Research worker ensures our rights at work campaign stays human.
Rocket Schenk, NUW activist and member, not only works as an interviewer at the Wallis Group in Melbourne, he is also the founder of an ethical merchandising company, Stay Human. The NUW sought out Stay Human to produce the thousands of badges and stickers to ensure an ethically-made good quality product for the Rights at Work for Research Workers campaign. We also recently caught up with Rocket to share with us his experiences at Stay Human.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about Stay Human?
A: Stay Human is a no sweatshop merchandise company. The main philosophy behind it is that people are good and will do the right thing if you make it easy enough. Because a lot of companies do source things in sweatshops and generally view workers rights as an after thought it can be hard for people to source ethically made products. I just want to help make it easier so that one we can stop giving these companies our money and thus funding what they do and two, we can start building a system of business that is more honest and fair.
Q: Why did you decide to set up Stay Human?
A: I am quite involved in the Melbourne Punk scene and I knew a lot of bands were trying to source no-sweatshop band t-shirts but were having a very hard time. I had some success in getting them for my own band so I thought I should do this as a business. I started off with just $1,000 to buy a badge making machine and some blank tees and now we’ve been going for over five years.
Q: What’s next for Stay Human?
A: It’s crazy because every other month I’m thinking of the different directions I could go in. But the main thing I want do is to open a physical shop in both Sydney and Queensland. We get a lot more sales from Melbourne that anywhere else just because I’m here but I’d like Stay Human to be offering no sweatshop merch Australia wide. I’m also intending to start up a clothing line of our own, so people who aren’t in bands or groups but just want to buy some cool no-sweatshop and fair-trade clothes can do it.
Q: How do you think running a small business fits with trade union membership and activism?
A: There is a stereotype that unions are anti-business in general. That’s a joke. A decent business will benefit from having union workers. Again most small business owners are people who are also working part time and I know from my experience it’s a lot easier to work only a few days a week if you’re getting a great union wage! Also as an ethical business, sourcing union made products is one of the best guarantees that the products are actually ethically made. A lot of companies these days will claim to have an ‘ethical charter’ and do this and that but unless it’s verified by a union it’s hard to believe.
Q: I understand Stay Human has just opened a shop front in Melbourne. Where is it?
A: The new shop is upstairs at 77 Bridge Rd, Richmond, and it opened on 27 March 2008. Probably the best feature is that it has three badge machines set up for people to make their own on the spot, as well as samples of what we do.
If you want to dress well during the day and sleep guilt-free at night, go to www.stayhuman.com.au, or www.myspace.com/ethicalalliance
Last modified 2008-06-06 01:14 PM
