• ABOUT US
  • OUR HISTORY
  • OUR MISSION & OBJECTIVES
  • COALITION MEMBERS
  • COALITION LEADERSHIP
  • CONTACT US
  • RECEIVE UPDATES
Stop Child Labor - The Child Labor Coalition
  • NEWS & RESOURCES
    • Viewpoints
    • News & Events
    • 10 Facts About…
    • Reports
    • Timeline
    • Social Media
  • CHILD LABOR – US
    • In Our Products
      • Chocolate
      • Cotton
      • Clothes
      • Electronics
      • Gold
      • Tin
    • In Our Fields
      • Children in Agriculture
      • Children in the Fields Campaign
      • CARE Act
    • Legislation
    • Youth Employment
      • Young Worker Deaths & Injuries
      • Youth Peddling Crews
    • Enforcement–US
    • Trafficking–US
    • U.S. DOL
    • US Child Labor Laws
      • Federal Laws
      • State Laws
    • Corporations and Child Labor
    • US Campaigns
  • CHILD LABOR – INTERNATIONAL
    • Agriculture
      • Chocolate
      • Cotton
      • Tobacco
    • Industry/Products
      • Clothing
      • Construction
      • Electronic Equipment
      • Mining
      • Other Products
      • Rubber
      • Rugs
      • Seafood
      • Soccer Balls
      • Tobacco
    • Countries
      • African Countries
      • Angola
      • Botswana
      • Burkina Faso
      • Central African Republic
      • Chad
      • Cote d’Ivoire
      • Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
      • Egypt
    • Child Soldiers
    • Trafficking (International)
    • Forced Labor/Slavery
    • Education & Child Labor
    • International Initiatives
      • Convention on the Rights of the Child
      • Global Campaign for Education
  • TAKE ACTION
    • Global Fund for Education Action
    • Donate
    • Afghan Bacha Bazi Trafficking Action
    • Ban Child Labor in India
    • Child Labor Tools for Consumers–Apps
    • Help Us End Child Slavery!
  • DONATE
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

Report Traces Goods Made with Child Labor to 76 Countries

September 26, 2018/in Gold, U.S. DOL, Viewpoints/by CLC Member

Jo Becker, advocacy director, Children’s Rights Division, Human Rights Watch

Of the products we use, wear, or consume every day, how many are made with child labor? Perhaps quite a few. A new report from the US Department of Labor identifies 148 different consumer goods produced with child or forced labor around the world. The list includes clothing, beef, sugar, bricks, coffee, and other products originating from 76 countries.

Gold tops the list. The report found that in at least 21 countries, children help mine gold, climbing into unstable shafts, carrying and crushing heavy loads of ore, and often using toxic mercury to process the gold. My colleagues and I have seen how dangerous this work can be, documenting the risks child miners face in Ghana, Philippines, Tanzania, and Mali.

Tobacco produced with child labor originates from at least 16 countries, placing it in the report’s top five. Child tobacco workers often labor in extreme heat, are exposed to dangerous pesticides, and risk nicotine poisoning from handling tobacco plants. In our investigations, children in the United States, Indonesia, and Zimbabwe have described nausea, vomiting, headaches, and dizziness while working in tobacco fields.

Governments, companies, and consumers share responsibility to end child labor. Governments should monitor and enforce their labor laws and provide children with good-quality, free education.

For children old enough to work, both governments and companies should ensure their jobs do not risk anyone’s health or safety. Companies should also monitor their supply chains, report on their efforts, and when child labor is found, transition these children to school or safe alternatives. Our report on the jewelry industry outlines steps companies should take.  

Consumers can ask retailers and manufacturers about their child labor policies and practices.

A young girl ties tobacco leaves onto sticks to prepare them for curing in East Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.

A young girl ties tobacco leaves onto sticks to prepare them for curing in East Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.

 © 2015 Marcus Bleasdale for Human Rights Watch

Ending child labor is possible. Since 2000, the number of children involved in it has dropped by a third ‒ from 245 million to 152 million. In the last two years, the Department of Labor found that 17 governments have made “significant” advancement in ending child labor, and another 60 have made “moderate” advancements. It noted particular progress in ending child labor in Panama’s sugar production, and cotton harvesting in Paraguay and Uzbekistan.

Still, we have a long way to go. Products that are part of our daily lives shouldn’t come at the expense of children’s health, safety, and education.

[Originally published at www.hrw.org on September 21, 2018 1:35PM]
 
Jo Becker is the advocacy director of the Children’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch, which is a member of the Child Labor Coalition.
Tags: child labor, coffe, forced labor, gold, sugar, Tobacco, USDOL
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail
https://stopchildlabor.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/logo.png 0 0 CLC Member https://stopchildlabor.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/logo.png CLC Member2018-09-26 13:00:172022-11-07 06:11:05Report Traces Goods Made with Child Labor to 76 Countries
You might also like
Where is Child Labor Most Rampant?
US Labor Department Fines Marcus Theatres, Regal Cinemas and Wehrenberg movie theatre chains more than $277,000 for Child Labor Violations
Prostitution in Cambodia: ‘New law doesn’t protect me’
My Path from Strawberry and Blueberry Fields to College
Maid Firm Exposed
Risky Decision: Young Immigrants Sometimes Must Choose Between Work and School
Donna Ballman: Why Repealing Child Labor Laws Is a Truly Stupid Idea
Maine’s Child Labor Laws Come Under Scrutiny

Pages

  • About Us
  • Coalition Leadership
  • Coalition Members
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Home
  • Our History
  • Our Mission & Objectives

Categories

  • 10 Facts About…
  • Afghan Bacha Bazi Trafficking Action
  • Afghanistan
  • African Countries
  • Agriculture
  • Angola
  • Bangladesh
  • Beedi
  • Bolivia
  • Botswana
  • Brazil
  • Bricks
  • Burkina Faso
  • Burma/Myanmar
  • Cambodia
  • CARE Act
  • Central African Republic
  • Chad
  • Child Labor – International
  • Child Labor – US
  • Child Labor Maps & Infographics
  • Child Labor Programs in Danger
  • Child Labor Stats
  • Child Labor Tools for Consumers–Apps
  • Child Soldiers
  • Children in Agriculture
  • Children in the Fields Campaign
  • Chile
  • China
  • Chocolate
  • Chocolate
  • Clothes
  • Clothing
  • Colombia
  • Construction
  • Convention on the Rights of the Child
  • Corporations and Child Labor
  • Cote d'Ivoire
  • Cotton
  • Cotton
  • Countries
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
  • Domestic Workers/Household Servants
  • Donate
  • Education & Child Labor
  • Egypt
  • El Salvador
  • Electronic Equipment
  • Electronics
  • Enforcement–US
  • Ethiopia
  • Fast Facts
  • Federal Laws
  • Forced Labor/Slavery
  • Ghana
  • Global Campaign for Education
  • Gold
  • Help Us End Child Slavery!
  • In Our Fields
  • In Our Products
  • India
  • Industry/Products
  • International Initiatives
  • Jordan
  • Kazakhstan
  • Kenya
  • Laos
  • Legislation
  • Lesotho
  • Liberia
  • Links
  • Madagascar
  • Malawi
  • Mexico
  • Mining
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • News & Events
  • News & Resources
  • Niger
  • Nigeria
  • Other Products
  • Pakistan
  • Peru
  • Philippines
  • Press Releases
  • Reports
  • Rubber
  • Rugs
  • Rwanda
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Seafood
  • Soccer Balls
  • Somalia
  • State Laws
  • Street Vending
  • Sudan
  • Take Action
  • Thailand
  • Timeline
  • Tin
  • Trafficking (International)
  • Trafficking–US
  • Turkey
  • U.S. DOL
  • US Campaigns
  • US Child Labor Laws
  • Uzbekistan
  • Vanilla
  • Vietnam
  • Viewpoints
  • Yemen
  • Young Worker Deaths & Injuries
  • Youth Employment
  • Youth Peddling Crews
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe

Archive

  • February 2023
  • August 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • October 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • December 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • March 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • August 2019
  • June 2019
  • April 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • September 2018
  • July 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • December 2017
  • September 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • April 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • August 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • April 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • September 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2008
  • November 2007
  • June 2007
  • July 1881
  • July 1876
  • July 1842
  • July 1836
  • January 1832

CLC members—the Ramsay Merriam Fund, the American Federation of Teachers, and the National Education Association—made this web site possible through their generous support.

Quick Links

  • About Us
  • Our History
  • Our Mission & Objectives
  • Coalition Members
  • Coalition Leadership
  • Contact Us

Useful Links

  • News & Resources
  • Child Labor – US
  • Child Labor – International
  • Take Action

Contact Us

  • National Consumers League
    1701 K Street, N.W., Suite 1200
    Washington, DC 20006

  • reidm@nclnet.org

© Copyright - stopchildlabor
Advocate Len Morris: Children’s Rights are Human RightsChild labor, Forced Labor, and Cotton and How They All Converged at the UN October... Scroll to top
Twitter – Check out the CLC’s Twitter stream YouTube – check out child labor videos on the CLC YouTube channel