At least 12 million people worldwide are subject to forced labor, including debt bondage and trafficking, according to the International Labor Organization. Workers can be held against their will by private companies, especially those operating in remote areas, as well as by oppressive governments. As You Sow engages with U.S.-based multinational companies to enforce basic worker rights standards throughout their entire supply chains, including bottom tier suppliers, sub-contractors and raw materials providers.

In an effort to maximize our impact eradicating forced labor and other egregious human rights abuses at the commodity level of corporate supply chains, the Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN) has been launched as a project of As You Sow. RSN is presently working to end forced child labor in Uzbekistan's cotton industry, and addressing the conflict minerals trade in Democratic Republic of the Congo, where profits fuel one of the world's bloodiest conflicts.

Please visit sourcingnetwork.org to learn about its work engaging brands, retailers, NGOs, investors, unions, processors, traders and others to address human rights abuses at the raw commodity level.