What You Can Do

We all have a role to play to ensure human rights are respected in product value chains. Conflict Minerals, currently defined as tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold, are ubiquitous, existing in almost all devices with electronic components. Plastic parts may even contain traces of tin. It is up to each of us to learn about from where the minerals in our products originate and under what conditions they were mined. It is also important to support systems that work to minimize conflict, cut off the revenues that support conflict, and incentivize responsible mining practices.

Companies

  1. Establish far-reaching policies to address any affiliation a company may have with forced labor.

  2. Implement a due diligence framework to identify and address risks of forced-labor (see Resources for more information).

  3. Support anti-slavery policy and legislation.

  4. Educate employees on risks of forced labor in supply chains, potential links the company might have through its services, actions the company is taking to address it, and offer training to employees on actions they should take if it is discovered.

  5. Require that all suppliers are accountable for ensuring their materials are produced free of forced labor.

  6. Support niche markets and alternative solutions to the problem of slavery by sourcing products and raw materials from ethical and forced-labor-free environments.

Investors

  1. Monster earned a 0 (zero) – dead last among all companies - in the October 2016 KnowTheChain report scoring supply chain accountability on slavery and human trafficking. To see if your mutual funds are invested in Monster Energy Click here.

  2. Educate and engage companies on potential risks of forced labor embedded in their products, affiliation with forced labor or trafficking affiliated with their services, and unethical practices of labor brokers.

  3. Support publicly published investor statements and proposed legislation that denounce the practice of forced labor throughout various industries and suggest activities to address it.

  4. Encourage companies to support supply chain transparency and accountability solutions that can drive business away from raw materials harvested or mined with forced labor.

Consumers

  1. Keep informed on anti-slavery policy and legislation. Stay up to date on changes made to local and national legislation, and the impact of these regulations. Make your voice heard if there is an opportunity to comment on a piece of legislation.

  2. Utilize tools like these that help to promote anti-slavery consumerism:

  3. When purchasing products, ask the shop owners or brands where the raw materials in their products originate, and if they are following any procedures to ensure the product is not contributing to forced labor.

Partners & Initiatives

There are many NGOs and initiatives working on anti-slavery issues. Please visit our Resources page to learn about a number of tools and documents that are available to companies and investors. Below are just a few of the organizations or coalitions that are available to companies and investors to join. RSN is a member of ICCR and a supporter of Know the Chain.