List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor

There are reports that children as young as 9 produce footwear in Türkiye. Both boys and girls, including many in the Syrian refugee community, are engaged in work activities in this sector. According to international organizations, NGOs, and media sources, there is credible evidence that the use of child labor is common in footwear production, including in major production areas such as Gaziantep and Istanbul. Children work long hours, with some reports of working up to 12 hours per day, 6 days per week. Due to the long hours worked, many child workers in this sector are unable to attend school. Some child laborers in this sector use hazardous chemicals, machinery, and materials. 

Turkish Translation

There is evidence that children ages 5 to 17 in Vietnam manufacture footwear. Based on the Government of Vietnam’s National Child Labor Survey 2012, the results of which were published in 2014, an estimated 9,756 child laborers work in footwear manufacturing for over 42 hours per week. Approximately 2.2 percent, or 215, of the total number of child laborers who manufacture footwear for over 42 hours per week are 12-14 years old, while 97.8 percent, or 9,541, are 15-17 years old. The survey considers a child to be engaged in child labor if the child is working an excessive number of hours per week for his or her age, or if the child is engaged in work that is prohibited for underage employees according to national legislation. 

There is evidence that children between the ages of 5 and 14 work in the harvesting and production of pome and stone fruits in Colombia.  Based on an analysis of the Colombia Great Household Survey – Child Labor Module, an estimated 10,679 children under the minimum age for work are involved in child labor in pome and stone fruits.  The release of this survey demonstrates the Government of Colombia’s commitment to addressing child labor and its acknowledgment that data collection is vital to the design and implementation of sound policies and programs.

ILAB has reason to believe that raw sugar, refined sugar, molasses, rum, bagasse, and furfural produced in the Dominican Republic (DR) are produced with an input produced with forced labor, specifically sugarcane produced in the DR. Sugarcane from the DR produced with forced labor was added to ILAB’s List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor in 2009. Numerous reports indicate the widespread presence of forced labor throughout the sugarcane sector of the DR, including in plantations owned by private companies, state-owned entities, and small independent producers (colonos). Sugarcane workers in the DR, particularly workers of Haitian origin or descent, work and live under conditions of forced labor. Sugarcane is used to produce a number of sugar-based products in the DR. The U.S. imports nearly all the raw sugar and the majority of the molasses exported from the DR, while the EU imports all of the produced furfural. In 2023, the U.S. imported over $131 million in raw sugar from the DR. Research suggests that further downstream products of sugarcane, such as beverages, alcoholic beverages, candy, baked goods, processed food products, animal feed, paper, pulp, construction materials, biofuels, industrial chemicals, medicines, and medicinal alcohol may be produced with an input produced with forced labor.

Spanish Translation

There are reports that political prisoners in Belarus are forced to produce furniture. The Belarusian state penal system includes 20 state-owned woodworking enterprises employing approximately 8,000 prisoners, including hundreds of political prisoners. These enterprises use forced labor from political prisoners to produce various furniture parts and finished furniture. Political prisoners include human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers, opposition politicians, artists, writers, trade unionists, and activists, imprisoned for expression of political views and peaceful assemblies against the government’s regime and repression. Political prisoners are singled out in the prisons by wearing yellow bibs, treated more harshly than regular prisoners, work long hours without a day off, and work under hazardous conditions that often result in injuries. Refusal to work is often punished with solitary confinement and sometimes with torture, as well as deprivation of food, water,or sleep.

Belarusian Translation

There is evidence that children under the age of 14 work in the production of furniture in Pakistan. Based on an analysis of Pakistan’s Labor Force Survey 2017–2018, an estimated 25,789 children perform tasks related to the creation of furniture, including gathering the raw materials needed to assemble traditional sofas and chairs. Children who work in the production of furniture may be at risk of hazards, including harvesting raw materials such as bamboo, reeds, and straw by hand, in addition to potential exposure to agricultural pesticides. The release of the Labor Force Survey demonstrates the Government of Pakistan’s commitment to addressing child labor and its acknowledgement that data analysis is critical to the design and implementation of strong policies and programs.

Urdu Translation

There is evidence that children ages 5 to17 produce furniture in Vietnam. According to the Government of Vietnam’s National Child Labor Survey 2012, the results of which were published in 2014, an estimated 24,377 child laborers work in the production of furniture, including beds, wardrobes, chairs, and tables. Nearly three-quarters of child laborers involved in this activity are boys. Of the 24,377 child laborers engaged in the production of furniture, 13,670 children worked in furniture production for more than 42 hours per week. In addition, 21,873 of the total number of child laborers working in the production of furniture were involved in work that could be considered hazardous according to national legislation. The survey considers a child to be engaged in child labor if the child is working an excessive number of hours per week for his or her age, or if the child is engaged in work that is prohibited for underage employees according to national legislation. 

Vietnamese Translation