How Many Slaves Work For You?

When we buy our new shirt, phone or coffee, we rarely think about slavery in the global supply chains of these products. Slavery? In the 21^st century? Isn’t slavery a thing of the past? Well, it might surprise us, but slavery still exists and it exists in almost every global supply chain. It has been estimated that 200,000 child slaves work in Ivory Coast alone, that a large proportion of coltan that is used for the capacitors of our phones is mined by slaves, and that the cotton we need for our clothes is often picked by children. The Slavery Footprint online tool answers the following question: “How many slaves work for you?” Based on research data and the data you enter in a short survey, the tool estimates the answer for you. After having taken the survey, you will most likely be quite surprised about how many slaves are involved in the supply chains of your products.