1. 168 million child labourers globally, including 85 million in worst forms: jobs that are dirty, dangerous, and degrading
21 million forced labour, incl. 5.5 million children
Combined, these are amongst the most egregious labour violations, and have a hugely negative impact on CWB: health, education, future potential
In the past 6 months alone, there have been numerous examples of how children are being exploited to produce the goods we use every day…
BUT HERE’s the THING: it’s almost impossible to know what the companies at the top of global supply chains are doing to address this…

2. Changing global legal environment & increased focus on ESG disclosure
These different reporting laws are not intended to be an ends within themselves; rather, they are means to an end.  The overall goal has/should be to get companies to take further action on labourr issues within their supply chains. To do so the first step must be for companies to acknowledge and report that workers in their supply chains are vulnerable to abuse.  As of now the pending or implemented reporting laws have fairly significant cover of top companies globally:
-SB 657 (3500 +/-)
-Dodd Frank: Conflict Minerals (1,300+)
-MSA (12,000+)
-EU ESG Directive (6000+)
Image credit: Know the Chain

3. 1,264
companies importing goods into Canada that may have been produced by child and/or forced labour
52%
of those assessed provided no information on how/if they are addressing it
This past June we released the Supply Chain Risk Report to draw attention to the fact that this is a Canadian issue…and that we need Canadian action.
Here’s what we found:
1.Identified 1,264 companies operating in Canada that import common at-risk items.
2. Together, these companies imported over $34 billion worth of at-risk goods in 2015.
3. Most companies lack sufficient public reporting on the actions they are taking to address risks.
52% of the companies sampled did not provide any public information about their efforts to address child and forced labour.
Even amongst those who did report some information, there was a lack of meaningful disclosure re: due diligence

4. Company commitment to address child and forced labour
Public disclosure of:
Company commitment to address child and forced labour
Supplier Code of Conduct
Training and support to suppliers
Auditing practices
Audit reporting (high-level summary)
Grievance and remedy mechanisms
Standalone statement on efforts taken re: child and forced labour
In addition to the moral and reputational risks, If a company doesn’t know what is going on its supply chain at this most basic level, it doesn’t have a good grasp on its business…these are not resilient, sustainable supply chains

6.
nochildforsale.ca/resource/supply-chain-risk-report/
This past June we released the Supply Chain Risk Report to draw attention to the fact that this is a Canadian issue…and that we need Canadian action.
Here’s what we found:
1.Identified 1,264 companies operating in Canada that import common at-risk items.
2. Together, these companies imported over $34 billion worth of at-risk goods in 2015.
3. Most companies lack sufficient public reporting on the actions they are taking to address risks.
52% of the companies sampled did not provide any public information about their efforts to address child and forced labour.
Even amongst those who did report some information, there was a lack of meaningful disclosure re: due diligence