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Human Trafficking In Supply Chains

Forced labor and trafficking are rooted in the social and economic vulnerability of individuals, workers and their families. The use of forced labor can occur at any level of a company's supply chain but is more common at lower levels such as resource extraction or basic manufacturing. Many businesses, including major global brands, may unknowingly be involved in human trafficking and forced-labor practices, which is primarily driven by competitive global economic markets and the demand for cheap labor.

 

                                                                        Child Labor

The complexity of supply chains and the lack of transparency make it hard to know who made our products and under what conditions. With an estimated 152 million children in child labor around the world, chances are that at least one thing you own or consume was made by the hands of a child.

Seven in 10 child laborers around the word work in agriculture, which includes fishing, forestry, livestock herding and aquaculture, and farming. An estimated 2 million children work on cocoa farms in Côte d'lvoire and Ghana,which produce nearly 70 percent of the world's cocoa. Child tobacco workers often labor in extreme heat, are exposed to dangerous pesticides, and risk the nicotine poisoning from handling tobacco plants.

                                                                 Sweatshops

People in developing countries living in poverty are drawn to work in sweatshops as they pay more than their alternative, subsistence agriculture which pays far less than $1 a day. Higher wages draw workers from rural areas to urban slums in search of factory work. However, most workers in these factories are paid less than a living wage in their respective countries.

In the United States, sweatshops still exist in predominately major metropolitan areas such as New York and Los Angeles. These major cities have easy access to a large group of undocumented immigrants who may take any kind of work to make money for their families. The wages these workers make in any country account for as little as 0.5% of the retail cost of a garment - just $1.00 of the price of your $20 shirt.

Choosing Fair Trade to End Human Trafficking

Based on the idea that products bought and sold every day are connected to the livelihoods of others, fair trade is one way to impact the lives of people who otherwise would be vulnerable to human trafficking. Poverty and joblessness contribute to making people vulnerable to human trafficking. Fair trade workers are paid a living wage that serves to empower workers and enables children to attend school rather than work to help support the family. Fair Trade standards prohibit forced and child labor. Children helping on family farms have tasks and work schedules that protect their mental and physical health and development.