As sad as we will be to see summer come to an end, the approach of a new school year is an exciting time and ushers in the busiest buying season outside of the winter holidays. Get your young learners fired up for the start of school with new school supplies! Check out our list of ethically made products from companies that treat their employees fairly.

The New York Times published a chart this week that perfectly summarizes how the United States has gone from having the healthiest middle class in the world to a land of increasing economic inequality that shuts out far too many families from the American dream.

The NAACP took the unusual step this week to declare a travel advisory to African Americans for the state of Missouri. This bold action came in response to legislation passed by the Missouri Legislature limiting workers’ ability to sue over discrimination. "With the Missouri Human Rights Act gutted, employers who want to engage in illegal workplace discrimination will have no fear of being held accountable," Missouri House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty told Ebony magazine. "While S.B. 43 might not quite return us to the days when businesses were free to hang 'minorities need not apply' signs in the window, it certainly reinforces the sentiment." For that reason, the Missouri AFL-CIO opposed S.B. 43.

Charter/Spectrum is one of the most profitable cable companies in the United States, taking in more than $29 billion in revenue in 2016. And Tom Rutledge is the highest-paid CEO in the nation, making nearly $100 million last year.

The U.S. economy added 209,000 jobs in July, and unemployment was little changed at 4.3%, according to figures released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This continues the recovery of the labor market at a tempered rate, which means the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee should continue to let the economy grow and not raise interest rates.