For manufacturing businesses, keeping supply chains moving is already a complicated job. You’re balancing cost, quality, availability and deadlines – often across multiple suppliers, contractors and countries.
But there’s another responsibility that increasingly needs to be part of that picture: making sure the people working throughout your supply chain are being treated fairly and are protected from exploitation.
Modern slavery and child exploitation aren’t distant or theoretical risks. In 2025, 23,411 potential victims of modern slavery were referred to the UK’s National Referral Mechanism, a 22% increase on the previous year and the highest annual figure since the NRM began. Of those referrals, 7,028 involved children.
So what does an ethical supply chain actually look like – and what can manufacturing businesses do in practice?
Why manufacturing supply chains need attention
Manufacturing supply chains can involve several layers of suppliers, subcontractors and agency labour. That can make it more difficult to see exactly who is carrying out work, under what conditions and whether appropriate employment and safeguarding checks are being followed.
And labour exploitation remains a significant part of the modern slavery picture. In 2025, labour exploitation alone accounted for 8,406 NRM referrals – 36% of the total. Among adults referred, it was the most commonly reported form of exploitation.
That makes visibility throughout the supply chain important. A policy at head-office level is useful, but it can only go so far if the people purchasing goods, managing suppliers or working alongside temporary and contracted staff don’t know what exploitation might look like.
What do we mean by modern slavery?
Modern slavery covers serious forms of exploitation including slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour and human trafficking. It can include people being coerced into working through threats, deception or abuse of vulnerability, as well as debt bondage, where someone is forced to work to repay a debt.
Children can also be exploited through forced labour, trafficking or criminal activity. Importantly, the government’s guidance makes clear that not every instance of child labour constitutes modern slavery, although the worst forms of child labour are highly likely to do so.
For businesses, understanding those distinctions helps teams recognise when something doesn’t look right and know when it needs to be escalated.
Compliance matters – but it isn’t the whole picture
For larger businesses, ethical supply chains are also a formal reporting issue.
Under Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, commercial organisations that carry on business in the UK, supply goods or services and have annual turnover of £36 million or more are required to publish an annual modern slavery statement. The statement should explain the steps the organisation has taken to address slavery and human trafficking in its business and supply chains.
But good practice shouldn’t begin and end with producing a statement.
Customers, procurement teams and other organisations in the supply chain may also expect businesses to demonstrate what they are doing in practice to understand and manage the risks.
What good practice looks like
There isn’t one action that creates an ethical supply chain.
It starts with understanding it. Businesses should know who their suppliers are, where work is taking place and where additional risks may exist. Appropriate right-to-work and age-verification processes can help, alongside clear expectations for suppliers and routes for workers to raise concerns or whistleblow.
Just as importantly, the people closest to day-to-day operations need to know what they’re looking for.
Someone working in procurement, managing contractors or supervising a site may be well placed to notice unusual working arrangements, concerning behaviour or signs that somebody is being controlled or exploited. But they can only act on those signs if they understand them and know what to do next.
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