Constituents gather in Washington, DC to advocate for a block on imported goods produced with forced labor.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (OBSNews.com) - Frustrated by their possible connections to slavery, nearly 200 consumer activists participated in meetings with their elected officials on Tuesday March 2nd in support of legislation that would block the import of goods produced using forced labor.

The Global Advocacy Days event is part of Not For Sale Campaign’s (NFSC) work to end slavery. During 2010, NFSC has focused its campaign on the intangible connections consumers have to their supply chain and how they may unintentionally be perpetuating slavery. “As a consumer there is currently no enforceable mechanism that would ensure that I am not consuming goods produced using forced labor. The proposed changes to the Customs Facilitation and Trade Reauthorization of 2009 would fix this,” said Kilian Moote, Director of Advocacy for the Not For Sale Campaign.

A recent report released by the Department of Labor Office on Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking cited 60 agricultural goods, 38 manufactured goods, 23 mined or quarried goods, and 6 pornographic goods as being produced using forced and/or child labor. “As concerned consumers, we value this information immensely. Unfortunately, the report did not provide further information on exactly which imported products are indeed produced using forced labor,” Moote said.

Advocates traveled from 30 different states to the Capitol to show their support for language included in the Customs Facilitation and Trade Reauthorization that would create the Office of Labor Enforcement within the Department of Homeland Security, giving the department authority to fine or block importers of slave-made products.

About the Not For Sale Campaign
Founded in 2007 by Dr. David Batstone, Mark Wexler and Dr. Kique Bazan, the Not For Sale Campaign equips and mobilizes Smart Activists to deploy innovative solutions to re-abolish slavery, in their own backyards and across the globe. NFSC was created after Batstone authored Not For Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade and How We Can Fight It and is now an international grassroots movement. The campaign works to link law enforcement, business leaders, universities, government officials, social service organizations, and faith-based groups to launch and coordinate effective actions on behalf of the 200,000 people currently living in slavery within the US – and the 27 million victims worldwide. NFSC is a 501c3 non-profit corporation based in Montara, Calif.

For more information about NFSC and the “Stop Paying for Slavery” Tour, visit www.notforsalecampaign.org