Free the Slaves Executive Director Bukeni Waruzi and 33 other anti-trafficking leaders are asking the Group of Seven industrialized nations to step-up and coordinate action against forced labor worldwide. Earlier this year at the G7 Summit in the U.K., world leaders...
The things we buy are decisions we make about the world we want. With Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the holiday gift-giving season beginning soon, it’s important to reflect on how everyday purchases can unknowingly fuel modern slavery and the racial inequality it...
The Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST), which is co-chaired by Free the Slaves, supports legislation that will prevent Chinese products tainted by Uyghur forced labor from being imported into the United States. See the letter to the U.S. Senate Foreign...
Today’s globalized garment industry is characterized by fast fashion powered by modern-day slave labor. Garments go from seed to store via complex chains of transactions among independent parties that keep brands ignorant and unaccountable for labor abuses in...
There's a lot of discussion about the social and economic impact of Black Friday and the holiday shopping rush. Last year, Americans spent over $1 trillion buying holiday gifts. But what if even a fraction of that holiday spending could also reduce poverty, promote...
Editor's Note: Free the Slaves is honored this month to highlight the investigative reporting of journalist Ian Urbina of the New York Times, creator of The Outlaw Ocean Project. His award-winning series first appeared in the Times in 2015. For the past four years,...
Sustainable fashion activist Amy DuFault is worried these days. Worried that the word feminist – and all it stands for – is under assault. That’s why she’s designed a new way to stand-up for women’s rights, loud and proud. For International Women’s Day, Amy and TS...
It’s the busiest shopping time of the year. We’re all familiar with Black Friday and Cyber Monday. We’d like to introduce you to a different online opportunity: Shop for good Sunday. Free the Slaves and other groups have teamed up with our partners at DoneGood to...
I am a descendant of slaves. Some of my ancestors were from Malaysia and Indonesia, brought to South Africa to work in the port of Cape Town. It always surprises Americans when I tell them that people were brought to Africa more than a century ago and enslaved....
Free the Slaves is proud to announce that renowned labor and employment lawyer Aaron Halegua will be joining our Fashion for Freedom Event in New York this coming Saturday, July 28! Learn more about our impressive panelist below: “It is important to raise awareness...
Free the Slaves is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2018 Fashion for Freedom Award: Flor Molina, a survivor of modern slavery in Los Angeles who has become a champion for trafficking victims and survivor protection. Her inspiring journey from sweatshop slavery...
Countless friends and family ask me: “How can I tell if a company is using sustainable practices when I shop?” Let’s face it, the 40 hour workweek is a thing of the past for most people. And, who wants to spend their spare time researching corporate supply chains when...
Fashion trends at affordable costs: it attracts consumers, but what about the workers who make the clothes? While shoppers browse the aisles of big-brand on-trend clothing, millions are enslaved around the world in big-brand supply chains. That’s why Free the Slaves...
Being fashionable is easier today than ever. Companies produce clothing at an alarmingly fast rate for little cost to the consumer. The traditional four season cycle of fashion has expanded to new fashion lines being released monthly, giving rise to the fast fashion...
It’s here! Actually, it's been going on for a while, but for those of us who are behind the curve, it's not too late – you can still join the ranks. “We are a diverse community that includes board members who have been tackling sustainability and ethical fashion for...
I think in theory we all want to be ethical consumers, but in practice that task can sometimes seem daunting or even impossible. That’s why I’ve written this post – to debunk common myths about ethical consumption and offer some useful tips on how to become a...
As I ride the elevator to the seventh floor of the old Pfizer industrial building in Brooklyn, I have no idea what to expect. On their website, the Pratt Institute Brooklyn Fashion + Design Accelerator (BF+DA) is described as “a hub for ethical fashion and design that...
“The industry is ready, and I’m ready," says Rebecca Ballard when asked ‘why now’ about her brand, Maven Women. The brand, which was fashioned into existence in 2016, aims to provide the working woman with a professional wardrobe that puts ethics and sustainability at...
The Free the Slaves Fashion for Freedom Campaign returns this summer to bring awareness to atrocity of modern slavery within the fashion industry. By bringing together brands and speakers that offer alternatives to questionably-made clothing, we will show that there...
People who don’t care about intellectual property rights don’t care about human rights either. That’s why Free the Slaves is proud to be affiliated with DH Anticounterfeit, a Swedish software firm that helps companies manage their investigation of counterfeiting cases...
Are human trafficking victims hidden inside your closet? Could be. It’s not your fault, it’s hard to know if your wardrobe is tainted by sweatshop slave labor. But now it’s easy to stop financing the enslavement of women and children in the fashion industry. Free the...
We never get tired of highlighting the amazing work that our partners in the Fair Trade Fashion Show are doing. Maggie’s Organics, a conflict-free silver level sponsor, is committed to providing fair trade fashion to their customers. Bená Burda founded Maggie’s...
Our Fashion for Freedom Campaign is designed to benefit women, men, and children working to rebuild their lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and India. Recovering from slavery requires multidimensional healing - psychological, physical, social and...
Throughout July, our Fashion for Freedom Campaign has been in motion leading up to the United Nations World Day Against Trafficking in Persons at the end of the month. Our campaign supports vocational training programs, providing safe spaces for trafficking survivors...
We are so excited to share some new information about the upcoming Fair Trade Fashion Show with you! Have you purchased your ticket yet? You'll want to after you hear who we have participating in the show! Our host will be Nada Jones. She's a consultant, entrepreneur,...
When Farida Sharma was first exposed to the shocking reality of modern slavery, she couldn’t get it off her mind for days. She saw an eye-opening movie about women being trafficked. It left her feeling moved, powerless and disgusted all at once. Sharma manages the...
An educated consumer has the power to end slavery. That’s why Free the Slaves and Bead & Reel are hosting a fair trade fashion show July 29 to raise money and awareness of modern slavery. This show is the third annual of its kind. With slavery being a $150 billion...
As we get closer to our Fair Trade Fashion Show, it's a great opportunity to shine a light on our co-host, Bead & Reel. Founded in 2014 by Sica Schmitz, Bead & Reel epitomizes ethical fashion. This brand offers clothing that is eco-friendly, cruelty-free and...
Fishing and electronics are two of the most visible industries where modern slavery is affecting product supply chains. That’s why forward-thinking associations and corporations are looking for ways to protect their businesses by finding ways to remove the taint of...
They typically work in nondescript cubicles in corporate office parks — and they usually aren’t aware that their desks can become the newest front line in the growing global battle against modern slavery. They are the supply chain officers for American companies. And...
Submitted by Malia DesignsMalia Designs is a socially responsible fair trade brand that designs and sells handbags. Our products are handcrafted in Cambodia and every Malia purchase helps to fight human trafficking. The mission of Malia Designs is the same today as it...
Submitted by Starfish ProjectStarfish Project began in 2006, when our founder and CEO Jenny McGee began visiting women caught in exploitation and trafficking. Visiting the shops is truly heartbreaking. It was clear the women had a very real economic need, so we opened...
Submitted by Sarah Lance | Sari Bari Managing and Creative DirectorSari Bari is a freedom business. A freedom business is “business that exists to fight human trafficking and commercial exploitation.” We employ women from two red light areas who want to make the brave...
Submitted by Wendy Dailey | Co-founder & President of iSanctuaryInternational Sanctuary (iSanctuary) was founded in 2007 to empower victims of sex trafficking to rebuild their lives with economic opportunities. Purpose Jewelry, the iSanctuary fashion brand, is...
Free the Slaves has teamed-up with 12 ethical fashion brands for a one-month campaign to raise awareness about modern slavery and to raise funds to end it. Throughout July, we'll be bringing you news of special fashion offers that benefit Free the Slaves. You can...
Over the past three years a group of children and youths in Sacramento, California, has come together to form the Kids’ Freedom Club. The purpose is to free slaves by raising money, educating others about the problem and advocating for change. We’ve raised money by...
January is a perfect opportunity to mobilize your friends, family, neighbors, classmates, clients, congregants, co-workers and everyone you know. Join us in January to raise the visibility of slavery as one of the world’s greatest human rights problems. It’s a problem...
AP investigative journalist Martha Mendoza says covering modern-day slavery is fraught with ethical challenges—including the risk that the people you are trying to help might be killed instead.“If you show their face, they can be eliminated as evidence,” Mendoza told...
Today marks the five-year anniversary of SB 657, a landmark California law to combat human trafficking. Our friends at KnowTheChain are marking the anniversary by expanding and retooling their website to help companies improve corporate transparency and responsible...
Your right to know if corporations are enslaving people to make products you buy is under threat. A court ruling last week might allow companies to conceal the suffering and slavery that we see every day in our front-line field programs.Here’s what has happened: A...
Ghana’s gold mines are a source of prosperity and pain. Gold is a huge part of the country’s economy. But for children, mining can bring misery and death.“The conditions in the unlicensed gold mining sites are deplorable, especially for children,” says Free the Slaves...
Two House members known for trailblazing support of anti-slavery laws introduced a new measure Monday that would require large corporations to publicly disclose if they are taking steps to prevent human trafficking, modern-day slavery and child labor in their products...
Economic and political leaders need to step up their game if global slavery is to be successfully overcome. That’s the message that Free the Slaves Executive Director Maurice Middleberg shared with millions of BBC World Service radio listeners overnight on the...
Sewing factories that use slaves to make cheap clothes have become one of the newest battle fronts in the fight against human trafficking. A new investigation by one of our Brazilian partner organizations unveils just how important this effort can be. Repórter Brasil...
Ghana is one of the world’s top 10 gold producers, providing international refiners with gold that is eventually sold to banks, jewelers, electronics manufacturers and others. But a new investigation by Human Rights Watch (HRW) unearths how gold extracted by child...
European companies may soon have to ensure that their products do not contain so-called “conflict minerals” that are often mined by slaves. The European Parliament “made history” yesterday, according to a statement by Amnesty International and Global Witness, by...
The U.S. Senate is poised to vote this week on a fast-track trade deal among 12 Asia-Pacific countries.However, one of those countries–Malaysia–has been identified by the U.S. State Dept. as a persistent slavery hot spot, and anti-trafficking organizations are urging...
Staying free is just as important as breaking free. It’s vital that slavery survivors plan what they will do to earn a living once they are rescued.In the India village of Kukdaha, rescued slaves decided that they would do in freedom exactly what they did in slavery:...
Are you up-to-date on emerging trends in corporate transparency and accountability? You can be sure you are by attending a free luncheon conference in New York next week that examines the quickly-evolving field of slavery and the law. Regulations that require...
Question: what’s an anti-slavery activist doing at an environmental sustainability conference for businesses? Answer: getting the same corporations that are helping to protect air, water, wildlife and natural resources around the globe to also protect the world’s most...