Arlington Reveals new Amazon Distribution Center; Amazon Condemned for Sexual Exploitation Practices

Arlington, WA unwittingly ties itself to Amazon's Corporative legacy of profiting off of the sexual exploitation of children, women, and men around the world.

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Snohomish county's relationship with international corporation Amazon is about to get cozier with the reveal of a new Amazon Fulfillment Center to be built in the City of Arlington. But is this a good association to have for local residents?

The further expansion of Amazon into the every day lives, even the very livelihoods, of Snohomish County residents unwittingly ties our people and our economy directly into one of the world's largest known enablers of sexual exploitation.

'Project Roxy'

Amazon anonymously bought a large parcel of land, close to the Arlington Municipal Airport, for $26 million back in January. Last Thursday, April 8th, 2021, it was announced to the public which company was about to take up residence.

When the center, dubbed 'Project Roxy' is completed, it will be a whopping 28 million square feet. That's the largest Amazon-owned building in the entire Puget Sound region. Building started yesterday, the 12th, and the facility is expected to be operational before the end of 2021.

An estimated 1,000 jobs be added to the county's economy through the hiring of Amazon workers. That's not even counting the temporary jobs generated for local construction workers and road builders who will make project Roxy a reality.

Amazon's Commodification of Sexual Exploitation

While added income to the local economy appears like a sound investment at first, doing so through solidifying ties with Amazon is ringing alarm bells for human rights advocates.

The National Center On Sexual Exploitation has been whistleblowing Amazon's business practices since 2016, through their annual campaign 'The Dirty Dozen.' Each year, a top 12 list of corporations contributing to pervasive and illegal sexual exploitation is published for advocates to protest against.

NCOSE summarizes Amazon's contributions to sex trafficking and exploitation of children, women, and men worldwide:

"Amazon, the world’s titan of e-commerce, logistics, data storage, and media, also peddles endless amounts of sexual exploitation. As a social media platform, Amazon’s Twitch is rife with sexual harassment, predatory grooming, and child sexual abuse. As an online retailer, Amazon is in the business of selling incest-themed porn, sex dolls, photography books with eroticized child nudity, pornographic magazines, and more. As a media creator, Amazon Prime Video inserts unnecessary, gratuitous nudity and simulated sex scenes into much of its original programming, while providing faulty parental controls. Amazon S3 and Amazon Web Services are also host to thousands of hardcore violent pornography and prostitution websites."

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This begs a question to be asked of our local government who brokered this property sale under a Non-Disclosure Agreement with Amazon to avoid public scrutiny until permits were obtained:

What is more important to the community's future and reputation: The economic profit that comes from speedy delivery of cheap product? Or not entangling with a company known for profiting off of sexual exploitation?