Abstract

Modern Day Slavery is an indefensible global problem and a lucrative criminal enterprise that must be addressed and abolished. Although slavery is illegal in every country and has technically been abolished worldwide, it somehow continues to flourish in the modern world. It is estimated that up to 40 million people may be enslaved, living a life without agency. Modern Day Slavery is particularly heinous as it uses control rather than ownership, eliminating slave holders’ vested interest in the victims’ well-being and making slaves’ lives disposable. Wealthy, developed nations may be able to better control slavery within their borders, but allowing businesses to profit from slave labor through the importing of slave-tainted goods enables Modern Day Slavery to be perpetuated. In fact, it is estimated that G20 countries may be importing up to US$354 billion of forced-labor-produced goods annually. With strong governance and ample resources, it seems that developed nations should be leading in the fight to defeat the practice of Modern Day Slavery. Economic superpowers are taking some steps to combat slave-tainted goods from entering their markets by regulating domestic businesses. This paper will provide a comparative analysis of supply chain transparency legislation and regulations in the United States and United Kingdom, attempt to evaluate their effectiveness at reducing the use of slavery in business supply chains, and offer possible recommendations to better hold businesses and governments accountable.

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