The production of many agricultural goods—coffee, cocoa, bananas, and other fruits and vegetables—often involves risks of forced labor. Advancing the human rights of rural communities is key to our vision of a world where people and nature thrive in harmony. This includes protecting farmworkers’ rights and addressing forced labor in agriculture.
This page features information about the Rainforest Alliance's work to tackle the issue and links to all our forced labor-related content and resources.
We bring together farmers, companies, governments, and civil society organizations to collaborate for systemic change. We work to advance responsible business practices and government policy, and within our own certification program and sustainable development initiatives to advance human rights in the production landscapes where we work.
Our certification program promotes an assess-and-address approach to tackling forced labor. It focuses on prevention, engagement, improvement, and incentivizing farmers and companies to tackle this issue head on.
Download this paper for an in-depth look at the Rainforest Alliance’s position and approach to tackling forced labor.
Download this sell sheet to learn how we help companies to address forced labor and other human rights risks in their supply chains and sourcing landscapes.
Manage risk with the Rainforest Alliance child labor and forced labor sectoral risk maps
In the rugged hills of Turkey's Black Sea coast, hazelnut production is still mostly manual and heavily reliant on seasonal hired labor.
Topics: In the FieldNuts
There is no place in either sustainable agriculture or responsible business for human rights abuses such as forced labor. This position paper first presents how the Rainforest Alliance defines forced
Explore the Rainforest Alliance 2021 Annual Report! Inside you’ll meet the farmers, forest communities, businesses, and individuals who are working with us to create a world where people and nature
The following questions and answers are meant to clarify and make more concrete specific requirements that Certification Bodies must audit against. They are organized by topic, and new topics will be added as clarification becomes relevant.
Topics: Assurance SystemCertification
Our 2020 Certification Program promotes an assess-and-address approach and grievance mechanism for tackling human rights issues. This new, risk-based system focuses on prevention, engagement, and improvement and incentivizes farmers and companies to tackle human rights issues rather than hide them. It also requires farms and farmer groups to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.
This project will provide training and engagement to at least 37,093 workers in the avocado and berry (strawberry and raspberry) sectors in Mexico and the banana and pineapple sectors in Costa Rica.
