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A transparent account of labor and human rights risks found in Nestlé’s palm oil supply chain and the company’s ongoing work to address them. This public report presents the findings of an independent assessment of labor conditions in Nestlé’s palm oil supply chain. It identifies major risks—forced labor, poor working conditions, and recruitment-related debt—and traces...

A powerful exploration of how recruitment fees and exploitative systems entrap migrant workers across Asia—and how businesses can take action to stop it. This paper exposes the hidden costs migrant workers pay to secure employment in Southeast Asia—often thousands of dollars that leave them indebted and vulnerable to abuse. Drawing on field research across manufacturing,...

An influential white paper exposing how recruitment fees, debt, and weak oversight drive forced labor among migrant workers in Malaysia’s electronics industry. Based on a decade of field research, this report reveals systemic exploitation of migrant workers in Malaysia’s electronics sector. It details how high recruitment fees, deceptive contracts, passport confiscation, and excessive working hours...

A study examining global labor recruitment systems, their vulnerabilities to abuse, and the steps needed to make cross-border hiring fair and ethical. This report analyzes how international labor recruitment—particularly of migrant and contract workers—can lead to exploitation when oversight is weak and costs are shifted to workers. It outlines how deceptive recruitment, excessive fees, and...

A practical guide to the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, helping companies disclose and strengthen efforts to prevent forced labor. This white paper explains the key requirements of California’s landmark legislation requiring large retailers and manufacturers to publicly report on their actions to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from supply chains. It unpacks each...

An evaluation capturing the insights, impact, and best practices emerging from the COFFEE Project’s efforts to improve labor conditions in the global coffee sector. This report reflects on the outcomes of the COFFEE Project, which aimed to build ethical recruitment systems and fair labor standards throughout the coffee supply chain. Drawing on field implementation and...

A revealing white paper uncovering how debt, deception, and recruitment abuses trap fishers in forced labor across global seafood supply chains. This white paper investigates the true cost of labor behind the seafood industry, showing how recruitment fees and exploitative systems push migrant fishers into debt and abuse. Drawing on Verité’s field research in major...

An investigation into the high recruitment fees and debt burdens faced by Bangladeshi workers migrating to Malaysia for low-wage employment. Focusing on Bangladesh–Malaysia labor migration, this report exposes how excessive recruitment costs push nearly all surveyed workers into debt, creating systemic vulnerability to exploitation and forced labor. Drawing from hundreds of worker interviews, it finds...

A white paper examining labor exploitation in palm oil production and proposing concrete strategies for ethical and sustainable supply chains. This white paper investigates the prevalence of forced labor and human trafficking risks in palm oil supply chains across Southeast Asia. It documents Verité’s field research findings on exploitative recruitment, child labor, debt bondage, and...

A practical tool helping coffee companies identify and address the deeper causes of labor violations, from poverty and migration to recruitment practices. This tool guides coffee sector actors in diagnosing the underlying causes of labor violations across global supply chains. It identifies four major drivers—poverty, labor shortages, migration, and the use of unregulated labor brokers—as...