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Objective: Investigate how everyday products are interconnected with places and people around the world through trade.
Explore the impacts of production and consumption on different regions and think about strategies to manage sustainability.
Task Overview:
1. Choose a Product: Select a common product something that you use often (e.g., a fruit, a smartphone, a T-shirt, chocolate).
2. Develop Questions for Inquiry: Brainstorm and write down 3-5 questions about your chosen product.
Examples:
Where is this product made?
How does this product get from where it is made to where it is sold?
What are the environmental impacts of making this product?
How do the people who make this product live?
Are there any sustainability strategies related to this product?
3. Research the Product’s Journey: Where it’s made: On a world map identify the country (or countries) where the product or its parts are produced. Include a title and key.
Global trade connections:
How does the product travel from its place of production to where it’s sold?
What are the trade routes involved?
Impacts of production and consumption: How does the production of the product affect people and places? What are the environmental, social, and economic impacts?
4. Sustainability Solutions:
Explore one strategy to reduce the negative impacts of the product's production and how it can be applied.
For example:
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Fair trade practices.
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Reducing waste or recycling.
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Supporting local production or environmentally friendly brands.
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5. Present Findings in your book:
The journey of their chosen product - Using a map.
Key interconnections between different places (production, trade, consumption).
The impacts on people and places.
Suggestions for more sustainable practices.
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The Global Journey of Our Favourite Products
Inquiry Questions
Questions are relevant and insightful about the product’s global journey.
Investigating
Understanding interconnections
Key interconnections between places have been identified.
Maps and visual representations have been used
Impacts and people and places have been understood.
Feasible strategies and suggestions have been proposed to manage sustainability?
Interpreting
explaining
Is your work clear to understand, logically presented and explains how the product is connected to different places through trade?
Communicating
Further Research Websites
Ethical Consumer: ethicalconsumer.org
This website provides detailed reports and ratings on the ethical performance of various products and brands, including information on sourcing, environmental impact, and worker rights.
Fair Trade International: fairtrade.net
Fair Trade International offers information on the journey of products like coffee, chocolate, and bananas. It also provides insights into the social and economic impacts of fair trade practices.
Rainforest Alliance: rainforest-alliance.org
This site offers information about products certified by the Rainforest Alliance, including details on sustainable farming practices, environmental impact, and how these certifications help communities around the world.World
Wildlife Fund (WWF): worldwildlife.org
WWF offers insights into how certain products affect wildlife and ecosystems, as well as strategies for reducing environmental damage through sustainable sourcing.
Supply Chain Transparency: Platformopensecrets.org
This platform provides information on global supply chains, highlighting the movement of goods across countries and how ethical or sustainable the supply chains are.
Global Footprint Network: footprintnetwork.org
This website gives information on the environmental impact of various products, measuring the ecological footprint of production and consumption patterns around the world.