Child Labor on Everyday Items

Many companies, such as Temu and Shein, get their clothes and items from third parties that use child labor to create those items. It’s no surprise that they turn their heads to any accusation or report that says they use child labor. Well, how can we stop this from happening?

To add background information, countries have many child labor farms and factories. China has many child labor factories and denies any claims against them. China has also been accused of detaining and taking more than 1 million Uyghurs (a group of people) from Xinjiang, China, against their will. That INCLUDES children aged 10-15 years old. These children are forced to make fast fashion, which is clothes that are mass-produced so much that they lack quality and structural integrity. They are also forced to make cheap electronics that break easily and aren’t quality devices.

As well as China, other countries have child labor factories and farms. Ivory Coast is one of the leading countries in cocoa production. However, companies like Hershey’s and Nestlé turn their back on child labor in cocoa farms. Children are being kidnapped from neighboring countries and are being forced to work on farms in the Ivory Coast. The Ivory Coast government also denies any child labor accusations. Although this may seem bad, many people are making an effort to stop child labor. Youtuber MrBeast is changing his factory chocolate bars to only have cocoa from legal farms with no child labor. As well as that, chocolate with a fair trade symbol somewhere on the wrapper (usually on the front or near the ingredients list) means that there is no child labor involved in the creation of the chocolate bar.

These are all everyday things, and many people don’t take into account that kids are being worked against their will. An answer to this dilemma is not to buy from Temu and Shein, as they use child labor. As well as clothes, don’t buy chocolate from Nestlé or Hershey’s, as they also use child labor. If we don’t buy from places like this, it will make the lives of children so much better than they are now, and free them from the unfair lives they are in now.