May 07, 2019

Brazil's "dirty list" of companies employing slaves

located:	Brazil, Bolivia
editor:	Magdalena Rojo

Starbucks coffee can have a more bitter taste to some of us after April's "dirty list" in Brazil was released. The biannual list states the names of Brazilian employers involved in work analogous to slavery. The first list under the new president Jair Bolsonaro includes 48 new employers, including a coffee producer Helvécio Sebastião Batista, who had been certified with Starbucks and Nespresso quality seals, and used to provide coffee for both brands. This is already the second farm put on the list that processes beans for these multinational companies.

Fabula Confecçao e Comercio de Roupas is a maker of two luxurious fashion brands in Brazil, and was also put on the "dirty list". According to the Ministry of Economy that publishes the list, the manufacture of A. Brand and Animale clothing was outsourced to three workshops in São Paulo, and those kept Bolivians in slavery-like conditions.

The "dirty list" has 187 company names on it at the moment, the majority of which operate in construction or farming business. The government bodies have monitored them over the years. Once the slavery conditions are confirmed, the company stays on the list for two years. Brazil has, according to many experts, become a model in the region in eradicating slavery. The "dirty list" introduced back in 2004 is one of the working mechanisms.

It is also thanks to the list that nearly 53,000 workers were rescued between 1995 and 2017.

As a consequence of being blacklisted, the companies cannot get credits from banks, and various private businesses withdraw from cooperation with them. In some cases, companies pay fines, however, jail time or criminal convictions are very rare.

This is one of the reasons why slavery in Brazil continues to be a big challenge. The Global Slavery Index estimates that in 2016 there were 369,000 people in conditions of modern slavery in the Southern American country.

Starbucks commented on a new farm on the "dirty list" for Mongabay, saying "it will look into the incident and that it has suspended the farm from its supplier list because of the charges." Goma Group who owns Fabula argued, "this was an isolated incident, caused by a subcontractor that hired the workshops without its knowledge or consent."

Supply chains in a global market are sometimes longer than a consumer can imagine and it seems to be very difficult to control and monitor all of their parts. The responsibility for the working conditions of those at the beginning of the chain, who are often the most vulnerable ones, is the responsibility of everyone involved in the chain.

Our responsibility as consumers is to decide if the arguments that the big corporations make and the steps they take after the disclosures about slavery in their supply chain are persuasive.

It is also up to us what we decide to do if they are not. The "dirty list" in this regard can be a great tool for each of us to keep an eye on those we support by our way of life, our addictions, and joys.