Corporations Fight to Keep Slave Labor Practices Secret

Major corporations are fighting a proposed bill in California which would require businesses making over $100 million a year to publicly disclose their policies for monitoring human rights and slavery in their supply chains. Why are so many super-rich companies fighting against one little Internet posting requirement? Probably because most of them don't actually want to look for slavery in their products. They know they'll find it.

The proposed bill would require companies to post information on the Internet about how they monitor their supply chains, especially for slave labor. They would need to reveal, for example, whether or not they hire an independent third party to monitor manufacturing, whether they conduct unannounced audits of suppliers, and whether suppliers are required to certify that raw materials are processed in line with international labor and safety laws. If passed, the disclosure requirement would make it much easier for consumers to make choices about what products to buy based on the company's slavery track record.

But the corporations who would be affected by this law are fighting back, mostly through industry advocacy groups. Basically, their argument is that they shouldn't have to figure out whether or not the products that earn them $100 million-plus a year are made by slaves. They're just poor little multi-million dollar companies who can't spare any change to make sure that the tires/candy bars/laptops they sell you aren't made by abused and exploited adults or children. And as if the turned-out pockets posture wasn't bad enough, their other argument has been that if consumers find out their products are made with slave labor, they won't buy them anymore. Well, duh. Hopefully.

The whole point of this legislation is to give consumers information to make informed decisions on what they buy. I have a right to choose mp3 players/yoga pants/coffee that wasn't assembled, sewn, or grown by slaves. But unless I know some basic information about how and where Yoga Pants Company A and Yoga Pants Company B source their fabric and thread and sew their pants, I can't make an informed choice. Yes, if Company A uses slave labor and Company B doesn't, I'm choosing Company B. Just like we make choices based on cost, attractiveness, quality, environmental impact, etc. of products, so too should we be able to make them based on labor policies.

To the companies hiding behind representatives while they fight this law, I have one suggestion: stop using slave labor now. Even if this law doesn't pass, responsible business is the future, my friends. Consumers like the ones that read Change.org care about where they spend their money and want to support companies that treat workers with dignity and respect. We'll take our business to companies that disclose labor practices, support ending human trafficking, and keep their products slave-free.  So if you want to stay in the business of yoga pants production or anything else, you need to cater to the conscious consumer. Which, hopefully soon, will be all of us.

Photo credit: jm3