we purchase. We have the power to judge and choose companies that are leading the way in social, environmental and financial sustainability”. The young people of the Focolare want to encourage people to shop ethically and support companies that are economically and socially responsible. But how is this vote cast? Supermarkets are the “polling stations” where shoppers are invited to take part in a workshop lasting about 2 hours. Scoreboards, ballot boxes and real ballot papers are prepared. The idea is to present the “candidates”, which are a selection of products divided into 5 categories: pasta, coffee, chocolate, tinned tuna and fizzy orange drinks. An information sheet on each product gives details of the characteristics and criteria on which to judge the product such as protection of the environment, respect for workers, traceability of raw materials, etc. The workshop is set out like an election day and votes are cast by the purchase (or not) of products on the basis of their different programmes, i.e. on the basis of the information gathered. And it’s all done like a talk show, with exit polls, projections and the counting of votes. These “Inside the Label” workshops have three aims – to bridge the gap between the consumer and the hidden choices businesses have made concerning their products, so as to generate awareness; to encourage group participation by voting for the products; and finally to generate change. When consumer choices are directed towards the common good, they can influence companies to act more ethically like the companies whose goods were purchased. We will share developments on the “Inside the Label” campaign on this website and the United World Project website, and information on the “candidate” products is also available on the website for this initiative.

Stefania Tanesini