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Sourcing Journal

DOL Adds Mauritius, Myanmar to List of Child and Forced Labor Goods

Jasmin Malik Chua
6 min read
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The good news is that the U.S. Department of Labor has taken clothing from Vietnam off its annual list of products produced by forced or indentured child labor. The bad? Garments from Mauritius and Myanmar are being flagged on its list of goods made with forced labor for the first time.

That’s not to say sourcing from Vietnam still doesn’t come with caveats. While partnerships between local non-governmental organizations, law enforcement and the government have helped bolster regulatory oversight of the Southeast Asian nation’s garment sector, according to an accompanying report, garments—particularly those made with cotton—are still regarded as a forced labor risk.

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The agency’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs, better known as ILAB, said it “has reason to believe” that cotton apparel produced in Vietnam is made with Chinese cotton, the vast majority of which stems from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Products made in whole or in part in the province, where reports of the persecution and exploitation of Turkic Muslim minorities continue to proliferate, are effectively barred from entry into the United States under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. Since the law took effect in June 2022, nearly one-third of all apparel-related detentions—at last count, amounting to 2,890 shipments, valued at more than $1 billion—originated in Vietnam.

“Manufacturers in Vietnam source large volumes of cotton fabrics containing Xinjiang-origin cotton to produce finished garments,” the report said. “It is likely that further downstream products of Xinjiang-origin cotton, such as garments, textiles and other cotton-based products, may be produced with an input produced with forced labor.”

Indeed, cotton garments, textiles and thread from China remain prominent on the Department of Labor’s forced labor, child labor and forced child labor lists, along with garments from Argentina (child and forced labor); cotton from Azerbaijan (child labor); garments, footwear and leather from Bangladesh (child and forced labor); footwear and garments from Brazil (child and forced labor, respectively; cotton from Burkina Faso (child, forced and forced child labor); textiles from Cambodia (child labor); textiles from Ghana (child labor); garments and embellished textiles and yarns from India (child, forced and forced child labor); sandals from Indonesia (child labor); cotton from Kazakhstan {child and forced labor); garments from Malaysia (forced labor); embellished textiles from Nepal (child, forced and forced child labor); textiles from North Korea (forced labor); textiles and cotton from Pakistan (child and forced labor, respectively); cotton from Tajikistan (child, forced and forced child labor); garments from Thailand (child and forced child labor); garments from Turkey (child labor); cotton from Turkmenistan (child and forced labor); and cotton from Zambia (child labor). Uzbekistan was removed as a forced labor risk in 2022.

Myanmar, referred to as Burma by the Department of Labor, was included this time because of the escalating nature of the military regime’s “horrific” human and labor rights abuses, including the torture and deaths of trade union leaders. ILAB said that its research signals that forced labor of predominantly women garment workers has become more rampant since the 2021 coup, with many of them forced to work unpaid overtime under the omnipresent threat of fines, job loss, physical violence and verbal harassment.

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Mauritius was added because its garment sector continues to wrestle with the issue of migrant-worker exploitation. These workers, according to the report, are being charged illegal recruitment fees, which causes them to sink into debt to repay recruiters. They’re also frequently deceived about employment conditions, for instance being told that employers would cover food and accommodation, only to find that their paychecks were docked and passports withheld. Some may live in employers’ overcrowded and insufficiently ventilated dormitories that include insect infestations.

“Reports indicate that workers may not be free to leave their workplace or accommodation and may be induced to work mandatory overtime,” it said. “Employers have been known to intimidate or use deportation threats against workers who question their pay, make formal complaints or speak with auditors about these conditions.”

The International Labour Organization estimates that 28 million men, women and children hailing from all countries and all economic sectors are trapped in some form of forced labor today. Of the cases, 63 percent take place in the private economy.

“Companies have a moral and legal duty to safeguard their supply chains from child labor, forced labor and other exploitative and unsafe practices,” Thea Lee, deputy undersecretary for international affairs at the Department of Labor, said at an event in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. “Profitable global businesses have the resources and the knowledge to solve this problem if they are motivated to do so. That is less true for the farmers, miners and workers around global supply chains.”

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As additional motivation is coming down the pike in terms of legislation, companies that rely on social audits or certifications need to be asking themselves some “key questions,” including what’s working—and what’s not, Jennifer Jahnke, founder and executive director at the Tendai Initiative, which promotes ethical supply chains, said at the same event.

“What’s proactively identifying cases of forced labor or child labor in your value chain, rather than what tools are allowing you to react to reporting from a need from the media, academia or NGO?” she said. “This is a really key shift that companies need to make, but it is going to require investment.”

The way Charity Ryerson, founder and executive director of the Chicago-based Corporate Accountability Lab, sees it, companies have two broad options. There’s the social auditor who gives a “top-down, drop-in, quick image of what’s happening” and there are the workers and worker organizations that are on the factory floor every day and see and hear everything.

“The idea that we are not viewing them as valuable than the results of a social audit is kind of extraordinary because their window into the reality of what’s happening is just so much more concrete and constant,” she said.

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Ryerson had another piece of advice.

“Another thing that would really be helpful for companies is that they stop seeing forced labor enforcement act as this horrible thing that’s happening to them that causes them to sort of freak out,” she said. “And instead, think of it just like you do think about the way that the law allocates responsibility generally. And one great way to do that is by respecting freedom of association and having legitimate independent unions.”

Garments loom large in the forced labor space, accounting for the most number of countries—10—named in the Department of Labor’s list of items connected with the modern-day enslavement of adults. Child labor-tainted cotton, connected with 15 countries, ties with cattle for fourth place among commodities tied to the exploitation of minors.

“Allowing these abuses to persist unacceptable,” Lee said. “This is a point where not knowing is a choice, and not acting is also a choice when we know where the risks exist in our supply chains.”

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