What can one do to ensure that clothes we buy are not made by child labor?

Are there any certificates we can watch out for that are really ensuring that clothes are not made by child labor, which also control subsuppliers and not just the main contractors?
In what stores can such clothes be bought? Are there any brands that attach great importance to the matter?

this is a good question... i don't think there is such a label or certificate, and even if there were, who knows if it would be reliable? you could just buy brands that you know are made in the USA, but even that is not a guarantee as child labor has been used in this country as well on very rare occasions [busts have occured in manhattan's garment district and LA as well]. the labels will show the country of origin, and you can guess/assume based on that.

The best and easiest way to make sure you're not buying something that's the product of child labor is to look for the good old "Made in the USA" label. It would also help to not buy things made in third world "developing countries." Laws to protect children might be non-existent. The pressure to get cheaper and cheaper labor (to make bigger and bigger profits) takes some of these apparel manufacturing jobs to the sweat shops of places like Cambodia, India, Vietnam, and other such "emerging countries" from South Asia.

If it's cheap, it's made by using child labor.

They hire children for this reason, because they are cheap labor and they can sell their products at a lower price in the market.


So the answer is to look at the label and be sure it is not written "made in China" and it is not a cheap product.

Buy clothes made by Gap and their other brands such as Banana Republic and Old Navy. They actually have employees who check on their sub contracted factories as to whether or not they follow the country's labor laws including laws against child labor

google companies that use child labor this should give you help on deciding what companies to avoid

don't shop at China Express...i.e. walmart