I met Elijah a couple of weeks back when I started shooting images at the Occupy LSX camp at St Paul's Cathedral. I was photographing Indigo, his girlfriend as she sat in the entrance of their tent. Elijah was inside, in the shadows, embellishing some of Indigo's answers to my questions, as I took shot after shot of her.
The music industry must play a role in improving working conditions under these companies, and they've done it before. 20 years ago most band merchandise - t-shirts, patches, hoodies - was, like most apparel, manufactured in sweatshops in China. Now most bands use fair trade certified suppliers for their merch.
The world has a new global steering committee, the G20 group of developed and 'emerging' economies, which has committed itself publicly to supporting economic growth that reaches the poorest people, and doesn't destroy the environment in the process. At least, that's the talk, but according to a new survey by Oxfam, the walk isn't happening. That matters because the G20 countries are home to half the world's poor people, and account for a much greater chunk of its ecological footprint. Climate change is just the best-known consequence of such failings. Rising inequality also undermines political stability - ask the Occupy movement.