by Joon Ta, Simona Fischer, and Veronica Karr
Forced labor remains a hidden but widespread issue in global construction supply chains. Growing awareness of these realities has led to the emergence of organizations dedicated to tracking and reporting modern slavery, the creation of Grace Farms’ Design for Freedom Toolkit, and a heightened urgency to address and avoid forced labor when specifying materials. This movement presents a significant opportunity to drive meaningful change by purchasing from manufacturers and suppliers committed to ethical practices. This report documents three case studies that test a new forced labor mitigation workflow, a process for designers to facilitate materials evaluation and product comparison in the design and specification process.
