Before products like cell phones or baby formula show up on store shelves, countless workers are engaged in their production. Far from the eyes of inspectors and shoppers, too many children and adults toil in exploitation harvesting crops, extracting minerals, and assembling parts into final products. Today, there are an estimated 160 million child laborers and nearly 28 million people in forced labor, the majority of whom work at the bottom of global supply chains, invisible to the outside world.
Challenges in Detecting Child Labor
Detecting child labor is a significant challenge, as children often submit false documents to conceal their true ages. Corporations have historically relied on private auditors to ensure safety and labor standards at their suppliers, but these auditors have repeatedly missed ongoing child labor violations.