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Slavery and sweatshops
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Slavery is unfortunately NOT a thing of the past. There are more slaves today than at any other point of time in the history of the world.
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Slave labor
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- man-hours of slave work
- globally, so far this year
- Show sources
Right now there are 27 million slaves in the world
There are more people in slavery today than at any other time in human history - about 27 million. This is more than double the total number of African slaves sold during 400 years of transatlantic slave trade.
They are working a LOT
In terms of hours worked, it would take 76 million average western workers to do the work of the world's 27 million slaves. That is almost the population of Germany.
Working non-stop for nothing
Slaves are forced to work under threats of violence for no pay beyond subsistence. They are treated as property and sometimes bought and sold. Slaves today work up to 20h pr day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
They produce some of our everyday products
Some of the products you buy could have been made by slave workers. Slavery has been linked to at least 50 different product types including coffee, chocolate, cotton, sugar, footwear, toys, electronics, gold, diamonds, palm oil, timber.
You can make a difference
It's not easy to know if slaves have been used to produce everyday products. But look for fair trade products when you shop - they are more likely to be “slave-free”.
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Sources
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Slave labor
The above figure is based on the estimate that there are 27 million slaves in the world, and that the average slave labor works 100 hours a week, 52 weeks a year. In this way, 27 million slaves work 140.4 billion man-hours in one year. For comparison, it would take about 76 million western people to do this work. The organization Anti-Slavery International defines slavery as “forced labour”. By this definition there are approximately 27 million slaves in the world today. The International Labour Organization (ILO), however, does not equate forced labour with slavery. By the ILO definition, there are 12 million people who work under slave-like conditions. -
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Right now there are 27 million slaves in the world
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They are working a LOT
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Working non-stop for nothing
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They produce some of our everyday products
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You can make a difference
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Content
- OK, I get it. Bad things are going on
- Now what?
