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AIM supports EU Commission’s objective to root out forced labour from supply chains

Brand manufacturers represented in AIM – European Brands Association operate and source globally. Many of our member companies are leading on responsible sourcing practices, seeking to minimise environmental impacts and ensure respect of human rights across their supply chains.

From experience gained through our global collaborative sourcing initiative AIM-Progress, it has become clear that supply chain due diligence, coupled with capability building and remedy approaches jointly with local suppliers and rightsholders in risk-prone sourcing regions, are key to ensuring continuous improvement and rooting out unsustainable practices so that sustainable supply of relevant commodities in a global trading environment is guaranteed in the future. It is important that a harmonised EU framework on due diligence addresses forced labour as part of a smart mix of measures.

We thus welcome the Commission’s intent to address the issue of products made with forced labour and are making a number of recommendations to be considered for the forthcoming new EU legal instrument on forced labour. These refer notably to the need for coherence of this instrument with related EU instruments and international standards, for a proper assessment of this instrument’s potential, as well as for implementation guidance and further clarity as to where responsibility for compliance lies.

READ AIM INPUT TO EU COMMISSION’S CALL FOR EVIDENCE ON FORCEB LABOUR HERE