Labor is Not a Commodity

New DOL Report Lists Products Made Using Child or Forced Labor

Jade Batstone, intern, International Labor Rights Forum           

On September 10th the Department of Labor released an official list of U.S imported goods believed to be produced using child or forced labor. The list was created as a part of the new Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act and, for the first time, recognized that the U.S imports 122 goods from 58 different countries that force children and adults to produce U.S. consumer supported goods. ILRF has maintained campaigns around products documented in the report and some goods on the list were included in ILRF’s testimony to the Department of Labor in 2008. These items include cocoa from the Ivory Coast, cotton from Tajikistan, cottonseed, stones, and soccer balls from India, sugarcane from Guatemala, tobacco from Malawi, and surgical instruments from Pakistan. To view the complete list click here.

US Dept. of Labor Releases List of Goods Produced by Forced, Child Labor

Tim Newman, Campaigns Director, International Labor Rights Forum

As part of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, the US Department of Labor (DOL)  released today a list of 122 goods from 58 countries that are produced by forced labor and child labor.  Find out more and see the list here.  Included in the list are many of the products that ILRF recommend to the DOL during our testimony in 2008, for example: cocoa in Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana, cotton from Uzbekistan, rubber from Liberia, tobacco from Malawi, cottonseed, stones and soccer balls from India, sugar from Guatemala and surgical instruments from Pakistan.  You can check out ILRF's press release here and our press release about Uzbek cotton with the American Federation of Teachers and Calvert here.

Cadbury Expands Fair Trade Dairy Milk Bars Globally

Tim Newman, Campaigns Director, International Labor Rights Forum

Cadbury announced today that it is committed to achieving Fair Trade certification for its Dairy Milk bars in Canada, New Zealand and Australia by early 2010.  The news builds on Cadbury's previous decision to certify Dairy Milk bars Fair Trade in Britain and Ireland.  Those Fair Trade bars arrived on shelves in Britain this summer.  According to Cadbury, the sales of their Fair Trade chocolate bars will quadruple Ghana's Fair Trade cocoa sales.  This is a big deal in terms of improving the lives of cocoa farmers in Ghana and Cadbury is clearly leading the way among major chocolate companies.

We just updated our "thank you" e-mail action to include the new announcement -- check it out and send a note to Cadbury here!

Get Ready for Reverse Trick-or-Treating!

Tim Newman, Campaigns Director, International Labor Rights Forum

It may still be summer, but it's not too early to start getting ready for Reverse Trick-or-Treating!  For the third year, people across the country will be delivering Fair Trade chocolate and information about the chocolate industry to their neighbors as they go Trick-or-Treating on Halloween.  This fun action is coordinated by a great group of organizations and Fair Trade chocolate companies and we have reached thousands of people through this annual action.  The best part is that you can order your action kit (complete with Fair Trade chocolate) for free online!  You can order your kit online here.  The deadline for group orders is October 1st and the deadline for individual orders is October 13th. (REMEMBER: if you found out about Reverse Trick-or-Treating on this blog, please indicate on your order form that you found out from the International Labor Rights Forum)

Child Trafficking in the Cocoa Industry Continues, but There's a New Way to Take Action!

Tim Newman, Campaigns Director, International Labor Rights Forum

This week, INTERPOL issued a press release stating that they had conducted an operation in Cote d'Ivoire that led to the rescue of 50 child workers on cocoa farms and the arrest of eight adults involved in the illegal recruitment of children.  Eight years after the chocolate industry agreed to  ensure that their cocoa beans and derivative products "have been grown and/or processed without any of the worst forms of child labor," it is extremely upsetting to see that abuses like these continue in West Africa's cocoa industry.

INTERPOL described the conditions these children experienced as follows:

They were discovered working under extreme conditions, forced to carry massive loads seriously jeopardizing their health.  Aged between 11 and 16, children told investigators they would regularly work 12 hours a day and receive no salary or education. Girls were usually purchased as house maids and would work a seven-day week all year round, often in addition to their duties in the plantations.

At the end of June, there was a separate report that Ivorian police officers stopped two trucks filled with 20 children being trafficked in to Cote d'Ivoire from Burkina Faso.

These abuses are unacceptable and chocolate companies must do more to ensure that labor rights are protected in their cocoa supply chains.  These recent stories show how important it is for consumers to take action to demand more from chocolate companies and there's an exciting new campaign action you can do that is perfect for the summer.  Keep reading for more information.

Workers in Ghana and the US unite!

Tim Newman, Campaigns Assistant, International Labor Rights Forum

This past weekend, President Obama made his historic trip to Ghana.  While as far as we know, he did not visit the Kuapa Kokoo Fair Trade cocoa cooperative during his brief trip, he did tour the Cape Coast Castle (a major port during the Trans Atlantic slave trade) as well as a hospital in Accra to highlight maternal health issues.  In his remarks to the Ghanaian Parliament, President Obama encouraged Ghanaians to "take responsibility for your future," echoing comments he made in an interview with AllAfrica.com earlier in the week calling arguments about the role neo-colonialism and Western government's policies play in perpetuating problems in Africa "excuses."  Among other things, Obama also highlighted the importance of diversifying exports ("oil cannot simply become the new cocoa") and increasing trade and investment between the US and Africa in order to lift people out of poverty and create wealth. 

Absent from President Obama's speech to the Ghanaian Parliament and his interviews and statements related to the trip were any references to the continued role that US-based multinational corporations and international financial institutions play in contributing to poverty and human rights abuses.  Additionally, there was no mention of the critical role trade unions, cooperatives and other organizations of workers play in promoting development and holding governments, companies and international institutions accountable. 

Will Obama visit cocoa farmers in Ghana?

Tim Newman, Campaigns Assistant, International Labor Rights Forum

At the end of this week, President Obama will be visiting Ghana.  Organizations in the US and Ghana have used the opportunity to propose changes to US policy in Africa based on principles of human rights and social justice.  The farmers Kuapa Kokoo, a Fair Trade cocoa cooperative in Ghana and co-owners of Divine Chocolate, have invited President Obama to visit them during his trip.  Cocoa is a major export for Ghana and as ILRF has highlighted over the years, many cocoa farms struggle with poverty due to the low prices they are offered for their cocoa beans and their lack of influence and power in relation to the multinational companies that control the cocoa trade.

On the other hand, Kuapa Kokoo is an example of how cocoa farmers can join together to improve their lives.  As Mr. Paul CK Buah, President of Kuapa Kokoo said, "We wish to show Mr. Obama how cocoa farmers have joined together to build our communities, invest in education, clean water and health. We urge him to join our call for fair and dignified trade so that we farmers can be a greater part of the solution to problems facing Ghana and all of Africa."

Check out this short video for more information about Kuapa Kokoo and Divine Chocolate.

Fair Expectations: Rainforest Alliance v. Fairtrade

This article was originally published on the website of the Organic Consumers Association here.

By Justin Trauben, Organic Consumers Association

McDonald's, Chiquita, Mars, Wal-Mart, and Kraft apparently now all have products certified "sustainable," sharing, among other things, the little green frog label of the Rainforest Alliance. On the other side of the labeling world, we have Fair Trade, the original product certification initiative aimed at building equitable and sustainable trading partnerships and creating opportunities to alleviate poverty.

Fair Trade and "sustainable" labeling organizations, are private non-profits that have no stockholders, and are therefore not legally obligated to provide information to the public. Combined with the fact that the state lacks the power to ensure that certifiers comply with their own standards, consumers must rely on independent evaluation to assess these labeling initiatives. Can consumers trust that the labels that make our food more expensive actually make a difference?

After My Time At International Labor Rights Forum

By Adriane Chavarria, high school intern, International Labor Rights Forum

As of today I have been a part of ILRF for about 6 months now. My time at ILRF has been great. I’ve learned about a lot of the things that Trina and her co-workers fight for. I learned about many laws that I didn’t know before. I was a junior but now I’m officially a senior at Bell MHS. Becoming this was very hard in a sense that I had to make sure all my work and grades were in tip top shape. I took time away from ILRF because school was getting hectic. While being gone I’ve noticed a change in how I see things.

Chocolate, bitter sweet chocolate; I was never really a fan of chocolate but I do admit to eating it, only now not so much. Every time I see a chocolate bar I think of ILRF. I think and wonder to myself of how this non-profit organization is trying to protect the rights of those who grow this very chocolate. One of my friends, Margarita plays a big role in me having to think so much, which isn’t bad. She loves chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, she loves it all. When she offers me some I sometimes say no only because I wonder where it came from and if I’m eating the chocolate that people have suffered to make.

It's World Day Against Child Labor!

By Tim Newman, Campaigns Assistant, International Labor Rights Forum

Today (June 12th) is World Day Against Child Labor (WDACL).  Around the world, labor rights  advocates use this day as an opportunity to raise awareness about the worst forms of child labor and propose solutions to this ongoing problem.  This year, WDACL is especially important because it marks the ten year anniversary of the adoption of ILO Convention #182 to eliminate the worst forms of child labor.  It's also important to be talking about how to eliminate the most exploitative labor conditions today because of the global economic crisis.  The International Trade Union Confederation put out a statement today explaining how the economic crisis is leading to an increase in child labor.

The theme for World Day Against Child Labor this year is "Give Girls a Chance" and focuses on girls involved in child labor.  Check out a report from the ILO about girls and child labor.  Check out this slideshow from the ILO about how young people are fighting child labor.

Keep reading for updates about ILRF's campaigns to stop child labor and ideas on how YOU can take action!