Linking labour issues in China to global brands


https://www.somo.nl/linking-labour-issues-in-china-to-global-brands/

This visual guide is a tool for civil society organisations and journalists that want to investigate links between reports of labour abuses in Chinese factories and supply chain due diligence of international brands and retailers. Its main purpose is to support work to hold multinational corporations accountable for unfair business practices in their supply chains.

Chinese workers increasingly use social media and other online channels to express grievances and document their experiences. China Labour Bulletin(opens in new window) 
 (CLB) captures such social media information and publishes it on its Strike map(opens in new window) 
. However, finding out which brands buy from factories where workers report abuses is challenging for civil society organisations and journalists due to the limited transparency of global supply chains, language constraints, and China’s closed political context.


To help fill this gap, SOMO and CLB developed a research methodology to connect data on workers’ grievances, captured by CLB, with the international brands and multinational companies sourcing from the factories where labour issues are reported. This tool – also available as a PDF file – provides visual, step-by-step guidance on how to establish names of factories in China, gather crucial details about their operations, and ultimately uncover trade links to major global clothing and electronics brands.
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Before you start, check out the Research Resources section, which provides links to the various sites referred to in the visual guide. If you need help with your investigation, lack the language skills needed to navigate some of the key sources, or do not have access to a database you need to verify the information you found, please contact The Counter, SOMO’s pro bono global helpdesk for activists challenging corporate power. Depending on the nature of your request, we may be able to help you.

* The examples used in this visual guide are partly fictional and only for illustration. The text on the images was made with a Chinese Mandarin Lorem Ipsum generator.
** SOMO and CLB do not contact workers about their posts, and do not use their names in any outputs. This respects their privacy and safety. Online posts give workers a forum to represent their situation directly. Users of this information should always act ethically, respectfully and responsibly.