For many people, “child trafficking”
invokes terrible images of children locked in dark spaces, being transported,
tortured, forced to have sex and left alone, confused and terrified. Although these images are lived nightmares
for many trafficking victims, another reality of child trafficking is forced
labor. Forced labor comes in many forms
though the images described above can also be applied to the lives of child
laborers. In recent years, two
industries known for using child laborers have received media attention due to well-known
companies being involved in purchasing products from these producers: cocoa
farmers in West Africa (Huffington Post, 2012; Forbes, 2014) and Indian mica producers
(The Guardian, 2014).
The Hershey Company recently faced
a lawsuit regarding their potential violation of federal child trafficking laws
that prohibit the use of cocoa from known child laboring sites in Ghana and
Ivory Coast. What is still up for debate
is whether or not the company knew that its suppliers used child labor (though
cheap cocoa means cheap methods of production which raises questions about the
ethics of a supplier’s production).
Cosmetic makeup companies like Lush
and L’Oreal have taken steps to stop the use of mica, a common ingredient in makeup
due to its glimmering property, from Indian producers who use child labor. Cosmetic companies are trying to find ways to
ensure that they won’t contribute to the problem. For example, the British cosmetic company Lush
has announced that they will no longer use mica in their products and L’Oreal’s
mica supplier in India, Merck, has conducted social auditing of mica producers.
The Hershey and makeup cases
illustrate two different approaches to the issue of child labor and its
involvement in world trade. The Hershey
Company took an unfortunate risk which has had negative outcomes – Whole Foods Markets
Inc. has discontinued selling the Hersey’s artisan chocolate brand Scharffen
Berger in their stores and a public pension fund threatens to sue the company
if it is proven that they were aware that their cocoa producers were using
child labor.
In the
cosmetic industry, various methods have been used to avoid incorporating
products from producers known to use child laborers. Although not every method is 100% fail-proof
(for example, social auditing can still miss cases of child labor that are
covered up before the audit), at least the companies are doing something which is more than Hersey can
say.
In a
competitive market, nothing can ruin your brand like involvement in social
injustice. While most people would argue
that it’s wrong to support producers who use child labor, cheaper products – as
a result of forced labor – are coveted in a world where economic growth is a
life force. From these two examples
though, a simple lesson can be learned: avoid contributing to the issue of
child labor in the first place or gamble your company’s reputation and revenue.
Cited sources:
Contributed by Annie Vulpas
