How AI is Combatting Human Rights Abuses in Supply Chains
An estimated 50 million people are trapped in modern slavery worldwide, including 28 million in forced labor. Within global supply chains, these abuses remain pervasive, often hidden in the lower tiers of sourcing networks. As consumer awareness of these human rights violations grows, brands and retailers face mounting pressure to ensure their supply chains are free from exploitation. To meet these escalating legal and ethical expectations, businesses must move beyond outdated compliance models and adopt advanced digital tools that provide real-time visibility into their supplier networks.
Technology is making it possible to achieve the level of oversight that regulators and consumers now demand. Multi-enterprise supply chain platforms and new artificial intelligence innovations are playing an increasingly pivotal role in monitoring supplier networks, ensuring compliance and mitigating risks before they escalate into legal or reputational crises. These tools offer capabilities that traditional compliance methods never could. Rather than relying on periodic audits that provide only a limited snapshot of a supplier’s conditions, AI enables continuous monitoring, alerting companies to potential labor violations in real time.
While all industries are susceptible to labor abuses, fashion is uniquely vulnerable to them. The U.S. Department of Labor has identified countries including India, Turkey, China, Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Benin, Brazil, and Egypt as high-risk areas for child labor, particularly in the production of cotton and leather. Given the prevalence of child labor — 160 million children globally, according to the International Labour Organization — brands cannot afford to ignore what’s happening in the deeper tiers of their supply chains. AI-driven supply chain mapping tools help solve this problem by tracing every component back to its origin, identifying all parties involved in production, including subcontractors, and flagging any links to suppliers that have been associated with forced labor or environmental violations.
AI and automation are proving to be indispensable for achieving compliance at scale. By analyzing massive datasets, AI can detect anomalies that might indicate exploitative practices, such as sudden fluctuations in labor costs or unusual supplier turnover rates. These red flags allow brands to take corrective action before violations escalate into full-blown crises. AI-powered document verification also streamlines compliance by building a complete chain of custody for each item and ensuring that suppliers’ certifications are legitimate, reducing the risk of fraudulent claims about ethical sourcing practices. These capabilities are critical as bad actors continue to falsify sustainability credentials, making it difficult for brands to separate trustworthy suppliers from those merely paying lip service to ethical sourcing.
Beyond regulatory compliance, investing in AI-driven traceability solutions is becoming a strategic imperative for brands looking to build consumer trust. Studies show that 66 percent of U.S. consumers consider sustainability when making a purchase, and many are willing to switch brands based on sustainability practices. Companies that can offer proof of ethical sourcing will gain a competitive edge, while those that fail to do so risk losing consumer confidence.
The need for more sophisticated supply chain monitoring will only grow as new regulations come into force and consumer expectations continue to rise. AI’s role in this space will expand beyond compliance and risk mitigation to include predictive capabilities that help companies make smarter sourcing decisions. AI is increasingly able to anticipate potential disruptions, helping companies adjust their sourcing strategies in real time. The most forward-thinking brands are already leveraging AI to enhance their sustainability efforts, using machine learning to optimize procurement decisions, reduce waste, and lower their overall environmental footprint.
Leading supply chain platforms are integrating these AI-driven solutions into a single, seamless system that manages everything from supplier onboarding to compliance verification. A multi-enterprise supply chain platform, for example, provides businesses with a detailed, real-time view of their supply chains, ensuring that every product component is sourced ethically and sustainably. AI capabilities help companies monitor supplier risk, analyze compliance documents, and track the chain of custody for each order, creating a verifiable record of responsible sourcing.
Accountability in supply chains is intensifying. Governments are cracking down on unethical sourcing, and consumers are demanding greater transparency. The companies that embrace AI and traceability solutions now will be best positioned to thrive in this new reality. Companies that delay adoption, however, will find themselves vulnerable to regulatory penalties, reputational damage, and lost consumer trust. The future of retail belongs to companies that can verify — and not just claim — ethical and sustainable practices.
Eric Linxwiler is senior vice president of TradeBeyond, a company that connects retail supply chain operations from product development to delivery.
Eric Linxwiler is senior vice president of TradeBeyond. He has over 30 years of experience in enterprise software and cloud-based platform companies with a specialty in supply chain optimization and workflow management. Contact him at eric.linxwiler@tradebeyond.com.
