Beyond Compliance in the Garment Industry
From raw materials to manufacturing, labour exploitation and modern slavery are rife in global garment supply chains. Workers in the industry are vulnerable to forced labour, wage theft, hazardous conditions, illegal overtime, and more. With garment supply chains often operating in locations where laws protecting human rights do not exist, are weak, or are not enforced by local authorities, companies’ own responsibilities to eradicate modern slavery from their supply chains become ever more important.
Legislation such as Modern Slavery Acts (MSA), place obligations on companies in all sectors to report on how they are addressing the risks of modern slavery in their direct operations and supply chains.
To gain an understanding of how the garment industry is upholding these obligations, Walk Free and Wikirate have assessed the statements of the largest garment companies reporting under the UK and Australian MSAs. This report provides a snapshot of their level of disclosure of modern slavery risks, identifies good practice, and highlights gaps in reporting quality.