YouTuber Jacques Slade Uses Shoe Unboxing Video To Champion Anti-Slavery Campaign

A philanthropic organization and a YouTuber have teamed up to highlight the realities of modern-day slavery. Jacques Slade, known for his sneaker videos on YouTube, took a look at a new, socially-conscious shoe as part of the Thomson Reuters Foundation‘s Unboxing The Truth campaign.

On his channel, Slade often unboxes new products from brands like Nike and Adidas. In a recent video, however, he took a look at a package sent to him by Thomson Reuters. The shoes contained inside it are filled with references to modern-day slavery: Its tongue recognizes the 40 million people who live in bondage today, its $90 price tag reflects the current price of a slave, and its insoles feature pictures of sweatshops.

“They’re not asking us to stop buying things or to stop unboxing things,” Slade said of Thomson Reuters, “but to pay attention to where we’re buying things and who we’re buying things from.”

“Being a part of this campaign has made me take a more thoughtful stance on the issues around forced labor,” Slade added in a press release. “Given the impact we can all make with our voices, I am proud I may be able to help educate and empower those around me to look deeper at their own understanding of the topic and…inspire them to enact change both locally and globally.”

If you’d like to contribute to Thomson Reuters’ fight against slavery and human trafficking, you can donate to the Unboxing The Truth campaign by clicking here.