Victory! Schwarzenegger Signs Bill to End Supply Chain Slavery

After lobbying from anti-trafficking and corporate social responsibility groups and letters from almost 2,000 Change.org readers, Governor Schwarzenegger has signed the California Supply Chain Transparency Act. The new law marks a huge leap forward for consumers, who will now have access to information about how some of the largest companies in the world monitor their supply chains.

When signing, Governor Schwarzenegger said he was proud that California has enacted some of the toughest laws against human trafficking to date, including allowing police to confiscate traffickers' property and increasing penalties for the most serious forms of human trafficking. But the California Supply Chain Transparency Act might just be the biggest feather in his already flamboyant cap of anti-trafficking legislation. That's because it won't just be good for consumers in California, but consumers all over the world.

The new law will require retailers and manufacturers doing business in California and having more than $100 million in annual worldwide gross receipts to publicly disclose some basic things about what they're doing to end slavery in their supply chains. That includes whether or not the company uses verification to evaluate and address human trafficking risks in product supply chains, including if they use 3^rd party verification; conduct independent and unannounced audits of suppliers; direct supplier certification; and what they do to train and maintain internal accountability for employees and contractors failing to meet company standards on slavery and trafficking. With this information, consumers across the country will have better tools to help them make ethical decisions about what they purchase.

According to socially-responsible investment group Christian Brothers Investment Services, the new law will affect around 3,200 companies, many of which are global in scope. Some business interest groups complained that the law would force them to take responsibility for overseas abuses in their supply chain or that this sort of disclosure would be an undue burden. But advocates pointed out that many companies already voluntarily disclose this information. And the bill doesn't force mom-and-pop stores or small businesses to participate, only large companies. In the end, Governor Schwarzenegger stood up to bug business interests and stood against human trafficking in consumer good supply chains by signing this bill.

Once implemented, consumers should be able to check the affected companies' websites for information about how (or if) they monitor supply chains. Hopefully, the requirement to publiclydisclose will send companies who don't monitor scrambling to change that. And if not, then at least consumers can choose products based on whether or not the company is making an effort to reduce supply chain slavery.

Gov. Schwarzenegger took one huge step toward justice for human trafficking victims by signing this bill into law. Now, ask him to take one more by releasing human trafficking victim Sara Kruzan with time served.

Photo credit: Nate Mandos