I remember one particularly bad factory in China. It produced outdoor tables, parasols, and gazebos, and the place was a mess. Work floors were so crowded with production materials that I could barely make my way from one end to the other. In one area, where metals were being chemically treated, workers squatted at the edge of steaming pools as if contemplating a sudden, final swim. The dormitories were filthy: the hallways were strewn with garbage—orange peels, tea leaves—and the only way for anyone to bathe was to fill a bucket with cold water. In a country where workers normally suppress their complaints for fear of getting fired, employees at this factory couldn’t resist telling us the truth. “We work so hard for so little pay,” said one middle-aged woman with undisguised anger. We could only guess how hard—the place kept no time cards. Painted in large characters on the factory walls was a slogan: “If you don’t work hard today, look hard for work tomorrow.” Inspirational, in a way.
According to recent reports, the global palm oil market is expected to reach USD 92.84 billion in 2021. Palm oil and palm-based ingredients are found inapproximately 50 percent of supermarket products making them ever present in our daily consumptio...Read More
Deadline for Submissions: 15 November 2021 The Anti-Trafficking Review calls for papers for a special issue themed 'Migration, Sexuality, and Gender Identity'. This special issue will bridge the fields of queer, migration, and ...Read More
A proposed EU law that seeks to hold companies accountable for human rights abuses, climate change, and environmental destruction has been severely watered down by corporate lobbyists, with assistance from the European Commission’s own business-fr...Read More
Beginning in August 2017, the Myanmar security forces undertook a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State. They unlawfully killed thousands of Rohingya, including young children; raped and c...Read More
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