List of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor

ILAB maintains a list of products and their source countries which it has a reasonable basis to believe are produced by forced or indentured child labor, pursuant to Executive Order 13126. This List is intended to ensure that U.S. federal agencies do not procure goods made by forced or indentured child labor. Under procurement regulations, federal contractors who supply products on the List must certify that they have made a good faith effort to determine whether forced or indentured child labor was used to produce the items supplied.

The Department of Labor, in consultation with the Departments of State and Homeland Security, publishes and maintains the List. ILAB released its initial List in 2001, and has revised it several times since then. As of July 13, 2022, the EO List comprises 34 products from 26 countries.

Legal Authorities

The List is required by Executive Order 13126, "Prohibition of Acquisition of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor." The procurement requirements related to products on the List are set out in a 2001 Federal Acquisition Regulation Final Rule.

Procedural Guidelines

ILAB develops the List using criteria and procedures established in its "Procedural Guidelines for the Maintenance of the List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor."

Filters

Display
Country Sort descending Product
South Sudan
  Cattle

There are reports that children, especially boys, are abducted and forced to herd cattle in South Sudan. Hundreds of abductions have been reported, particularly in communities in Jonglei and Eastern Equatoria states. The children are abducted when rival tribes or ethnic groups enter communities to steal cattle, as well as during other inter-ethnic or inter-tribal disputes; some of these children are enslaved to herd cattle.

Tajikistan
  Cotton

There are reports that children ages 14-17 and some as young as 7 are forced to work during the annual cotton harvest in Tajikistan. Monitoring teams discover multiple cases of compulsory mobilization across several districts of the country each year. In these cases, school officials mobilize classes to work in the harvest and teachers supervise them in the fields. Some children receive threats regarding exams, grades, and even expulsion from school for refusal to work. The children are typically sent to the fields after class hours. Farmers negotiate directly with the schools to mobilize the students to work, and the schools may keep some or all of the children's wages. Some of the children are required to pick a quota of 66 pounds of cotton daily. 

Russian Translation

Thailand
  Garments

There are reports that mostly girls as young as 11 are forced to produce garments in Thailand. Migrant children from Laos and Burma are particularly vulnerable. The ILO, media, trade unions, government raids, and NGOs report forced child labor in garment factories in Bangkok and along the Burma border in Mae Sai and Mae Sot. Many children live at the worksite, and their freedom of movement is sometimes restricted through confiscation of identity documents and threats of arrest. Children are often forced to work long hours and overtime, and are paid little, if at all. Some are not provided sufficient food and are physically abused. Mistakes made during the course of work are sometimes penalized with wage deductions.

Thai Translation

Thailand
  Shrimp

There are reports that children are forced to process shrimp in Thailand. Burmese and Cambodian immigrants are particularly vulnerable to forced child labor in the shrimp industry. A UN report identified approximately 150 children working, many alongside their mothers, in Klong Yai district near the Cambodia border. Children are often forced to peel and sort shrimp. Some are forced to work long hours without breaks, physically abused, and prohibited from leaving the worksite. They frequently have their identity documents confiscated by their employers. In some cases, child workers are paid little, if at all, and their wages are deducted to repay debts related to recruitment, food, and/or lodging. The children often endure these conditions under the threat of dismissal and arrest by immigration police.
 

Thai translation

Vietnam
  Garments

There are reports of children ages 10-18 and some as young as 6 who work under conditions of forced labor producing garments in Vietnam. The most recently available information from government raids, NGOs and media reports indicates that groups of children are found in small privately-owned factories and informal workshops. These workplaces are located primarily in and around Ho Chi Minh City; however, many of these children have migrated, or have been trafficked, from the countryside and from central or northern provinces. Many of the children live in the factories; employers prevent the children from leaving through force and/or by withholding their wages. In some cases, employers pay the children only after a full year of work or at the completion of a multi-year contract. Employers refuse to pay the children who leave before the end of the contract; some withhold a portion of the wages dues under the contract in order to force the children to remain an additional year. The children are forced to work long hours, up to 18 hours per day, sometimes late into the night, and with few breaks. Reports indicate that these children are beaten or threatened with physical violence by their employers. In addition, there are reports of children as young as 12 years old found to be working while confined in government-run detention centers. These children are forced to sew garments under threat of physical or other punishments and without pay. 

Vietnamese Translation

Showing 51 - 55 of 55 results
Want this report plus over a thousand pages of research in the palm of
your hand? Download ILAB's Sweat & Toil App today!

Are you a company looking to fight child labor and forced labor in supply       
chains?


Further Resources

Related

Public Comments and Submissions

Each revision to the List is published first as an Initial Determination for public comment. The Departments of Labor, State and Homeland Security consider all public comments before publishing a Final Determination to revise the List. ILAB also accepts public submissions about the List on an ongoing basis, and reviews them as they are received. To submit information, please send an email to eo13126@dol.gov; fax to 202-693-4830; or mail to ILAB, U.S. Department of Labor, c/o OCFT Research and Policy Unit, 200 Constitution Ave NW, S-5317, Washington, DC 20210. View the list of submissions.