Sustainability Incubator & Trace Register
Overview
We called upon developers, designers, advocates, and innovators to submit concepts for technological solutions that identify and address labor trafficking in global supply chains for goods and services. Solutions were encouraged to focus on one or more of the following areas:
Workers’ Voices
Mobile tools that help workers to share information and foster community, access resources, and report labor violations to businesses, governments, NGOs, or each other in the most safe and secure ways possible.
Recruitment
Tools to improve the transparency and accountability of the labor recruitment process, encourage responsible practices for employers and recruiters, and empower workers to more safely navigate the employment process.
Traceability
Technologies that enable businesses, workers, governments, and NGOs to track, map, and/or share information on commodities, products, and labor conditions in supply chains at high risk of forced labor.
Challenge Timeline
Finalists
Five finalists received prize packages of $20,000 and technical assistance to further develop their concept
Winners
One grand prize winner received $250,000 and one runner-up winner received $50,000
Rules, Terms and Conditions
Winners
One Grand Prize Winner and one Runner-Up were announced in May 2016, and were awarded $250,000 and $50,000, respectively.
Sustainability Incubator & Trace Register
Sustainability Incubator and Trace Register teamed up to develop the winning solution to help companies uncover and address the risks of trafficking. The team received a $250,000 grant to support the Labor Safe Digital Certificate, a digital risk assessment tool that will help seafood suppliers and major retailers better screen for risks of forced labor and address high-risk zones within their supply chains.
Good World Solutions
Good World Solutions was named the runner-up winner and received a $50,000 grant to advance Laborlink Trafficking Module, its mobile technology for improving visibility of trafficked workers by capturing and analyzing worker feedback.
Finalists
Each finalist received $20,000 and proceeded to the Finalist Accelerator round of the competition to further develop their proposed solutions with support from subject matter experts. One Grand Prize Winner and one Runner-Up were announced in May 2016, and were awarded $250,000 and $50,000, respectively.
Good World Solutions
Laborlink Trafficking Module: Capturing & Mapping Millions of Data Points to Eliminate Forced Labor
Analyzes and maps forced labor using a mobile communication channel between workers and supply chain leaders to report on working conditions.
IST Research
PULSE Deployable Labor Trafficking System
Data analytics system that scrapes web data to monitor social media and public internet sources for indicators of labor exploitation.
GeoPoll
Identifying Human Rights Issues In the Fishing Industry Through Mobile Surveys
Mobile survey platform that collects and shares labor condition data from workers via SMS, Interactive Voice Response, and mobile web.
Sustainability Incubator and Trace Register
Building Trust in Fishing at Sea
Traceability software that enables seafood suppliers to voluntarily report on the origins of their catches and vessel working conditions.
Ulula
SPARTACUS: A Global Mobile Platform for Empowering Migrant Workers to End Slavery
Mobile payment and feedback service for migrant workers to increase transparency and accountability in the recruitment process.
The Issue
Around the world, tens of millions of people are estimated to be in modern slavery, generating global profits estimated at $150 billion a year. The ILO estimates that 14.2 million people are victims of forced labor in private economic activities.
From cotton fields to fishing boats, from apparel to electronics, and from hotels to restaurants – men, women, and children are made to work in exploitative conditions for little to no pay, under the threat of force, fraud, or coercion.
Goods produced with forced and trafficked labor often make their way into the global economy and into our lives through complex and opaque supply chains, changing hands many times along the way. Industries that rely on labor recruiters or brokers to supply workers are particularly at risk, since workers often face fraudulent recruitment practices that can leave them in debt and deeply vulnerable to exploitation. At the base of the supply chain, where commodities and raw materials are extracted, low profit margins, lack of labor protections, and lack of product differentiation also foster exploitative working conditions.
At the same time, change is happening. High-profile reports on modern slavery in a range of industries and new federal, state, and international laws and regulations are prompting companies and others to address forced labor in their supply chains in new and innovative ways. Due to the complex nature of supply chains for goods and services, however, it’s often difficult for businesses, workers, NGOs, and governments to understand where forced labor is occurring and how to take action to remedy it.
We believe that forced labor has no place in the goods and services that make up today’s global economy and that we need new ideas, tools, and efforts to address this problem. From connecting with workers to identifying where forced labor is occurring, technology-informed approaches and tools will have a critical role to play. We encourage individuals, organizations, and teams to submit their ideas for using technology to address any aspect of forced labor in global supply chains. We look forward to supporting the best and most innovative ideas to become reality.
Tools and Resources
Labor Trafficking and Worker Rights in Global Supply Chains
Around the world, tens of millions of people are estimated to be in modern slavery, generating global profits estimated at $150 billion a year. The ILO estimates that 14.2 million people are victims of forced labor in private economic activities. From cotton fields to fishing boats, from agriculture to electronics, and from apparel to mining, men, women and children work in exploitative conditions, for little to no pay, under the threat of force, fraud, or coercion.
Learn More:
- Combating Human Trafficking in Global Supply Chains White House blog, January 2015
- Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking in Global Supply Chains Verité, 2015
- Technology and Labor Trafficking in a Network Society Mark Latonero, Bronwyn Wex, and Meredith Dank, USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, 2015
- Know the Chain A resource for businesses and investors to understand and address forced labor abuses within their supply chains.
- 2015 Trafficking in Persons Report, U.S. Department of State
- Profits and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour ILO, 2014
- OVC and BJA’s Human Trafficking Task Force e-Guide, Department of Justice A resource for anti-trafficking practitioners to understand and respond to human trafficking in their communities. Includes multiple case examples of labor trafficking prosecuted in the United States.
Recruitment
From electronics in Malaysia to construction in the Gulf to agriculture here in the United States, many industries rely on migrant labor recruited abroad. To get their jobs, many workers have little choice but to pay significant recruitment fees, sometimes equal to several months or more of salary. These costs, which may also be combined with excessive or arbitrary interest rates, means workers often arrive at their job in debt and spend a period of time – sometimes years – working for few or no wages in order to repay what they owe. The lack of transparency and accountability in the recruitment process allows actors along the chain to mislead workers about the terms and conditions of the jobs they’re signing up for, with few consequences. Debt accumulated in the process of migrating leaves workers with few options and makes it extremely difficult for them to speak up or seek assistance when facing coercion, fraud, or abusive working conditions.
Learn more:
- Fair Hiring Toolkit Verité
- Migrant Worker Management Toolkit A Global Framework, Business for Social Responsibility, 2010
- The Role of Recruitment Fees and Abusive and Fraudulent Recruitment Practices of Recruitment Agencies in Trafficking in Persons UNODC, 2015
- Regulating Labor Recruitment to Prevent Human Trafficking and to Foster Fair Migration: Models, Challenges and Opportunities ILO, 2015
- Addressing the Retention of Identity Documents UN Global Compact and Verité, 2014
- Understanding the Organization, Operation, and Victimization Process of Labor Trafficking in the United States Urban Institute, 2014
- Dhaka Principles for Migration with Dignity, 2012
Traceability
Many product supply chains present the highest risk of forced labor at the very beginning of the process, where raw materials are extracted or harvested – for example, cotton, minerals, seafood, and palm oil. These raw materials commonly feed into complex supply chains where tracking inputs to the commodity level or establishing a chain of custody is either difficult or cost-prohibitive.
Learn more:
- Forced Labor Commodity Atlas Verité
- List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor Department of Labor, 2015
- Forced and Child Labor Data Sets containing information on child labor and forced labor worldwide from Department of Labor’s Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor, and List of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor
- Sea Slaves: The Human Misery that Feeds Pets and Livestock Ian Urbina, New York Times, 2015
- How Bitcoin’s Technology Could Soon Shed Light on How Goods are Made Fast Company, 2015
Challenge Details
The Partnership called upon developers, designers, advocates, and innovators to submit concepts for technological solutions to identify and address labor trafficking in global supply chains for goods and services.
We sought tools and solutions for businesses, workers, governments, or NGOs that address any of the following topics:
Workers' Voices
Workers’ Voices
In a diverse range of industries and sectors vulnerable to forced labor, workers’ ability to build community, report on their conditions, and access support from government, business, and civil society can help protect against severe labor exploitation.
While many businesses use social audits for snapshot checks on working conditions, workers themselves are the best source of real-time information on their own working conditions. However, their ability to communicate information on conditions that are exploitative or dangerous may be hampered by geographic distance or isolation, intimidation by their supervisors or peers, absence of redress mechanisms, and lack of access to advice and assistance. Their understanding of their workplace rights and their opportunity to effectively develop communities that can help protect those rights may also be hampered by similar factors. In regions and sectors where mobile access is widespread, mobile solutions may help to bridge these gaps.
Challenge
Propose a mobile-based solution that leverages existing technology to accomplish one of the following goals:
- Enable workers to provide feedback on their conditions and report on workplace abuse, coercion, and labor law violations to businesses, NGOs, and/or governments in a safe, secure, and (as appropriate) anonymous way, and/or access local resources.
- Foster community among workers and facilitate peer to peer dialogue and information sharing.
Recruitment
Recruitment
From the electronics industry in Malaysia to the construction industry in the Gulf to agriculture in the United States, many multinational supply chains depend on migrant labor recruited from abroad. For workers, the complexity involved in getting a job abroad often leads to a reliance on middlemen, including labor brokers and recruitment agencies, to whom they pay large sums, often in cash. Many workers seeking employment abroad have little choice but to pay recruitment fees to recruiters or brokers to pay for travel, identity documents, medical check-ups, and other costs. Workers often take out loans to afford these fees, which are typically equal to several months of salary. As a result workers may face fraudulent recruitment practices, including false information about the location and working conditions of their job, contract switching, document confiscation, unexpected fees and other practices that expose them to exploitation and abuse.
The lack of transparency and accountability in the recruitment process allows actors along the chain to mislead workers about the terms and conditions of the jobs they’re signing up for, with few consequences. Debt accumulated in the process of migrating leaves workers with few options and makes it extremely difficult for them to speak up or seek assistance when facing coercion, fraud, or abusive working conditions.
Challenge
Propose a technological solution or adaptation of an existing technology to accomplish one of the following goals:
- Improve the availability and reliability of information on the recruitment process in a given region or sector (for example, enabling workers or businesses to verify, document, safeguard, and track contracts/work agreements and payments; or workers to document fees paid in the process of getting a job).
- Increase visibility and accountability for intermediaries in the recruitment process, including recruitment agencies, brokers, suppliers, or employers.
- Improve transparency and facilitate responsible and transparent recruitment.
- Empower workers to make informed employment decisions in a data-poor environment.
Traceability
Traceability
Many product supply chains present the highest risk of forced labor at the very beginning of the process, where raw materials are extracted or harvested – for example, cotton, minerals, seafood, and palm oil. These raw materials commonly feed into complex supply chains where tracking inputs to the commodity level or establishing a chain of custody is either difficult or cost-prohibitive.
The inability to track goods to the level where forced labor is most commonly found means that consumers and brands are left in the dark as to whether modern slavery is used to make their products. In addition, while we are seeing new efforts to track sustainability and environmental implications of supply chains, these approaches often do not capture information on labor conditions. Finally, current attempts to trace or verify products rarely seek to engage workers themselves as valuable sources of information.
Challenge
Propose a technological solution or adaptation of an existing technology to accomplish one of the following goals:
- Improve traceability of a commodity in an at-risk supply chain*.
- Engage workers as a meaningful source of information to fill gaps in understanding of product chains.
- Enhance the ability of end-users (brands, consumers, etc) to track the labor conditions of their supply chains.
*For the purpose of this challenge, an at-risk supply chain is defined as any supply chain that includes goods identified as being produced with forced or child labor by the U.S. Department of Labor’s 2014 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor and Forced Labor or Verité’s Forced Labor Commodity Atlas.
Workers’ Voices
Workers’ Voices
In a range of industries and sectors vulnerable to forced labor, workers’ ability to build community, report on their conditions, and access support from government, business, and civil society can help protect against severe labor exploitation.
While many businesses use social audits for snapshot checks on working conditions, workers themselves are the best source of real-time information on their own working conditions. However, their ability to communicate information on conditions that are exploitative or dangerous may be hampered by geographic distance or isolation, intimidation by their supervisors or peers, absence of redress mechanisms, and lack of access to advice and assistance. Their understanding of their workplace rights and their opportunity to effectively develop communities that can help protect those rights may also be hampered by similar factors. In regions and sectors where mobile access is widespread, mobile solutions may help to bridge these gaps.
Challenge
Propose a mobile-based solution that leverages existing technology to accomplish one of the following goals:
- Enable workers to provide feedback on their conditions and report on workplace abuse, coercion, and labor law violations to corporations, NGOs, and/or governments in a safe, secure, and (as appropriate) anonymous way,
- Foster community among workers and facilitate peer to peer dialogue and information-sharing
Recruitment
Recruitment
From the electronics industry in Malaysia to the construction industry in the Gulf to agriculture in the United States, many multinational supply chains depend on migrant labor recruited from abroad. For workers, the complexity involved in getting a job abroad often leads to a reliance on middlemen like labor brokers and recruitment agencies, to whom they pay large sums, often in cash. The lack of transparency and accountability allows actors along the chain to mislead workers about the terms and conditions of the jobs they’re signing up for, with few consequences.
As a result workers may face fraudulent recruitment practices, including false information about the location and working conditions of their job, contract switching, document confiscation, unexpected fees and other practices that expose them to exploitation and abuse. Many workers seeking employment abroad must pay recruitment fees to recruiters or labor brokers to pay for travel, identity documents, medical check-ups, and other costs. Workers often take out loans to afford these fees, which are typically equal to several months of salary. Debt accumulated in the process of migrating leaves workers with few options and makes it extremely difficult for them to speak up or seek assistance when facing coercion, fraud, or abusive working conditions.
Challenge
Propose a technological solution or adaptation of an existing technology to accomplish one of the following goals:
- Improve the availability and reliability of information on the recruitment process in a given region or sector (for example, enabling workers or businesses to verify, document, safeguard, and track contracts/work agreements and payments; or workers to document fees paid in the process of getting a job).
- Increase visibility and accountability for intermediaries in the recruitment process, including recruitment agencies, brokers, suppliers, or employers.
- Improve transparency and facilitate ethical and transparent recruitment.
- Empower workers to make informed employment decisions in a data-poor environment.
Traceability
Traceability
Many product supply chains present the highest risk of forced labor at the very beginning of the process, where raw materials are extracted – cotton, minerals, seafood, palm oil, etc. These raw materials commonly feed into complex supply chains where tracking inputs to the commodity level or establishing a chain of custody is either difficult or cost-prohibitive.
The inability to track goods to the level where forced labor is most commonly found means that consumers and brands are left in the dark as to whether there’s slavery in their products. In addition, while we are seeing new efforts to track sustainability and environmental implications of supply chains, these approaches often do not capture information on labor conditions. Finally, current attempts to trace or verify products rarely seek to engage workers themselves as valuable sources of information.
Challenge
Propose a technological solution or adaptation of an existing technology to accomplish one of the following goals:
- Improve traceability of a commodity in an at-risk supply chain*.
- Engage workers as a meaningful source of information to fill gaps in understanding of product chains.
- Enhance the ability of end-users (brands, consumers, etc) to track the labor conditions of their supply chains.
*For the purpose of this challenge, an at-risk supply chain is defined as any supply chain that includes goods identified as being produced with forced or child labor by the U.S. Department of Labor’s 2014 List of Goods Produced by Forced and Child Labor or Verité’s Forced Labor Commodity Atlas.
Criteria
Submissions were evaluated by the judges based on the quality of each entry according to the criteria below:
1. Impact:
Ability of the solution to meaningfully and measurably identify and address labor trafficking in global supply chains, and thereby contribute to the greater public good; especially interested in solutions that tackle the hardest to reach, deepest nodes of supply chains.
2. Feasibility:
Likelihood that the concept can be developed into a prototype by the end of the Challenge and into a working solution within 12 months of Challenge completion. Concepts of all stages of development are encouraged to be submitted.
3. Usability:
Degree to which the solution specifies and understands the target audience, and incorporates the principles of human-centered design.
4. Scalability:
Ability of solution to be replicated or commercialized within or across different industries, geographies, and/or audiences.
5. Commitment:
Perceived ability of submitting team or individual to develop and execute the concept and sustain it beyond the Challenge timeframe.
Challenge Timeline
Open Submissions October 28, 2015
Innovators submitted concepts.
Submission Deadline December 13, 2015
Challenge closed submissions at 11:59:59PM EST.
Finalists Announced February 2016
Five finalist teams were selected by a judging panel to receive $20,000 each and advance to the Finalist Accelerator phase.
Finalist Accelerator January– March, 2016
Finalist teams iterated their concepts during the Finalist Accelerator and attended an in-person Boot Camp on February 22-23 in the Washington D.C.
Winner Announcement May 2016
One winner and one runner-up were selected by a judging panel to receive $250,000 and $50,000, respectively.
Prizes
Finalists (5)
- Each finalist received $20,000
- Prize money disbursed in cash following finalist announcement
Winners (2)
- One grand prize winner received $250,000 and one runner-up winner received $50,000
- Prize money will be disbursed in grant form following winner announcement
Judges
Regarded in their own fields of expertise, the distinguished judges of the Rethink Supply Chains were:
Randy Newcomb
As President and CEO, Randy Newcomb leads all aspects of Humanity United’s strategic planning, development, and operations. He works closely with the organization’s founders and Board of Trustees to ensure that Humanity United achieves its long-term mission and strategic objectives. Prior to joining Humanity United, Randy was a Vice President of Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm, where he focused on developing global partnerships and investments across a variety of sectors. Prior to Omidyar Network, Randy served for 14 years as Executive Director of Golden Gate Community Inc., a community based organization in San Francisco.
Pascal Levensohn
Pascal joined Dolby Family Ventures, L.P. as a Managing Director in 2014 after advising the Dolby family on its direct technology investment portfolio since 2012. Since 1996, Pascal has been the Managing Partner of Levensohn Venture Partners LLC (LVP) and the CEO of Generation Strategic Advisors LLC (GSA) and its predecessor entities. While he continues to serve in both of these positions, Pascal has transitioned his new technology venture capital investing activities to the Dolby family organization. LVP invested over $200 million in early and development stage emerging companies, emphasizing semiconductor, security, digital media, and enterprise software sectors across three funds.
Natasha Dolby
Natasha Dolby has spent over a decade in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors in San Francisco, New York, and Washington, D.C., specializing in financial and programmatic analysis, marketing and communications, volunteer engagement, and corporate development, in several organizations including The Robin Hood Foundation, Education Sector (now American Institutes for Research), and Pacific Foundation Services. Dolby is currently a Board Member of Beyond 12 and Asha Rising, and has worked as a Program Officer for a number of Bay Area foundations. As a Research Fellow at the Handa Center, Dolby is currently focusing on the “re-integration” of child and adolescent survivors of trafficking in Brazil.
Kindley Walsh Lawlor
Vice President, Environmental and Social Responsibility, Gap Inc.
Kindley Walsh Lawlor is Gap Inc.’s Vice President of Global Sustainability. In this role, Kindley leads the company’s global team responsible for seeking to ensure that workers making the company’s products in more than 40 countries are treated with fairness, dignity, and respect. She is also responsible for leading innovation work within Global Sustainability, where new ideas are designed and incubated for the broader Global Sustainability team. Kindley has been with Gap Inc. for over 17 years, having worked in garment production and sourcing within the business. Currently, Kindley is the U.S. buyer representative on the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Better Work Advisory Committee. She has held advisory and board roles with academic partners and collaborative initiatives focused on creating broader supply chain solutions. Kindley also prioritizes advisor roles with smaller companies focused on worker rights and the creation of decent work.
Ai-Jen Poo
Ai-jen Poo is the director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) and co-director of the Caring Across Generations campaign. She co-founded NDWA in 2007 and was instrumental in securing New York’s historic Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in 2010. In 2011, she worked to launch Caring Across Generations to ensure access to affordable care for the aging population and to quality jobs for the caregiving workforce. One of TIME’s 100 “Most Influential People in the World” in 2012 and a recent recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” fellowship, Ai-jen is author of The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America. Follow her on twitter @aijenpoo.
