Child labor in the U.S. is not a new phenomenon. The recent exposés about migrant children working in dangerous places like slaughterhouses and on construction sites have renewed investigations into the exploitation of children in the U.S. workforce. Addressing this issue on the House floor, Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI-3) said, “Stories of kids dropping out of school, collapsing from exhaustion, and even losing limbs to machinery are what one expects to find in a Charles Dickens or Upton Sinclair novel, but not an account of everyday life in 2023, not in the United States of America.” What can we do to protect migrant children - and all children - from labor exploitation? 

What is in your cosmetics bag? If you use makeup that shimmers, there is a strong chance those products contain mica, a group of silicate minerals that can be ground into a sparkling powder. The Jharkhand state in eastern India, which is home to one of the largest deposits of mica in the world, and southern Madagascar have been identified as places with widespread child labor in dangerous mica mines. How can we advocate for those children and make certain the beauty industry only uses ethically-sourced mica?

A new report sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor revealed that the world's largest chocolate companies rely on more than 1 million child laborers in West Africa. In 2001, Congress pressured chocolate companies to eradicate child labor, but they failed to meet deadlines from 2005 to 2010. Will they adhere to the new 2025 goal? If the past is any indication, consumers need to get involved.