By now, you might have noticed that each month we feature an organization who fights the same war as us: human trafficking. This September, we’re sharing with you one of them. Anti-Slavery International is an organization that works hard in ending slavery all over the world. They have projects in the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America but their campaign covers all over the world.
Background
Anti Slavery International is the oldest organization in the world. They have over 175 years of experience in combating slavery. They have developed a strong reputation in creating ways to end slavery through research, campaigns, advocacy, and work with local communities. In the past, they were involved in ending various forms of slavery in British Colonies, Belgian Congo, Indian and Chinese “coolie” systems.
They were also directly involved in creating international laws against slavery. This includes the UN 1926 and 1956 Slavery Conventions. They also worked with the International Labour Organization’s laws on forced and child labor as well as the Council of Europe trafficking convention. Today, these laws are all in legal frameworks.
Read more about their approach here.
What Do They Do?
Included in their campaign is ending modern day slavery. They are advocates of responsible business practice. They have projects with business chains to end slavery from global supply chains. For over a decade, they fought to end state sponsored forced labor in the cotton industry of Uzbekistan. They have recently extended this campaign in Turkmenistan who has the same labor practices.
Their Cotton Campaign coalition has convinced big brands like H&M, Nike, and many others to stop using Uzbek cotton. To this day, they encourage others to do the same. H&M has extended use of Turkmen cotton as well.
Since uncovering the abuses in West Africa’s cocoa industry in the early 2000s, they are closely involved in the campaign against child slavery. For 10 years, they worked with Mondelez International, a big company that owns Cadbury’s to tackle child labor and slavery. Their hard work translated into a new child labor policy and is being translated into action by their “Cocoa Life” program.
Anti Slavery International does not encourage anyone to boycott companies or products as it is actually counter productive. They can hurt companies that let their workers work in slavery-like environments while it can also hurt those that do not. It can also worsen the poverty problem.
However, they make a big exception for those companies that use Uzbek cotton as the system is state-sponsored. It is not likely to make the situation worse for those in the situation.
How To Get Involved
Anti-Slavery International is a big name in the organization world and we are honored to be working with them in fighting human trafficking. If you shop at Simply Earth this month, a portion of your purchase will be shared with them.