Global Exchange is investigating and exposing the illegal and unconscionable labor conditions in Chinese factories producing goods for US corporations. Our February 1999 report, based on research by the Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee, revealed that workers making clothing for Disney toiled 16 hour days, seven days a week at peak seasons. Many factories forced the primarily young female workers to pay deposits upon being hired that are only returned after two years of work, putting the women in a situation of forced labor. And Disney is not alone--Wal-Mart, Kmart, and Gap, for example, are all guilty of committing similar abuses.

To address these violations, Global Exchange and other human rights organizations launched a set of human rights principles for US businesses in China. Three companies, Reebok, Levi Strauss and Mattel, have agreed to sign on to the principles and work with us to get other companies and small businesses to join the campaign.

Through this campaign we will urge the Chinese government to respect internationally recognized worker rights. Domestically, the campaign is a tool to raise awareness of labor rights abuses in China and the role US business can play in influencing the human rights atmosphere. Increased public awareness will encourage US businesses to endorse and implement the human rights principles.

While encouraging the business community to work with the human rights community is important in itself, it is also hoped that this partnership will lead to a change in international governmental relationships. Since businesses have the power and wealth to influence governments, they should be able to successfully pressure both the US and Chinese governments to find new ways to promote human rights issues as part of their bilateral dialogue. Additionally, we hope that such a change will encourage the World Trade Organization to consider labor conditions during the multilateral discussion about China's entry into the WTO.

This campaign, like all code of conduct campaigns, is not about taking jobs out of China or any other country. It is about supporting the struggle in China for fair labor conditions, including the right to organize, and independent trade unions. We want to make clear that the abuse of workers will not be tolerated either in China or the United States.

To learn more about the human rights principles, please contact Robert Rosoff