More than 300 delegates converged in London from 19 – 20 October, for the inaugural Ethical Trade and Human Rights Forum. The conference looked at how we can move beyond the incremental progress of an audit and CSR-based era, to a future of transformative change for sustainable trade.

We welcome the Modern Slavery Act 2015 passing into law and applaud the British government for passing this important piece of legislation. The Act is the first of its kind in Europe, and one of the first in the world, to address slavery and trafficking in the 21st century.

Forced labour is a symptom of a wider malaise facing workers in global supply chains. Governance gaps and skewed business structures are exacerbating inequality and must be tackled for workers to be properly protected.