Verité in the News
Read coverage of Verité’s work in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, The Associated Press, The Los Angeles Times, and more.
Despite ‘No Fees to Workers’ Policies, Workers Are Still Paying
Verite’s analysis of thousands of recent recruitment transactions between employers and labor recruiters in high-risk labor migration corridors into the Southeast Asia, Middle East, and Gulf Cooperation Council regions finds that fewer than 10% of employers are recruiting workers ethically by paying the full cost of recruitment and preventing workers from being charged for their job1.
Verité’s CEO publishes a new book chapter on the Model Contract Clauses Project
Verité’s CEO Shawn MacDonald, who has spent more than 25 years advocating for effective labor policies and practices through civil society advocacy, contributed to the Model Contract Clauses Project with the book chapter A Supply Chain Accountability Practitioner’s Perspective on the Model Contract Clauses Project. The chapter is part of the newly published American Bar Association (ABA) book Contracts for Responsible and Sustainable Supply Chains: Model Contract Clauses, Legal Analysis, and Practical Perspectives.
Verité leads panel discussion with Better Cotton and USDOL on traceability for sustainable cotton at Better Cotton’s Annual Conference
As part of Verité’s Supply Chain Tracing & Engagement Methodologies (STREAMS) project, Erin Klett, Director of STREAMS, led a panel discussion with STREAMS partner Better Cotton and the U.S. Department of Labor at the annual Better Cotton Conference in Amsterdam in June. Traceability and data were at the forefront of this two-day conference, which brought together 350 industry leaders from 38 countries to explore the most salient issues in sustainable cotton production.
Voices from the field: Senderos project participants describe everyday hazards and risks in sugarcane fields
In Mexico, sugarcane production and processing is comprised of a complex web of actors. Alongside sugar refineries, mills and farmers, the supply chain is made up of less visible actors, such as cabos or crew leaders and field leaders, who largely operate informally. The least visible and most vulnerable actors in the sugar cane supply chain are the sugarcane cutters, who are exposed to many labor risks, including severe risks to their health and safety.
Ensuring Government Advisors Comprehensively Understand Forced Labor in Côte d’Ivoire
On July 19, Verité and the International Cocoa Initiative kicked off a forced labor indicators training for human rights advisors of the National Council of Human Rights (Conseil Nacional des Droits de l’Homme— CNDH), an independent body that is tasked with ensuring the Côte d’Ivoire government’s adherence to all international treaties and cooperation agreements that the government has signed.
Urgent Action Needed to Protect Children From Labor Exploitation
As organizations working to address human trafficking and labor exploitation, we are appalled by the horrific conditions children experienced after fleeing to the United States for refuge. This series in the New York Times demonstrates our government’s inability, unwillingness, or outright refusal to protect minors from forced labor.
Guidance for Companies on Understanding the Distribution of Child Labor Risk in the United States
A widely-read New York Times article on child labor by unaccompanied child migrants, published in February 2023, detailed the way that young people fleeing economic and political crises in Central America have collided with the tight US labor market and inadequate US labor law enforcement to create a “perfect storm” for child exploitation in the United States.
Is Human Trafficking Hidden in Your Facilities Management Supply Chain?
To announce the formal launch of the Responsible Sourcing Tool (RST) Facilities Services toolkit, Verité and the US Department of State – JTIP hosted a public webinar in January 2023. In attendance were more than 250 participants from over 30 countries, representing a wide variety of business sectors, government agencies, social auditing firms, NGOs, and industry associations.
STREAMS Side-Session at the OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector
In February 2023, Verité’s Supply Chain Tracing and Engagement Methodologies (STREAMS) project hosted a side-session event at the OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector on “Traceability for Supply Chain Due Diligence and Sustainability in the Garment Sector.” The session showcased pilots by STREAMS partners Better Cotton and the Responsible Sourcing Network.