ASTA’s Responsible Sourcing Guide and Checklist are designed to provide a template for companies looking to implement a responsible sourcing program as it relates to forced labor and environmental sustainability. The related Checklist is designed to align with the principles outlined in the Guide in a way that can be used to evaluate supplier performance in each area. The Guide and Checklist were updated in March 2025 and supersede the previous version from January 2015.

Separately, included in text below are a variety of current and evolving domestic and international regulations related to forced labor and responsible sources. 

Forced Labor Legal Update (US)

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) was enacted in December 2021 to address alleged human rights violations affecting minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China. 

Effective June 21, 2022, the UFLPA established a rebuttable presumption that goods, wares, articles, and merchandise (1) mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in the XUAR; or (2) by an entity on the UFLPA Entity List is produced with forced labor and, therefore, is prohibited from entry into the United States. 

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is tasked with enforcing the UFLPA.

Responding to a detention under the UFLPA can require significant effort and resources. 

Additions to, and removals from, the UFLPA Entity List are undertaken by the U.S. government’s interagency Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force.  As of September 18, 2024, there are 73 entities are placed on the UFLPA Entity List. 

UFLPA Enforcement 

Per CBP’s UFLPA enforcement dashboard, there are large number of agriculture and prepared products have been denied entry as of September 1, 2024:  1,255 shipments valued at $87 million since June 2022 (third most detentions of any industry). 

As of September 1, 2024, shipments from China are currently the most likely to be detained. 

Forced Labor Legal Update (US State Laws)

CA: The California Transparency in Supply Chains Act (TSCA) requires retail sellers or manufacturers that do business in California and have annual worldwide gross receipts exceeding $100,000,000 to publicly disclose on their websites whether they perform certain supply chain due diligence measures related to forced labor and human trafficking. 

NY: Legislators in New York have also proposed similar legislation that is even more stringent than the TSCA. 

WA: Washington State legislators have proposed two bills — Bill 5607 and Bill 5541 — aimed at requiring companies to disclose their supply chain due diligence efforts.

MA: Massachusetts legislators have similarly introduced a bill titled, “An Act to Establish Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability in the Commonwealth” that would require certain fashion sellers and fashion manufacturers to disclose their supply chain mapping and due diligence procedures for four tiers of production.

FL: Lastly, in 2024, Florida enacted a law prohibiting the state from procuring goods made with forced labor. Legislators in Michigan and Virginia have also introduced similar bills.

Forced Labor Legal Update (EU)

EU Forced Labor Ban: The European Parliament’s recently adopted European Forced Labour Regulation aims to ban products made with forced labor from the European market, a crucial step toward the European goal of eliminating all forms of forced labor. On November 19, 2024, the EU Forced Labour Regulation was formally adopted by the Council of the EU, following a vote by the European Parliament in April 2024. The Regulation stands to make a huge impact on the European economic market with its expanded scope, additional information for disclosure and public database, and heightened investigative process and penalties. Following publication in the Official Journal of the EU, the Regulation will be applicable 36 months from the date of entry into force (expected to be in 2027).

Under the EU Forced Labor Regulation, the primary penalty for non-compliance is the prohibition of goods suspected of being made with forced labor from entering the EU market, meaning they must be withdrawn, donated, recycled, or destroyed in already within the EU; companies may also face fines for failing to comply with investigations or decisions made by relevant authorities.

CSDDD: The EU's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive ("CSDDD"), has been formally adopted, and was published in the EU Official Journal on July 5, 2024. Its implementation will be staggered over the coming years, and it will introduce mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence requirements for large EU and non-EU companies operating in the EU.

The CSDDD's core obligations require in-scope companies to:

1. Adopt a 'risk-based' approach to human rights and environmental due diligence (Article 5); 
2. Integrate due diligence into all relevant policies and risk management systems (Article 7); 
3. Identify and assess actual or potential adverse impacts, and, where necessary, prioritize potential and actual adverse impacts (Articles 8 and 9); 
4. Prevent and (where not possible or immediately possible) mitigate potential adverse impacts; and bring actual adverse impacts to an end and minimize their extent (Articles 10 and 11); 
5. Provide remediation for actual adverse impacts (Article 12); 
6. Carry out meaningful stakeholder engagement (Article 13); 
7. Establish and maintain a notification mechanism and complaints procedure (Article 14); 
8. Monitor the effectiveness of due diligence policy and measures (Article 15); 
9. Publicly communicate on due diligence (Article 16); 
10. Adopting and putting into effect a climate transition plan (Article 22); and 
11. Designate an authorized representative (Article 23).

Each member state will appoint authorities responsible for overseeing compliance with the directive. Companies that fail to comply with the CSDD may face significant fines, potentially up to 5% of global turnover in the previous financial year.

Forced Labor Legal Update (Europe)

Germany: The German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act came into effect in 2023 and requires covered companies to report on their due diligence efforts and risk assessments related to their supply chains, as well as any human rights or environmental risks. Failure to comply could lead to large administrative fines and mandatory exclusion from public contracts. 

United Kingdom: The UK Modern Slavery Act took effect in 2015 and seeks to regulate and address forced labor in UK companies’ business operations and global supply chains. Similar to California’s TSCA, companies covered by the UK Modern Slavery Act must annually publish a statement that includes information such as a statement on human trafficking and an overview of their due diligence processes and risk assessments procedures. Failure to comply could lead to injunctions and criminal penalties. 

France:  The French Duty of Vigilance Act entered into force in 2017 requires all large French companies – with over 5,000 employees in France or over 10,000 worldwide – to develop a due diligence vigilance plan in consultation with stakeholders and trade unions. The vigilance plan must cover the company’s own activities regarding possible violations of human rights (including forced labor) and environmental standards, as well as those of its controlled subsidiaries, contractors and suppliers.  Penalties include civil liability, financial penalties, and court-ordered injunctions.

Netherlands: The Dutch Child Labor Due Diligence Act was adopted in 2019 and obliges companies to investigate whether their goods or services have been produced using child labor and to develop a plan to prevent child labor in their supply chains. The Dutch Due Diligence Act applies to all companies that sell or supply goods or services to Dutch consumers, regardless of where the company is based on registered, without exemptions for legal form of size. Failure to comply could result in significant administrative finals and criminal sanctions.