Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1448961
Shining a Light on Supply Chains Human rights are a sustainability issue. No progress can be made toward an ecologically just world while ignoring the human ex- ploitation that is ubiuitous in the creation of consumer goods. It is no secret that clothing manufacturing is rife with human rights abuses. Garment workers often work long hours in unsafe con- ditions for little pay. Directing our attention to country-of-origin tags is often seen as a way of avoiding garments made under such conditions, but if this was ever the case, it is no longer true. Gar- ment workers are exploited in every country in which garments are made. Some companies take steps to avoid using abusive produc- tion facilities, but it is extremely di cult to guarantee that these attempts are successful. Human rights abuses aren't prevalent only in the manufacturing process but in every step of the supply chain. Cotton production in China currently relies heavily on the slave labor of minority eth- nic groups, including the yghurs. Cotton produced by enslaved people accounts for 20 of the world's supply of cotton fi ber. Con- sumers have almost no access to the information reuired to de- termine the human and ecological cost of fabrics and garments. Aside from refusing to buy cotton altogether, there is no way to verify that any given cotton garment does not support this abuse. A company called FibreTrace in Singapore may have a solution to this problem. They have developed a luminescent pigment that can be included with raw fi ber to allow that fi ber to be tracked from fabric to garment. This technology will allow brands to track the materials they use through every step of production to ensure that their products are made sustainably and free from human rights abuses. While it will depend on brands performing due dil- igence, this advancement is a step toward supply chain transparen- cy. The fi rst products using FibreTrace technology are due to debut sometime this year, and though not yet widely available, this proof of concept may allow us better insight into the origins of what we buy. B we try IT'S NOT EASY BEING 52 TH T DR PR