UPS pledges $9M to help relief organizations, combating human trafficking addressed at CGI

Sep 25 2009

Shipping company UPS on Thursday at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) annual meeting, "announced a multi-year, $9 million project to help relief organizations respond better to global emergencies," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (9/24).

UPS said its pledge will assist several relief organizations, including the American Red Cross, UNICEF, the World Food Programme, CARE and the Aidmatrix Foundation, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Ken Sternad, president of The UPS Foundation, said in a statement, "We are combining our supply chain expertise, our assets and linking our key partners to enable more effective response to global emergencies." The article reports on the grants made to the specific groups (9/24).

Also on Thursday at the CGI meeting, the Alliance to Stop Slavery and End Trafficking called for companies to determine whether they are indirect sponsors of "human trafficking and forced labor," which "could even boost business," according to some leaders, Reuters reports. Julia Ormond, founder and president of the alliance, "said consumers often seek out products that are made using ethical sources and demand could increase." The Body Shop International CEO Sophie Gasperment said her company plans to issue "progress cards" addressing how well countries tackle child sex trafficking, according to Reuters.

The news service writes, "U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis pledged that her agency will work with companies that want to root out child and forced labor from their supply chains and adopt monitoring systems. Solis said the Labor Department is giving $58 million in grants to fight child labor in 16 countries. The article includes information about child labor and trafficking and comments from other advocates (Geller, 9/24).