Auret Van Heerden, labor activist

This 18 minute video is a talk given by Auret van Heerden, a leading labor activist and member of the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) Advisory Board, at TEDGlobal2010. Mr. Van Heerden discusses human rights across many industries and proposes that when governments fail to protect workers in their countries then the responsibility falls to the brand name companies whose products are being produced in that country. He touches on the codes of conduct that many corporations in the apparel industry have drafted and actually gives hope that multinationals can and are stepping up to the plate to influence change in their supply chains. While this will in no way be accomplished overnight, this video gives me hope that some business entities are at least willing to acknowledge the necessity to engage in meaningful discussions around the topic of human rights in today’s global supply chains.

TEDGlobal2010 was a four day event that took place in Oxford, England in July. It was “a fast-paced, highly curated four-day stage program featuring TED’s famous 18-minute talks”.