After receiving over 5,400 letters from Change.org community members, the Department of Labor released their long-awaited report on goods produced by child labor and forced labor last week.
This list was mandated by anti-trafficking legislation back in 2005, but the Bush administration dragged their feet for years. Now, thanks to your voices and the hard work of NGOs like Polaris Project and the International Labor Rights Forum, it's finally here. This list is a huge boon for consumers who want to choose slave-free products. With this list, consumers can finally hold companies and countries accountable for the slavery they use in making the goods we buy, and can decisively take action to prevent slavery in the production of consumer goods.
The report consists of a long list which indicates whether goods in a certain country are made with child labor, forced labor, or both. The
most common goods which have significant incidence of forced and/or child labor are cotton, sugarcane, tobacco, coffee, rice, and cocoa in agriculture; bricks, garments, carpets, and footwear in manufacturing; and gold and coal in mined or quarried goods.
You can read the full story on change.org blog and the entire 194 page report here.
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