Why corporations detecting modern slavery is good

It’s an uncomfortable reality, but modern slavery is endemic in global supply chains.

Statistics on the scale of this issue are becoming as well known as they are shocking. Estimates put the number of modern slavery victims at almost 50 million globally – including those in forced labour or living in forced marriages. Of these, 17.3 million are being forced to work by private businesses, with nearly 4 million in forced labour imposed by state authorities. More than 3.3 million of those in forced labour are children.

The extent of the problem, coupled with the complexity of global supply chains, means that businesses (and consumers) in all sectors face a real risk of supporting modern slavery, knowingly or unknowingly.

And yet the proportion of large firms detecting and reporting modern slavery activity in their supply chains is low. For example, in its recent analysis of a sample of large firms with UK operations, investment company CCLA found that only 30 companies admitted to detecting modern slavery practices (or indications that it is present) in their supply chains.

Recent analysis by the BBC of tomato purees sold by UK supermarkets illustrates the scale of the problem.

While several UK supermarkets advertise own-brand tomato puree as “Italian”, the report concluded that most UK own-brands are likely to...

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