Now & Zen, Inc. Political Policy Statement

Now & Zen, Inc. Political Policy Statement Now & Zen, Inc. Political Policy Statement Now & Zen, Inc, conceives, designs, and finances the production and distribution of all our patented and trademarked products from our headquarters in Boulder. Colorado, USA. All Now & Zen products are made exclusively to our specifications at two different third-party factories in Shenzhen city, China, with the exception of our brass bowl-gongs, which are made in a third-party factory in the city of Moradabad, India. Our products are shipped from China and India to a third-party warehouse in Denver, Colorado, and then shipped from there directly to our customers via UPS, or sold at our Boulder retail store. Hundreds of people are working to produce and distribute Now & Zen’s products worldwide, but the company directly employs only ten fulltime people to administer its finance, distribution, customer service, sales, and marketing. Although we are a small company with little market leverage to demand specific social policies or to specify the wages paid by our third-party partners, we nevertheless strive to ensure that working conditions in all locations where Now & Zen products are produced or distributed are safe, that no child labor is used, that working hours are not unreasonable, and that all workers receive a market wage for their labor. In other words, Now & Zen products are not made in “sweat shops”. Just like Apple Computers, Mountain Hardware outdoor gear, and many other high quality, high design brands, Zen Alarm Clocks are manufactured in southern China. And because of the boom in manufacturing that is occurring in southern China, the resulting labor shortages are driving up wages and giving workers more choices. Although cultural evolution moves slowly, market forces are working in favor of the Chinese people. And it is worth mentioning in this context that His Holiness the Dalai Lama has publicly discouraged those who are concerned about Tibet from pressing for economic sanctions or boycotts of products manufactured in China. Moreover, the American business community (including investors, banks, suppliers, and consumer expectations of price) would not support us if we tried to make our products in the U.S.—there are now practically no producers of consumer electronics who manufacture in the U.S. In fact, without the recent integration of the global economy, Now & Zen would not be sustainable as a company. Globalization and the internet has actually made it possible for small niche brands to produce goods internationally and sell them internationally; and it is only because of this new economic freedom that small quality companies like ours can exist. So although we are patriotic Americans, our primary loyalties are as citizens of Planet Earth; we do not believe that Americans are somehow more morally valuable than citizens of other countries—we believe that everybody counts and everybody needs a fair chance in this world. Accordingly, Now & Zen’s position is that increasing global economic integration is the fastest and most practical way to produce peace, prosperity, and justice worldwide. However, we also recognize that economic globalization without appropriate forms of democratic global law and fair-minded regulation can result in negative consequences for everyone. Thus, rather than vilifying globalization, we want to evolve forward by making globalization more moral through the inauguration of a limited democratic world federation sometime in this century. As outlined in Integral Consciousness and the Future of Evolution, a recent book by Now & Zen’s founder and president, Steve McIntosh, a democratic global authority could be instituted to protect the world's environment, provide oversight of the global economy, establish a universal bill of human rights, preserve cultural diversity, and bring an eventual end to war, disease, and poverty. We thus invite you to read excerpts from McIntosh’s book on the subject found here: http://www.stevemcintosh.com/Excerpts_CH5_Integral_Politics.php © 2010, Now & Zen, Inc. Now & Zen, Inc. 743 Pine St., Boulder, CO 80302 • (800) 779-6383 • www.now-zen.com • orders@now-zen.com