Anti-Slavery Australia opens the world's first retailer "promoting folks".
Human Mart Promo Image. All images: Cocogun and the Glue Society
Cocogun creative agency and art and directing collective The Glue Society partnered with Anti-Slavery Australia (ASA) to create Human Mart – the world's first supermarket that “sells people”.
According to the campaign, around 15,000 people are being held in slave-like conditions in Australia today, often as domestic servants, cheap labor, sexual exploitation or forced marriages. The problem is that the problem often goes unnoticed by the wider population. Only one in five victims is discovered and many people do not know how serious the problem is.
To raise awareness, Human Mart, which opened in Sydney, carries a range of over 70 products, each depicting a victim of modern day slavery in Australia. Each item is labeled with the name of a person who has been a victim of slavery, and the story is written on the back of the box instead of an ingredient list. The campaign is also designed to raise funds for ASA so that every product “bought” equals a donation.
ASA are advocates of the anti-slavery movement in Australia and the only specialized legal practice, research and policy center committed to the abolition of modern slavery in the country. Cocogun came up with the idea of Human Mart to aid their efforts and worked with the Glue Society to bring the vision to life. They worked together on the product design, the uniforms of the employees, the visual branding of the store and even the music.
The project lasted 18 months, with the pandemic delaying the original start date. "It has been extremely rewarding to be able to bring it back this yearSays Alice Cogin, director of the Glue Society. “For most Australians, we are unaware of the prevalence of modern slavery in our country. It's easy to believe that things like this don't happen here, but they do. It was important to us that this initiative honored the individual stories of the survivors and showed the need for more awareness and ultimately more action. "
Human Mart is open to the public until March 25th. All funds raised will be donated to Anti-Slavery Australia to support victims and survivors of slavery.
humanmart.com.au;; coffeecocoagunpowder.com.au;; gluesociety.com