Support our open letter for
modern slavery legislation
New Zealand needs a Modern Slavery Act.
Every week, Kiwi households unknowingly spend an average of $77 on products implicated in modern slavery. From our smartphones to our clothes, many of the imported goods we purchase are associated with child and forced labour.
In 2022, New Zealand imported $7.9B of these ‘risky goods’. This amounts to 10% of our country’s total imports.
Despite the clear need for a Modern Slavery Act, the New Zealand government's response has been frustratingly slow. There have been discussions, promises, and drafts, but no concrete action.
The fight against modern slavery isn't just in the hands of our government leaders; it's also in ours. We need your support to hold our new government accountable.
Help us reach 10,000 signatures to urge the current NZ government to introduce modern slavery legislation.
Supply chains are so complex, many companies don’t know how their goods are produced.
According to Tearfund’s Ethical Fashion Report, out of 581 garment brands that were surveyed, only 70% could trace where their products were sewed, 85% didn’t know where all their fabrics and inputs came from, and 40% didn’t know where any of their raw materials were sourced.
Modern slavery legislation will require businesses to report on concerns of modern slavery in their operations and supply chains and take action to address any risks.
How will modern slavery
legislation help?
Why does this petition
seem familiar?
An open letter led by World Vision and Trade Aid from the business community was written in 2021 along with a 37,000-strong public petition.
In 2023, more than 6000 people demanded that the then government stop delaying progress.
In July 2023, the Labour government announced its plan to draft a modern slavery disclosure law, requiring companies earning more than $20 million a year in revenue to publicly disclose and address the risks of modern slavery within their supply chains.
Detailed advice was received from advocacy groups and experts in modern slavery legislation including World Vision and Tearfund. Legislation was drafted, covering both business and public sector supply chains, and was ready to go. But, despite repeated urging from the public, it was not introduced into Parliament before the last election.
This open letter asks once again that the National-led coalition government make urgent progress on this issue.
More than 60 organisations, advocates, industry groups, businesses and researchers have signed the open letter including…
Modern slavery legislation will support the freedom, fairness and dignity of the people who make our products.
Additional resources
How NZ’s delay on modern slavery law impacts us all
Explore our take on why New Zealand urgently needs modern slavery legislation and how we can collectively push for change by contacting our local MPs.
Download our toolkit and resources to get involved
Join our campaign and help us spread the word! We’ve created some resources to help you communicate why this issue matters to your audience.
Walk Free Global Slavery Index 2023
The Index provides an assessment of the extent to which a country’s population is vulnerable to modern slavery for 160 countries, informing the allocation and direction of anti-slavery efforts.
World Vision Risky Goods Supply Chain Report 2023
The Supply Chain Risk Report 2023 highlights New Zealand’s most risky imports and examines how other countries are addressing imports linked to child labour and forced labour.