Startups To Stop Slavery

If you buy shrimp at a popular restaurant or supermarket, there’s a chance it was peeled by a slave in Thailand.

It’s not just shrimp. That might be a surprise, but sex trafficking and mining for rare minerals that power tech hardware are two industries in which it’s been widely known that slavery is going on. Corruption, money, and demand keep these practices alive, but some startups aim to weaken those systems.

Based on work started by founder Justin Dillon at the U.S. State Department, Made in a Free World uses software to flag slave labor in a company’s supply chain.

Beacon of Hope wants to use tracking locator tech disguised in tampons and sanitary napkins to help sex slaves reach freedom. The beacons, part of a larger effort to use wearables to make cities safer, will be placed in public restrooms, one of the only places sex slaves report being left alone (at least until the bad guys find out about this). When activated, it alerts local law enforcement.

Bad people are involved here, but so too are complacent companies willing to look the other way. That urge may grow with a reliance on contractors abroad, but whether it’s negligence or outright evil, slavery won’t go away simply because it’s more visible.

Consumers voting with their wallets for ethically made products may be the biggest factor in the accountability equation, but employees matter too. As more people want to work for companies on a mission, multinationals that want to attract and retain top talent may have to ensure they don’t get flagged by Made in a Free World or groups like The Freedom Fund.

A more connected, data-rich world may help spot slavery, and strategic litigation by the enslaved can strike a blow, but alert consumers and employees are on the front lines. They have incredible power when slavery is brought out of the shadows.

Want to follow the biggest story in business? Get our NewCo Daily newsletter.