Is the outfit you're wearing right now slave-free? Do you ever buy rice, roses, chocolate or jewellery?
The hidden scandal on our shop shelves is that many everyday items are made by people in slavery. Everything from the shirt you're wearing to the coffee you're drinking or the smartphone you're reading this on. Very few brands can guarantee a slave-free supply chain.
In fact, the Ethical Trading Initiative reports that '71 per cent of [UK] companies believe there is a likelihood of modern slavery occurring at some stage in their supply chains'.
From raw materials to manufacturing, exploitation and slavery is rife. There's no doubt that this problem is deeply complex – one t-shirt could include cotton from four different places, so tracing supply chains to check for exploitation is notoriously difficult for many companies. But just because it's difficult doesn't mean we should give up. Or that there's nothing consumers can do.
International Justice Mission is launching a campaign to make 'slave-free' normal. Here are just three products that could have slavery in the supply chain – and what we, as believers in dignity and freedom, can do to take action.
What puts the shimmer in my make-up?
Every day, thousands of women across the UK purchase make-up. And every day, thousands of children in India mine mica in rock quarries.
But what exactly is mica?
Mica can be found in glittering car-paint and in electronics, but it is also the mineral that adds shimmer to make-up like eye shadow and lipstick. There are entire families trapped in bonded slave labour mining mica in extremely dangerous conditions. Conditions are so bad, in fact, that people – even children – often die in their efforts to collect it.
Who produced my prawns?
In the UK we consume around 85,000 tonnes of prawns each year, many of which come from Thailand. Trafficking is widespread in Thailand's seafood industry. Labourers, tricked and transported across the border from countries like Myanmar and Cambodia, are trapped on fishing boats and work up to 20 hours a day, underpaid and often subject to extreme violence.
IJM has been partnering with corporates including Walmart to help stamp out slavery in the Thai fishing industry by working with Thai law enforcement. We've partnered with local police to rescue men who hadn't been on land for years, who have been separated from their families and even witnessed crew members murdered and thrown overboard by violent slave-owners.
What's the true cost of my new pair of shoes?
Many child labourers are making textiles, shoes and garments to satisfy the demand for cheap, fast fashion in the west. Corners are cut, making serious injuries and fires commonplace.
Ajay was enslaved in a factory making high heels along with 10 other teenage boys and young men. They lived, slept and worked in one room. When IJM and local police rescued them he said: 'I thought of running away, but others who had run away were brought back and beaten with iron rods, tortured with long needles and locked in a room for several days.'
Slavery in supply chains has flourished because consumers don't know it's happening. It's extremely difficult for corporates to have full sight of supply chains and in the face of complex, organised crime, it's a challenge for justice systems in source countries to deal with the problem.
The problem may seem overwhelming – but we can choose to take action.
IJM works with governments and law enforcement to restore and equip justice systems – from police to judiciary – to root out slavery on the ground and prosecute offenders. We've found that slavery has decreased dramatically in places where we've partnered with police and governments to find where slavery is happening, rescue survivors and convict offenders.
Slavery in supply chains may be normal right now, but as a consumer, your choice and your voice carry power. Together, we can make slave-free the new normal.
So what can you do?
Conscious, ethical brands are out there. Finding and buying from brands that are making an effort to prevent slavery and exploitation in their supply chains is important because it makes a strong statement that the issue of slavery is important to us as consumers. Look for brands that are transparent about their supply chains and are taking active steps to help stop slavery and exploitation.
You can challenge the brands that you love and ask them to take action. From the revolution in plastic to the growth of Fairtrade, consumer power works. Raise your voice and show you care – email, tweet or write to brands and ask them where they make their clothes, products or how they source their food – and what steps they're taking to avoid slavery. The more brands know that their customers care about their supply chains, the faster they'll take action.
And last – but by no means least – you can be part of sending rescue and putting slave-owners behind bars by supporting organisations like IJM that are on the ground, day in, day out fighting for freedom.
Together, we can make 'slave-free' normal.
David Westlake is chief executive of IJM UK.
Visit ijmuk.org/slavefree to learn more about what you can do.
