The report, “Three Sectors, Three years later: Progress and Gaps in the Fight Against Forced Labor,” evaluates 119 companies in three high-risk areas: information technology, food and beverage, and apparel and footwear. According to the report, the overall score was low (33 out of 100) despite improvements by the majority of the companies evaluated in 2016 and 2018.
Key takeaways include:
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Companies take little action to address exploitative recruitment practices.
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Companies show limited efforts to support and enable supply chain workers to exercise their rights.
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Buyers score higher than their suppliers.
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Companies based in Asia score lower than those based in Europe and North America across sectors and themes.
“Supply chains in the sectors benchmarked by KnowTheChain … collectively encompass 54% of the commodities at risk of forced labor, as listed by the US Department of Labor,” the authors wrote. “As such, the benchmarks provide a reliable proxy for company action, or lack thereof, in addressing risks associated with commodities and products at high risk for of forced labor.”
