Asda joins fight against human trafficking by becoming member of Slave-Free Alliance

Major retailer Asda is today (Wednesday, June 23) announcing it has become a member of Slave-Free Alliance.

Asda is joining forces with the social enterprise, which supports businesses that want to protect their supply chains and operations from modern slavery. The move is part of Asda’s new Responsible Sourcing strategy.

Membership of Slave-Free Alliance, which is part of the pioneering global anti-slavery charity Hope for Justice, will see Asda welcome industry-leading advice, reviews of its policies and processes and support with rolling out and developing its anti-modern slavery strategy. It will also run ongoing modern slavery awareness training for its staff and suppliers, to ensure they are equipped with the skills they need to spot the potential signs and know how to report them.

Lisa Domoney, Director Responsible Sourcing at Asda, said: ”We are pleased to have become the latest member of Slave-Free Alliance, further cementing our commitment to prevent instances of modern slavery. We look forward to having access to their tools and expertise which are designed to help identify and prevent cases of modern slavery and to improve the conditions of workers throughout the supply chain.”

Marc Stanton, Director at Slave-Free Alliance, said: “We are delighted that Asda is joining us in our fight against modern slavery, and we are looking forward to working closely together to help achieve our shared goal of a slave-free supply chain.

“As a major retailer, it’s wonderful to see this commitment from Asda to play its part by ensuring that workers are not exploited, either now or in the future. We hope that many other businesses will follow Asda’s example, and join our movement. By working together, we are determined that we can create a world without modern slavery.”

Membership of Slave-Free Alliance is open to all businesses, of any size, that wish to protect their supply chains and operations from modern slavery. New members become part of a global force for change, which began in the UK and now counts as members global multinationals and household names including Morrisons, ALDI UK, AstraZeneca and Experian.

Industries represented globally include professional services, engineering, data analysis, IT, utilities, energy, environmental services, manufacturing, agriculture, insurance, legal, pharmaceutical, property, recruitment, retail, transport and waste management.

Businesses wishing to find out more about membership of Slave-Free Alliance can email info@slavefreealliance.org or visit www.slavefreealliance.org.