Tobacco

• Child labor risk is present in tobacco production in multiple geographic regions, each with a unique profile of risks and contributing root causes. Therefore, the first traceability step for companies with upstream tobacco supply chains is understanding the geographic footprint of their sourcing. Given the widespread nature of risk, the goal is not to screen out tobacco from a limited number of risky origins but to better understand risk profiles so that downstream companies can better adapt the broad suite of due diligence activities to realities on the ground.
• While risk is present at numerous supply chain nodes up to processing, the primary labor rights risks exist at the cultivation level. For traceability systems to provide insights into dynamics among workers at the cultivation level, it is critical that they capture information up to the farm level of supply chains. In some geographic regions, forced labor risk can be tied to the presence of third-party labor recruiters. Companies should use their initial supply chain mapping and country-based risk screens to identify source countries where vulnerable migrant workers and/or third-party labor recruiters are likely to be present in order to prioritize traceability to the level of producer or producer group (such as a cooperative) in those areas. This process will allow companies to conduct heightened due diligence at the farm level. For more information on achieving farm level due diligence, see Verite’s Farm Labor Due Diligence Toolkit.
• The tobacco supply chain is highly complex with a significant number of informal, small upstream actors; various levels of middlemen; and potential involvement of illegal production and trading activities. Traceability systems should be designed to maintain their integrity as the product is passed through multiple hands and should incorporate mechanisms for keeping verified products separate from non-verified (and potentially illegal) tobacco, such as in bulk commodity approaches. For more information, see Article 8: Tracking and Tracing of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, which requires Parties to the Protocol to establish tracking and tracing systems for cigarettes by September 25, 2023, and all other tobacco products by 2028.

• The U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report has highlighted indicators of forced labor and trafficking in persons in Malawi, Mexico, and Ukraine’s tobacco industries.¹United States of America Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report., 2021, www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TIPR-GPA-upload-07222021.pdf. The U.S. Department of Labor also reports forced labor in Malawi’s tobacco sector.²Bureau of International Labor Affairs, List of Goods Produced by Child or Forced Labor. 28 September 2022, www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ILAB/child_labor_reports/tda2021/2022-TVPRA-List-of-Goods-v3.pdf.
• The U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report has noted the presence of child labor in tobacco production in Afghanistan, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, and Zimbabwe.³United States of America Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report. 2021, www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TIPR-GPA-upload-07222021.pdf. The U.S. Department of Labor has also noted the presence of child labor in the tobacco industry in Argentina, Brazil, Cambodia, Indonesia, Kenya, Kyrgyz Republic, Lebanon, Malawi, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Philippines, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.⁴Bureau of International Labor Affairs, List of Goods Produced by Child or Forced Labor. 2028 September 2022, www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ILAB/child_labor_reports/tda2021/2022-TVPRA-List-of-Goods-v3.pdf.
• News reports have also uncovered evidence of child labor in tobacco production in different geographies such as Brazil,⁵Teixeira, Fabio. “Tobacco exporter faces slavery charges in landmark Brazil case.” Reuters, 2021, www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-slavery-tobacco-idUSKCN2AT3Q1. Malawi,⁶Boseley, Sarah. “The children working the tobacco fields: ‘I wanted to be a nurse’.” The Guardian, 2018, www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2018/jun/25/tobacco-industry-child-labour-malawi-special-report. Mexico,⁷Lakhani, Nina. “Mexico: children toil in tobacco fields as reforms fail to fix poverty”. The Guardian, 2018, www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/27/mexico-child-labour-tobacco-fields-nayarit. Indonesia,⁸Lamb, Kate. “’I’ve been sick in the chest’: Tobacco fields take toll on Indonesian children”. The Guardian, 2018, www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/26/tobacco-indonesia-child-labour-harvest. and the United States.⁹Ramchandani, Ariel. “The Overlooked Children Working America’s Tobacco Fields.” The Atlantic, June 21, 2018, www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/06/child-labor-tobacco/562964/
• Migrant workers are present in tobacco value chains in different geographies, such as in the United States¹⁰Eom, Da Yeon. “Guest Workers on North Carolina’s Tobacco Farms Are Fighting a ‘Green Monster’”. Civil Eats, 2021, civileats.com/2021/08/13/guest-workers-on-north-carolinas-tobacco-farms-are-fighting-a-green-monster/. and South Korea,¹¹Kim, Victoria and Yam, Marcus. “A farmer, ‘little ghosts’ and 18,000 tobacco plants: How COVID-19 upended farming in South Korea”. Los Angeles Times, 2020, www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-07-27/rotting-onions-and-rain-damaged-lettuce-the-pandemic-has-gutted-workers-migration-and-devastated-farms. including undocumented migrant workers.
• Migrant workers are sometimes recruited through third-party labor recruiters.¹²Tobacco Production and Tenancy Labour in Malawi. Centre for Social Concern Malawi, 2015, laborrights.org/publications/tobacco-production-and-tenancy-labour-malawi.

• In many countries small-holder farmers are significant contributors to the cultivation and harvesting of tobacco.¹³Tobacco Farming. University of Bath, 2020. tobaccotactics.org/wiki/tobacco-farming/.
• Different levels of intermediaries are involved in the production and trading of tobacco, creating various points of aggregation and co-mingling. Additionally, tobacco typically undergoes two processing stages in the supply chains: primary processing of the tobacco leaf and secondary processing into products such as cigarettes.¹⁴Hiscock, Rosemary and Bloomfield, M.J. “The value of studying supply chains for tobacco control”. National Library of Medicine, 2021, doi.org/10.18332%2Ftpc%2F131811.
• While large downstream buyers may be involved in different nodes of tobacco production (in the context of more vertically integrated supply chains), tobacco supply chains generally remain highly complex with different levels of middlemen,¹⁵Hiscock, Rosemary and Bloomfield, M.J. “The value of studying supply chains for tobacco control”. National Library of Medicine, 2021, doi.org/10.18332%2Ftpc%2F131811. including the involvement of illegal processing¹⁶Gorder, Gabrielle. “Illegal Cigarettes Produced with Slave Labor in Brazil.” Insight Crime, 2021, insightcrime.org/news/illegal-cigarettes-produced-with-slave-labor-in-brazil/. and transporting.¹⁷United States of America Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report. 2021, www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TIPR-GPA-upload-07222021.pdf.

• Illegal processing¹⁸Gorder, Gabrielle. “Illegal Cigarettes Produced with Slave Labor in Brazil.” Insight Crime, 2021, insightcrime.org/news/illegal-cigarettes-produced-with-slave-labor-in-brazil/. and smuggling¹⁹United States of America Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report. 2021, www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TIPR-GPA-upload-07222021.pdf. of tobacco, often organized by criminal organizations, can heighten the risks of forced labor and child labor.
• Risks of forced labor and child labor have been identified in different nodes in the value chain, from cultivation and harvesting, processing, and manufacturing, to transporting.
• Forced and child labor risk is present across numerous geographic area, though the underlying root causes vary in different locations.

Tobacco plants are grown, harvested, and cured by farmers. Tobacco production and harvesting are labor-intensive, as most of the work needs to be done manually. Harvested plants are processed in two different stages: primary processing (stemming and redrying) by farmers/processors and secondary processing (blending tobacco, adding chemicals and other components to create flavors, and packaging) by manufacturers.²⁰Hiscock, Rosemary and Bloomfield, M.J. “The value of studying supply chains for tobacco control.” National Library of Medicine, 2021, doi.org/10.18332%2Ftpc%2F131811. Between these actors, there are different layers of leaf dealers and leaf suppliers who act as intermediaries.²¹Hiscock, Rosemary and Bloomfield, M.J. “The value of studying supply chains for tobacco control.” National Library of Medicine, 2021, doi.org/10.18332%2Ftpc%2F131811. The processed tobacco products are transported and sold to wholesalers and retailers.²²Hiscock, Rosemary and Bloomfield, M.J. “The value of studying supply chains for tobacco control.” National Library of Medicine, 2021, doi.org/10.18332%2Ftpc%2F131811. In countries such as Afghanistan and Iran, child labor is involved in the smuggling of tobacco,²³United States of America Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report. 2021, www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TIPR-GPA-upload-07222021.pdf. while forced labor has been reported in illegal processing activities in Brazil.²⁴Gorder, Gabrielle. “Illegal Cigarettes Produced with Slave Labor in Brazil.” Insight Crime, 2021, insightcrime.org/news/illegal-cigarettes-produced-with-slave-labor-in-brazil/.

• 1
  United States of America Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report., 2021, www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TIPR-GPA-upload-07222021.pdf.
• 2
  Bureau of International Labor Affairs, List of Goods Produced by Child or Forced Labor. 28 September 2022, www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ILAB/child_labor_reports/tda2021/2022-TVPRA-List-of-Goods-v3.pdf.
• 3
  United States of America Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report. 2021, www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TIPR-GPA-upload-07222021.pdf.
• 4
  Bureau of International Labor Affairs, List of Goods Produced by Child or Forced Labor. 2028 September 2022, www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ILAB/child_labor_reports/tda2021/2022-TVPRA-List-of-Goods-v3.pdf.
• 5
  Teixeira, Fabio. “Tobacco exporter faces slavery charges in landmark Brazil case.” Reuters, 2021, www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-slavery-tobacco-idUSKCN2AT3Q1.
• 6
  Boseley, Sarah. “The children working the tobacco fields: ‘I wanted to be a nurse’.” The Guardian, 2018, www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2018/jun/25/tobacco-industry-child-labour-malawi-special-report.
• 7
  Lakhani, Nina. “Mexico: children toil in tobacco fields as reforms fail to fix poverty”. The Guardian, 2018, www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/27/mexico-child-labour-tobacco-fields-nayarit.
• 8
  Lamb, Kate. “’I’ve been sick in the chest’: Tobacco fields take toll on Indonesian children”. The Guardian, 2018, www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/26/tobacco-indonesia-child-labour-harvest.
• 9
  Ramchandani, Ariel. “The Overlooked Children Working America’s Tobacco Fields.” The Atlantic, June 21, 2018, www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/06/child-labor-tobacco/562964/
• 10
  Eom, Da Yeon. “Guest Workers on North Carolina’s Tobacco Farms Are Fighting a ‘Green Monster’”. Civil Eats, 2021, civileats.com/2021/08/13/guest-workers-on-north-carolinas-tobacco-farms-are-fighting-a-green-monster/.
• 11
  Kim, Victoria and Yam, Marcus. “A farmer, ‘little ghosts’ and 18,000 tobacco plants: How COVID-19 upended farming in South Korea”. Los Angeles Times, 2020, www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-07-27/rotting-onions-and-rain-damaged-lettuce-the-pandemic-has-gutted-workers-migration-and-devastated-farms.
• 12
  Tobacco Production and Tenancy Labour in Malawi. Centre for Social Concern Malawi, 2015, laborrights.org/publications/tobacco-production-and-tenancy-labour-malawi.
• 13
  Tobacco Farming. University of Bath, 2020. tobaccotactics.org/wiki/tobacco-farming/.
• 14
  Hiscock, Rosemary and Bloomfield, M.J. “The value of studying supply chains for tobacco control”. National Library of Medicine, 2021, doi.org/10.18332%2Ftpc%2F131811.
• 15
  Hiscock, Rosemary and Bloomfield, M.J. “The value of studying supply chains for tobacco control”. National Library of Medicine, 2021, doi.org/10.18332%2Ftpc%2F131811.
• 16
  Gorder, Gabrielle. “Illegal Cigarettes Produced with Slave Labor in Brazil.” Insight Crime, 2021, insightcrime.org/news/illegal-cigarettes-produced-with-slave-labor-in-brazil/.
• 17
  United States of America Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report. 2021, www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TIPR-GPA-upload-07222021.pdf.
• 18
  Gorder, Gabrielle. “Illegal Cigarettes Produced with Slave Labor in Brazil.” Insight Crime, 2021, insightcrime.org/news/illegal-cigarettes-produced-with-slave-labor-in-brazil/.
• 19
  United States of America Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report. 2021, www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TIPR-GPA-upload-07222021.pdf.
• 20
  Hiscock, Rosemary and Bloomfield, M.J. “The value of studying supply chains for tobacco control.” National Library of Medicine, 2021, doi.org/10.18332%2Ftpc%2F131811.
• 21
  Hiscock, Rosemary and Bloomfield, M.J. “The value of studying supply chains for tobacco control.” National Library of Medicine, 2021, doi.org/10.18332%2Ftpc%2F131811.
• 22
  Hiscock, Rosemary and Bloomfield, M.J. “The value of studying supply chains for tobacco control.” National Library of Medicine, 2021, doi.org/10.18332%2Ftpc%2F131811.
• 23
  United States of America Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report. 2021, www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TIPR-GPA-upload-07222021.pdf.
• 24
  Gorder, Gabrielle. “Illegal Cigarettes Produced with Slave Labor in Brazil.” Insight Crime, 2021, insightcrime.org/news/illegal-cigarettes-produced-with-slave-labor-in-brazil/.
• 25
  List of exporters for the selected product in 2021. Product: 240110 Tobacco, unstemmed or unstripped. ITC Trade Map, www.trademap.org/Country_SelProduct.aspx?nvpm=1%7c%7c%7c%7c%7c240110%7c%7c%7c6%7c1%7c1%7c2%7c1%7c1%7c2%7c1%7c1%7c1.
• 26
  FAOSTAT: Production Quantity in 2020, Unmanufactured tobacco. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL.