Forced Labor news and archive

U.S. lawmakers seek to ban forced-labour goods from China

Earlier this month a U.S.-based labor rights group reported French casualwear brand Lacoste was producing gloves in a Chinese detention camp. The D.C.-based Worker Rights Consortium stated Uigher Muslims and imprisoned other ethnic minorities are being forced to sew the Lacoste-branded gloves, which the Chinese have dubbed as re-education camps....

Fashion Featured

Leading fashion firms call on Cambodian government to improve labour standards

Leading fashion companies including Nike, PVH, Levi Strauss, Esprit, Adidas and Under Armour have signed an open letter to the Cambodian government urging it to improve its labour standards. The companies, who claim to contribute 9.5 billion US dollars (7.26 billion pounds) to Cambodia’s exports through their work with the country’s suppliers,...

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Garment factory workers in Vietnam forced to rely on excessive overtime

Garment factory workers in Vietnam are not able to earn a living wage without working excessive overtime, according to a report published this week by the Fair Labor Association (FLA), based on data collected over three years from 13,000 workers working across 38 factories. Although the average garment factory worker in Vietnam earns more than...

Fashion

How cotton picked with forced labor in Turkmenistan finds its way to the high street

A new report by Anti-Slavery International reveals how cotton picked with forced labor in Turkmenistan makes its way to high street shops across the world. Every year, tens of thousands of public sector workers, including teachers and doctors, are forced by the government to pick cotton at the harvest, under threat of punishment, according to...

BusinessFeatured

Forced labor, child work, low wages: the lives of home-based garment workers in India

While increased attention is (finally) being given to the poor working conditions faced by garment factory workers in countries such as India, Burma and Bangladesh, few people know there are millions of workers making garments in informal, home-based settings too. During times of increased seasonal demand, many factories outsource production to...

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Major brands failing to tackle worker exploitation, study shows

Major clothing and footwear brands are failing to tackle the exploitation of vulnerable workers in their supply chains, according to a new report by Know The Chain. The benchmark test, which measured 43 global companies’ efforts to address forced labour, gave the apparel and footwear sector an overall average score of 37 out of 100. Adidas...

BusinessFeatured

Fashion is one of the key industries contributing to modern slavery

Approximately 40 million people around the world are living in modern slavery, 71 percent of them female -- and the fashion industry is the second biggest contributor to this situation, according to the 2018 Global Slavery Index, published by nonprofit organization Walk Free Foundation. The study was based on data from 167 countries and...

BusinessFeatured

US bans imports of cotton from Turkmenistan after forced labor complaint

The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), an agency of the Department of Homeland Security, has formally banned the importation of “all cotton or cotton products produced in whole or in part with Turkmenistan cotton”. The decision, published on the agency’s website earlier this week, comes two months after non-profit organizations Cotton...

Fashion Featured

Prada fails to disclose steps to eradicate forced labour

London - KnowTheChain, a resource for businesses and investors who need to understand and address forced labor risks within their supply chains, have published findings for the apparel industry, of which there are surprising results. Founded by Humanity United in 2013, KnowThe Chain benchmarks current corporate practices, develops insights and...