Dozens of building materials are produced partially or wholly by slave labor

For years, I designed and built commercial offices, stores, and more. When my pencil created the blueprints, or when I placed purchase orders for the materials, I never ever considered that the supply chain for those products could or would be using child slave labor. My bad.

To get an idea of the scope of this problem, take a look at this one minute video.

Working to address this issue, is Grace Farms Foundation, which brought together a working group of people across the design/construction industry. Their goal is to create awareness among architects and designers, that the products they specify might have roots in human trafficking and child labor. Many places like mines, quarries, and forests are known to utilize the marginalized for their labor force.

For more information, check out this article from Design For Freedom and download their report here which should be required reading for anyone specifying construction materials. Just as architects and designers embraced sustainability, hopefully, they will embrace slave-free supply chains as well.

Photo by Samuel Regan-Asante on Unsplash