{"id":35511,"date":"2019-07-10T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-09T22:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/?p=35511&preview=true&preview_id=35511"},"modified":"2025-04-22T15:24:41","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T05:24:41","slug":"what-is-modern-slavery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/what-is-modern-slavery\/","title":{"rendered":"What is modern slavery, and what can travellers do to tackle it?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As huge chunks of society continue to strive towards a more ethical future, there\u2019s a hell of a lot for travellers to think about too. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

While climate activists are taking to the world\u2019s streets to demand government action, companies (like Intrepid<\/a>) are trying to take matters into their own hands. The Swedes have even just invented a word that might foreshadow the next big shift in sustainable travel \u2013 flygskam<\/em> (flight shame).<\/p>\n

And given the fact that tourism accounts for 8% of global carbon emissions, the time for travellers \u2013\u00a0and the travel industry \u2013\u00a0to take drastic action is right now. But truly sustainable, responsible travel doesn\u2019t start and end with the environment. It has a human face, too. One that\u2019s all too easy to overlook.<\/p>\n

A hidden crisis <\/strong><\/h2>\n

See, there are more people living in slavery today than at any other time in human history. Modern slavery comes in many forms: domestic servitude, forced labour, forced marriage, child marriage, or any other situation in which an individual is forced to work through violence or coercion.<\/p>\n

Of the 40.3 million living in slavery in 2018<\/a>, some 24.9 million were subject to forced labour. The most obvious and well-documented example for travellers to be wary of is the proliferation of orphanages, particularly in South East Asia<\/a>, but goods or services compromised by forced labour can pop up in other areas too \u2013 including in massage parlours, nail salons, farms, hotel chains, and even private residences.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still need more research on the links between tourism and modern slavery, but there are definitely ways for travellers to avoid it,\u201d says Liz Manning, Intrepid Group\u2019s Responsible Business Manager. \u201cIt\u2019s that whole idea of shopping at social enterprises, visiting local markets where you know you\u2019re buying directly from the producer, going to smaller-scale restaurants, and trying to stay in smaller-scale, locally-owned accommodation. Small isn\u2019t always<\/em> better, but it\u2019s a good place to start.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE ABOUT INTREPID’S STANCE ON CHILD PROTECTION HERE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Responsible travel starts at home <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Being aware and taking appropriate precautions when you travel is one thing. But what about when you get home?<\/p>\n

A traveller might visit India for a couple of weeks and do everything they possibly can to support local communities and give back \u2013\u00a0but what if that traveller then comes home and unknowingly fills their wardrobe full of clothes made by a company that uses Indian slave labour in its supply chain? Where does that leave them?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s highly unlikely any traveller could walk into a factory that visibly uses forced labour and buy an item of clothing in good faith \u2013\u00a0so why should our actions be any different at home? Does our responsibility to the people who welcome us into their countries cease as soon as we clear customs?<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, we want our travellers to feel connected to the destinations they\u2019re visiting and like they\u2019re having a tangible impact,\u201d says Manning. \u201cSo the hope is that when they\u2019re done travelling with us, they\u2019ll look at ways to translate the things they learned or saw to the choices they\u2019re making at home. You can adopt the small, locally-made mindset at home just as easily as you do when you travel.\u201d<\/p>\n

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT INTREPID’S HUMAN RIGHTS POLICY HERE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Shopping for a fairer world <\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"AYou might also be surprised to learn that, as a consumer, it\u2019s borderline impossible for you to go shopping for groceries, clothes or tech without buying stuff that has been touched, at some point, by modern-day slaves. \u201cIt’s quite confronting when we think about the bigger picture,\u201d says Jo Pride, CEO of Hagar Australia, an organisation that rescues and rehabilitates survivors of modern slavery. \u201cA big proportion of modern slavery is labour slavery, which helps produce the products we all use every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a given year, the United States imports some $144 billion products at risk of modern slavery in their supply chain. The United Kingdom clocks $18 billion, Canada comes in at $15 billion and Australia imports $12 billion.<\/p>\n

The top three most at-risk products are tech (laptops, computers and mobile phones), clothing, and fish. \u201cThere are boys as young as 13 out there on Thai fishing vessels,\u201d says Pride. \u201cThey might not set foot on land for a whole year. People can very easily be thrown overboard for not doing what they\u2019re told \u2013\u00a0that\u2019s certainly happened in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

FIND INTREPID’S MODERN SLAVERY STATEMENT HERE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

How can you help? <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Given the \u2018behind close doors\u2019 nature of modern slavery, it\u2019s difficult to assess whether or not the situation is getting better or worse. Pride says some of their estimates have been increasing, but that may just be down to sharpened research and analysis in the way they measure the issue.<\/p>\n

Whatever the data shows, the anecdotal evidence is harrowing enough. \u201cThese people suffer a real loss of trust in human beings generally,\u201d says Pride. \u201cAnxiety, depression, self-harm, suicide \u2013\u00a0just a loss of hope. Many of these people have had their agency completed stripped from them \u2013\u00a0even the children.\u201d<\/p>\n

Action at home can take many forms. The first step is as simple as teaching yourself to become a more conscious consumer. Look at the products you\u2019re buying, and ask yourself if you really know where they came from. Shop locally, and shop small.<\/p>\n

For clothing, Australia\u2019s Ethical Fashion Guide<\/a> gives brands an A+ to F rating based on their commitment to rooting out slavery in their supply chains, protecting workers, and reducing their environmental impact.<\/p>\n

Traveller staples such as Icebreaker (A+), Kathmandu (A) and Patagonia (A) make for guilt-free purchases, with even the likes of adidas (A), Reebok (A) and Zara (A) turning in top marks. In fact, from luggage<\/a> to lip balm and almost every travel essential you can think of, there are ethical alternatives.<\/p>\n

Sites like The Good Trade<\/a> and Ethical Consumer<\/a> can help point you in the right direction and, if you want your favourite brands or companies to take more action on the issue of modern slavery, you can always send them a sternly-worded email.<\/p>\n

By doing all of this, and supporting the work of organisations such as ReThink Orphanages, you\u2019ll be helping bring about an end to modern slavery for good. \u201cYou might not ever see the full impact of your changes,\u201d says Pride, \u201cbut the impact of even one healed and empowered life can go on to touch so many others. You can make such a profound difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Intrepid Travel\u00a0is actively working to tackle the issue of orphanage tourism and is one of few Australian travel companies with a modern slavery statement. Read the statement and\u00a0find out more about it here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Truly sustainable, responsible travel doesn\u2019t start and end with the environment. It has a human face, too. One that\u2019s all too easy to overlook.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15098,"featured_media":37090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[47],"tags":[263],"class_list":["post-35511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-responsible-travel","tag-responsible-travel-2"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Is Modern Slavery | Intrepid Travel Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Modern slavery comes in many forms, and there are more people living in slavery today than at any 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