Around the world, roughly 215 million children toil in child labor; another 21 million people are trapped in forced labor. If these groups represented a single nation, it would be the fifth largest in the world. Governments and businesses both have a critical role to play in eradicating this problem.
That is why today our Bureau of International Labor Affairs launched an important new online resource to help businesses engage in responsible practices. “Reducing Child Labor and Forced Labor: A Toolkit for Responsible Businesses” is a practical, step-by-step guide for companies seeking to ensure that their goods are not made by child or forced labor. The toolkit is the first such guide developed by the U.S. government to directly address this issue.