Iowa parish finds right fit for social justice

Published: 2006-07-19

NEWTON, Iowa (CNS) -- Father Ernie Braida needed new boxer shorts, but didn't want to buy any that had been made in sweatshops. Parishioners at Sacred Heart Parish in Newton, where he is pastor, were looking for a garment that could be made by workers in El Salvador who would receive a fair wage for their service. "How about boxer shorts?" Father Braida suggested. His parishioners thought it was a great idea. They took his suggestion and developed it into a project called Just Choice. Father Braida said many brand-name undergarment manufacturers use sweatshop workers to make their products. "If you use the products, you are part of the problem," he said in an interview with The Catholic Messenger, newspaper of the Davenport Diocese. Fifty pairs of boxer shorts were sold even before they were produced. The first order will be 500 pairs of shorts. About 12 women and men will make them and be paid the equivalent of about $2.50 per hour. In El Salvador, most workers in sweatshops make a $2-per-day minimum wage.

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