Detecting and remediating modern slavery in supply chains: a targeted audit approach

This paper investigates modern slavery detection and remediation. Action research has been conducted in the textiles and fashion industry, with the primary engagement involving a multi-billion pound (GBP) turnover company and their modern slavery investigation at a high-risk supplier in South East A...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Production planning & control 2021-10, Vol.32 (13), p.1136-1157
Main Authors: Benstead, Amy V., Hendry, Linda C., Stevenson, Mark
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Investigations
Modern slavery
Remediation
Slavery
supply chain auditing
Supply chains
Textiles
transparency
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Summary:This paper investigates modern slavery detection and remediation. Action research has been conducted in the textiles and fashion industry, with the primary engagement involving a multi-billion pound (GBP) turnover company and their modern slavery investigation at a high-risk supplier in South East Asia. This paper responds to calls from the literature to investigate the modern slavery detection process and provides empirical evidence involving collaboration with a large multinational NGO and another of the audited supplier's customers. Findings are presented from a first-hand account of the detection process and suggest that a targeted audit is more likely to identify key indicators of modern slavery. This type of audit includes investigating the end-to-end recruitment process by using a parallel structure of management and worker interviews and documentation review. Evidence is also provided of the company's remediation process, which includes partnering with a local NGO to empower workers and collaboratively develop suppliers.
ISSN:0953-7287
1366-5871
DOI:10.1080/09537287.2020.1795290