Report on Supply Chain Compliance 3, no. 21 (October 29, 2020)

The Tamil Nadu Alliance, a coalition of civil society networks active in the textiles industry, has issued out a call for major buyers and retailers around the world to increase transparency in their supply chains and manufacturing facilities in order to curb incidents of forced labor and human trafficking.

According to a news release quoted in The Hindu,^[1] the alliance has been reporting on forced labor in the textile supply chain for years, but the global players have done little to ensure their supply chains are safe:

For many years, civil society groups have documented exploitative practices occurring within textile spinning mills in Tamil Nadu. Excessive and involuntary overtime, extremely low wages, physical and sexual violence and restriction of freedom of movement – many of which are indicators of forced labour - are known to occur in some parts of the industry….To date, there has been limited action by international brands and retailers to identify and address rights violations like these that are taking place beyond tier-one of their supply chain. A widespread lack of transparency and visibility of conditions in textile processing and manufacturing sites has hindered civil society efforts to work with brands to improve the situation of workers in the industry.

1 Special Correspondent, “Organisations call for transparency in working conditions in textile mills,” The Hindu, October 19, 2020, https://bit.ly/31OWY8L.

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