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Child Labor and Multinational

Conduct: A Comparison of
International Business and Ans Kolk
Stakeholder Codes Rob van Tulder

ABSTRACT. Increasing attention to the issue of child ABBREVIATIONS: BSG – Business Support Group;
labor has been reflected in codes of conduct that ILO – International Labor Organization; IO –
emerged in the past decade in particular. This paper International (governmental) Organization; MNE –
examines the way in which multinationals, business Multinational Enterprise; NGO – Non-governmental
associations, governmental and non-governmental Organization; OECD – Organization for Economic
organizations deal with child labor in their codes. Cooperation and Development; UNICEF – United
With a standardized framework, it analyzes 55 codes Nations Children’s Fund
drawn up by these different actors to influence firms’
external, societal behavior. The exploratory study
helps to identify the main issues related to child labor
and the use of voluntary instruments such as codes Introduction
of conduct. Apart from a specific indication of the
topics covered by the code, especially minimum-age Since the early 20th century, the issue of child
requirements, this also includes monitoring systems labor has been the subject of widespread regula-
and monitoring parties. Most important to company tory and societal attention. After several indus-
codes are the sanctions imposed on business partners trialized countries had adopted laws that limited
in case of non-compliance. Severe measures may be the minimum working age of children and their
counterproductive as they do not change the under- working conditions, international organizations
lying causes of child labor and can worsen the
were requested to advance similar measures
situation of the child workers by driving them to
more hazardous work in the informal sector. This
worldwide. The main vehicle of these interna-
underlines the importance of a broad rather than a tional attempts has been the International Labor
restrictive approach to child labor in codes of conduct. Organization, created in 1919 with the abolish-
The paper discusses the implications of this study, ment of child labor as one of its fundamental
offering suggestions for future research. objectives. This was reflected in the adoption of
the Minimum Age Convention (No. 5) in the
KEY WORDS: business associations, child labor, same year.
codes of conduct, international organizations, multi- In the course of the century, several other
national enterprises, non-governmental organizations international initiatives have been taken to
protect children, particularly the 1924
Declaration of Geneva, the creation of UNICEF
(1946), ILO’s 1973 minimum age convention
Ans Kolk is associate professor in sustainable management (No. 146), the 1989 UN Declaration on the
at the University of Amsterdam, Department of Rights of the Child and, most recently, the 1999
Accountancy and Information Management. ILO Convention to combat the worst forms of
Rob van Tulder is professor in business studies at the child labor (No. 182). These different initiatives
Erasmus University, Department of Business-Society aimed to regulate children’s working conditions
Management. in the traditional sense: governments, both

Journal of Business Ethics 36: 291–301, 2002.


© 2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.
292 Ans Kolk and Rob van Tulder

nationally and internationally, that imposed laws (international) business entities (target) within
or tried to stimulate different company behavior. society in order to enhance corporate responsi-
In the 1970s, the role of multinational enter- bility” (Kolk et al., 1999, p. 151). In this
prises, and the negative social and environmental definition, codes therefore always aim at
implications of large-scale foreign investment, influencing company conduct, focusing on their
became controversial for the first time. This external, societal, usually international, behavior.
debate, that re-emerged in the 1990s, has It excludes more internally oriented (ethical)
centered around the relocation of production to codes, designed, for example, to regulate
developing countries with lower social and envi- employees’ ethical conduct when confronted
ronmental standards, where an appropriate with dilemmas such as conflict of interests, gifts,
regulatory framework to protect (child) workers theft, insider trading and bribery. In view of its
and the environment was either missing or not focus on the business-society interface, the paper
implemented, and multinationals’ cooperation will neither enter into important debates on the
with or implicit support for oppressive regimes (macro)economic and ethical dimensions of child
(Kolk et al., 1999). It gave rise to academic labor (Basu, 1999a; Hartman et al., 1999;
reflection on multinationals’ ethical behavior, Hindman and Smith, 1999).
including their fundamental rights and duties, The first part of the paper gives some back-
and universal moral norms (e.g. Bowie and ground information on the issue of child labor,
Vaaler, 1999; Buller et al., 1997; Donaldson, particularly the status of international standards,
1997). and the characteristics of companies that employ
In response to these concerns, attempts were underage workers. Subsequently, the results of
made to regulate multinational behavior, the code analysis will be given, comparing
especially through codes of conduct. In the different actors’ positions, based on a standard-
1970s, this involved guidelines drawn up by ized framework that examines specificity and
international organizations. In spite of pressure compliance mechanisms. It also deals with the
by a number of governments in developed and implications of sanctions, including the possible
developing countries, and non-governmental drawbacks of strict compliance. The final section
organizations (NGOs), it proved impossible to discusses the role of codes of conduct, and offers
make these codes mandatory. The 1990s wit- suggestions for future research in this field.
nessed new efforts to formulate global standards
for multinational conduct. Besides international
organizations, governments and NGOs, com- Child labor: definition and characteristics
panies and their business associations also started
to draw up codes in which they voluntary com- The international standards, or codes, drawn up
mitted themselves to a particular set of norms and by organizations such as the ILO reveal the
values. existence of a continuum that ranges from
In view of large societal attention for child acceptable to unacceptable forms of child labor.
labor, an increasing number of codes has This has also been labeled as respectively “child
addressed this issue. This paper analyzes the way work” and “child labor” (George, 1990, pp.
in which multinationals and stakeholders deal 22–23). At one end of the continuum, tolerable
with child labor in their codes of conduct. It work can be found, which is, as defined in ILO
gives an overview of 55 codes drawn up by convention No. 138 (1973), “light work which
multinationals, business associations, international is not likely to be harmful to [children’s] health
organizations and NGOs – those stakeholders or development, and which is not such as to
that have adopted child labor codes. For this prejudice their attendance at school”. The con-
purpose, codes of conduct are defined as “guide- vention stipulates a minimum age of 13 years for
lines, recommendations and rules issued by this type of employment; in exceptional cases,
entities within society (adopting body or actor) this may be lowered to 12 years. Given the social
with the intent to affect the behavior of and economic situation, such work can be a
Child Labor and Multinational Conduct 293

reasonable means of earning a living for the sanctions to ban child labor seem to have a
children and their families; sometimes this is even minimal impact, and might well be counter-
regarded as potentially beneficial for children’s productive as it drives children to the informal
development (UNICEF, 1997). sector where control over labor conditions is
At the other end of the spectrum, untolerable lacking. Especially for small, local companies,
forms of abusive, exploitative and dangerous employing children is a necessary component of
working conditions can be found. ILO a cost-reduction strategy and vital to increase the
Convention No. 182 (1999), for example, char- very low profit margins. While the cost savings
acterizes worst forms of child labor as “all forms achieved in this way are a relatively small per-
of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as centage of the final consumer price, the use of
the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage child labor can double the local entrepreneur’s
and serfdom and forced or compulsory labor, own small income, as an ILO study in the Indian
including forced or compulsory recruitment of carpet and bangles industries showed (Fyfe and
children for use in armed conflict”. This descrip- Jankanish, 1997).
tion also covers the use of children for prostitu-
tion, illicit activities, and other forms of work
that “is likely to harm the health, safety or morals Child labor in codes of conduct
of children”. According to this convention (and
to others, such as the UN convention on the Given these characteristics of child labor, how do
rights of the child), children are defined as all different stakeholders and companies themselves
persons younger than 18 years. deal with the issue in their codes of conduct?
Although perceptions on child labor also To assess this, the next section examines the
depend on cultural traditions, and levels of contents of 55 codes adopted by multinational
economic development and social conditions, firms (MNEs), business associations (business
there is a large consensus on the unacceptability support groups, BSGs), international organiza-
of these worst forms of child labor. This is under- tions (IOs) and non-governmental organizations
lined by the relatively rapid acceptance of C182, (NGOs). These codes explicitly address the issue
which, after one year, has been ratified by 56 of child labor.
countries, with ratification processes under way Fourty company codes were drawn from a set
in many others (ILOLEX data, see Kolk et al., of approximately 100 codes of the largest MNEs
2001). In between the two extremes, however, or of companies that have been pioneers in the
there is a large grey area in which much child field of corporate social responsibility (Cf. Kolk
labor falls. According to the ILO (1998), a large et al., 1999; see the Appendix). This selection
number of the estimated 250 million child process has revealed that only a relatively small
workers between 5 and 14 years is confronted number (13%) of the largest (Fortune 500) firms
with some kind of hazards; in some countries, has a company code that includes provisions on
this even amounts to two-thirds (69%). To which child labor. The added selection of slightly
countries this latter percentage refers, is not smaller firms, but pioneers in the adoption of
specified by the ILO. codes, shows a substantially higher share of child
The problem with the implementation of labor provisions. The sectors in which these
international norms, however, is that the majority leading firms operate are the ones with the
of child labor takes place in the informal sector, highest likelihood of child labor: retail and
in agriculture, services and small-scale manufac- apparel. Of the 24 important international codes
turing. These are usually not adequately covered of business associations, only 6 (25%) include
by national legislation. While attention focuses child labor provisions.
on child labor in export industries, they employ Most codes of international organizations deal
only a very small percentage, probably less than with child labor issues. The IO codes in this
5%, of the child work force (UNICEF, 1997, article include the main standards and conven-
p. 21). This means that unilateral international tions with regard to child labor (ILO conventions
294 Ans Kolk and Rob van Tulder

Nos. 138 and 182, and the UN Convention on child labor (see Table I). It focuses on the
the Rights of the Child) and to multinational specificity of the child labor provisions included
conduct (the recently revised OECD guidelines in the codes, particularly the minimum-age
for multinational enterprises). Approximately requirement, and the compliance mechanisms,
40% of the most well-known international NGO including monitoring and the type of sanctions
codes include provisions on child labor. The issue in case of violations. Non-compliance leads to
of child labor is, therefore, least addressed by dilemmas with regard to the fate of the children:
companies and business associations, and most will they be dismissed, leading to the impression
by NGOs and international organizations. of “clean hands”, but without addressing the
Nevertheless, the discussion on child labor seems problem as such, or are alternative measures
to focus primarily on the ability of companies offered to help the child workers? Some of the
to effectively address the issue through a code of main features of the code analysis will be briefly
conduct. discussed below, divided into three sections:
All codes were examined with a standardized specificity, monitoring, and types and implica-
framework of analysis that was used in previous tions of sanctions.
research, but adapted to suit the peculiarities of

TABLE I
A model to analyze and compare codes of conduct on child labor issues

Criteria Short elaboration Classification

Specificity
1.1. Minimum age Does the code include a minimum age to employment? yes (age); no
to employment If so, what age?
1.2. Applicability Is this a universal minimum age or are country-specific n.a.; universal;
exceptions indicated? country-specific
1.3. Organization To whom is the code addressed? General, governments; actor category
targeted internal operations of specific firms; business partners (exact wording)
(suppliers, subcontractors, vendors, manufacturers)
1.4. Reference Is reference made to international standards (ILO, UN), either none; home; host;
implicit or explicit, or to home-country or host-country laws? international
(implicit/explicit)
1.5. Nature of Are alternative measures included in the code (such as education broad; strict
code for children)? Or does the code only prohibit child labor?
Compliance
2.1. Monitoring Good insight into system and process (clear); reference to some clear; clear to
systems and parts, but criteria or time frames are lacking (clear to vague); vague; vague;
processes only general reference to monitoring without details (vague). none
2.2. Position of Firms themselves (1st party); BSGs (2nd party); external ranging from:
monitoring professionals paid by firms (3rd party); combinations of different 1st to 6th party
actor actors (4th party); NGOs (5th party); legal authorities (6th party).
2.3 Sanctions Measures have no large implications, e.g. warnings and exclusion none; mild;
of membership (mild); threat to business activities (severe). severe
2.4 Sanctions to Measures such as fines, or demands for corrective action (mild); n.a.; none; mild;
third parties severance of relationship, cancellation of contract (severe) severe

Source: Adapted from Kolk et al. (1999), p. 155.


Child Labor and Multinational Conduct 295

Specificity minimum age; the company concerned, Nike,


however, includes two minimum ages: 18 for the
As examined in the previous section on the production of footwear, and 16 for apparel,
definition of child labor, one of the main topics accessories and equipment.
concerning the specificity of codes has been the Of the codes that mention a minimum age to
minimum-age requirement. Especially ILO employment, only a small minority has universal
Convention No. 138 has been important in the applicability (Table IIb). Usually, codes are
discussion on international standards. In view of country-specific, which means that they formu-
the exceptions that it makes to the universally late a minimum age, but that a higher age will
applicable minimum age of 15 years, this ILO prevail if host-country laws stipulate this higher
code is not included in Table IIa. The table gives age for employment or for finalizing educational
an overview of the minimum ages stipulated in requirements. The Reebok code of conduct can
the other three IO codes, the five NGO codes, be cited as example:
the six BSG (business support groups) codes, and
the 40 MNE codes. The company will not work with business partners
Almost half of the codes does not mention a that use child labour. The term ‘child’ generally
refers to a person who is less than 14 years of age,
minimum age. If they do, however, 14 is most
or younger than the age for completing compul-
frequently indicated, which applies particularly sory education if that age is higher than 14. In
to business codes (both MNE and BSGs). This countries where the law defines ‘child’ to include
age is incompatible with Convention 138. A few individuals who are older than 14, the company
company codes explicitly refer to this ILO code, will apply that definition.
which means that 15 years is mentioned, with 14
as developing-country exception. Only one More generally, if business codes refer to stan-
NGO and one MNE code stipulate 18 as dards, this usually involves the host country

TABLE IIa
Minimum ages to employment mentioned in codes of conduct (in % of code type)

No age 14 15/14 15 16 18

International organizations (n = 3)a 100


NGOs (n = 5) 020 20 20 20 20
Business support groups (n = 6) 067 33
MNEs (n = 40) 043 28 8 15 05 0 b3 b
a
ILO convention 138 is not included as it defines exceptions to the minimum age of 15.
b
This code (Nike) gives two minimum ages: 18 for the production of footwear, and 16 for the production of
apparel, accessories and equipment. As this is the only MNE code that mentions 18 years, it is included in the
18 category only.

TABLE IIb
Applicability of minimum ages stipulated in codes of conduct (in % of code type)

Universal Country-specific Not defined

International organizations (n = 4) 25 75
NGOs (n = 5) 20 80
Business support groups (n = 6) 33 67
MNEs (n = 40) 8 70 23
296 Ans Kolk and Rob van Tulder

(Table IIc). Some MNEs explicitly refer to inter- Monitoring


national standards, as already mentioned, or do
this implicitly by including Convention 138’s A majority of the codes indicates how the pro-
minimum age of 15 in their codes of conduct. visions of codes are monitored, and by whom.
The majority of NGO codes explicitly refers to 80% of the NGO codes clearly specifies the
international standards, while all IO codes monitoring process and system, including the
mention other international conventions. criteria for assessment; this also applies to 28% of
The final aspect of specificity concerns the the MNE codes. Most BSG codes, and half of
organizations targeted by the code. By the nature the IO codes envisage a monitoring process but
of the definition used in this paper, all stake- do not mention criteria or time-frames. The
holder codes focus on business, either generally remaining just vaguely refers to monitoring
(all employers), or specifically (one sector). Most without giving any further details (Table IIIa).
interesting in this regard are the organizations at With regard to the monitoring party, most
which MNEs aim. Codes use a variety of terms, MNEs prefer to do this themselves, whereas
ranging from business partners, suppliers, international organizations rely on legal author-
vendors, subcontractors to manfacturers. The ities. Third-party monitoring, by external pro-
majority (63%), however, does not define the fessionals, is mentioned in 10% of the MNE
concepts, failing to explain the intended scope codes (i.e. 17% of the codes with monitoring
of their requirements. One quarter of the MNEs provisions). Most NGOs prefer monitoring by
clearly define the business partners at which their combinations of actors, such as NGOs and BSGs
codes are targeted. An example is Stage Stores, (4th party); some firms have included this in their
which states that: codes (Table IIIb).

We have defined business partners as vendors, man-


ufacturers, contractors, subcontractors and other Sanctions and implications
suppliers who provide labor and/or material
including fabric, sundries, chemicals and trim A vital issue concerns the sanctions that firms
utilized in the manufacture and finishing of impose on their business partners in case of non-
products that are ordered by or through us.
compliance with the provisions included in the
codes. Almost half of the MNE codes does not
The remaining 12% of the MNE codes fall in
include sanctions, while 45% takes strong
between by defining the targeted organization,
measures, such as the termination of business
but without providing insight into the extent to
relationships or the cancellation of orders. More
which it is to be implemented in the subcon-
than 80% of the BSG codes also announces to
tracting chain.
take such severe sanctions.
This raises the question, however, what will

TABLE IIc
Reference to home-country, host-country or international standards in codes of conduct (in % of code type)

No Home- Host- International International


standards country country standards standards
standards standards (implicit) (explicit)

International organizations (n = 4) 100


NGOs (n = 5) 20 20 060
Business support groups (n = 6) 67 33
MNEs (n = 40) 18 55 18 010
Child Labor and Multinational Conduct 297

TABLE IIIa
Clarity of monitoring systems and processes in codes of conduct (in % of code type)

None Vague Vague/cleara Clear

International organizations (n = 4) 50 50
NGOs (n = 5) 20 80
Business support groups (n = 6) 33 67
MNEs (n = 40) 40 15 18 28
a
Vague/clear means that monitoring is envisaged, but that criteria for assessment or time-frames are lacking.

TABLE IIIb
Monitoring actors mentioned in codes of conducta (in % of code type)

None 1st party 2nd party 3rd party 4th party 6th party

International organizations (n = 4) 100


NGOs (n = 5) 20 20 60
Business support groups (n = 6) 83 17
MNEs (n = 40) 40 43 03 10 05
a
1st party: firms themselves; 2nd party: BSGs; 3rd party: external professionals paid by firms; 4th party: com-
binations of different actors; 5th party: NGOs; 6th party: legal authorities.

happen to the children in such cases. If the MNE “H & M does not accept child labour. We are
terminates the relationship or if the children are concerned about the situation of children in many
fired, the problem of child labor does not parts of the world. We acknowledge the fact that
disappear as economic conditions have not child labour does exist and can’t be eradicated with
changed. In fact, the situation can even deteri- rules or inspections, as long as the children’s social
situation is not improved. We want to actively
orate because the children are forced to find
work with factories and with NGOs in third world
work elsewhere, usually in the informal sector countries, to try to improve the situation for the
where any form of control on labor conditions children affected by our ban on child labour.
is lacking. Studies in Bangladesh, for example, If a child is found working in any of the fac-
showed that the threat of U.S. sanctions, and the tories producing our garments, we will request the
consequent expectation of future restrictive laws factory to make sure that the measures taken are
on child labor, led to the dismissal of 40 000 in the child’s best interest. We will, in co-opera-
children in the garment industry; between 5000 tion with the factory, seek to find a satisfactory
and 7000 girls moved to prostitution (Basu, solution, taking into consideration the child’s age,
1999b, p. 86; Fyfe and Jankanish, 1997, p. 87). social situation, education etc. We will not ask a
Therefore, “responsible” business conduct factory to dismiss a child without a discussion
would mean that firms take measures that help about the child’s future. Any measures taken should
always aim to improve, not worsen, each individual
improve the situation through compensatory
child’s situation. Any costs for education, etc. have
programs for the children, such as access to to be paid by the factory.”
education, food and health care, and alternative
sources of income for the children’s families (e.g. Such an approach, however, also raises questions
UNICEF, 1997; Save the Children, 2000). Of the about the boundaries of corporate responsibility
40 MNE codes, only three take such a broad and what should be provided by governments, in
approach. Hennes & Mauritz is an interesting both developed and developing countries.
example:
298 Ans Kolk and Rob van Tulder

Conclusions and research implications In spite of this caveat, however, the position
taken by multinationals can be important. They
This exploratory study of 55 international set a standard for corporate conduct and influ-
business and stakeholder codes has provided ence other firms and governments, thus perhaps
insight into the way in which child labor issues helping to further international attempts to
are addressed in these formal documents aimed address child labor. This is even more the case if
at regulating corporate conduct. Using a stan- they take responsibility for improving children’s
dardized framework of analysis, specificity and working conditions, education and health, or
compliance were examined, paying particular assist in finding alternative ways of income-
attention to minimum-age requirements, moni- generation for the families. Such a broad
toring and sanctions. Codes drawn up by NGOs approach is only taken by three multinationals
turned out to be most specific, and those devel- out of the set of 40 analyzed in this paper.
oped by business associations the least. This Because the 40 codes only represent a small
confirms other research on codes of conduct portion of the multinationals with a company
(Kolk et al., 1999), and the role of business code (let alone of the whole set of multinationals
associations in providing so-called “club goods” without one), it can be assessed that the broad
(Prakash, 2000). approach to the child labor issue is currently
Companies are supposed to be leading in embraced by less than 5% percent of companies.
addressing the issue of child labor. This article Nevertheless, the potential role of large interna-
has shown that this claim needs considerable tional companies remains interesting, but cannot
modification. Not only is the number of large be considered in isolation.
multinational companies that has child labor In this regard, it must be noted that the
provisions in its codes relatively limited (less than specificity of codes drawn up by other societal
20%), the codes with such provisions score mixed stakeholders remains higher, whereas the action
results with regard to code specificity and com- of international organizations such as FIFA can
pliance likelihood. Many company codes suggest better trigger broader-defined codes than com-
universal applicability (of a minimum age, for panies themselves (Cf. Van Tulder and Kolk,
example), are country-specific and prefer vague 2001). At the same time, however, governmental
or internal monitoring procedures, whereas ratifications of international agreements such as
others include clear monitoring mechanisms and the ILO child labor convention are still sur-
sanctions for their business partners in case of rounded by many caveats. This implies that the
non-compliance. issue of child labor cannot be resolved by
The imposition of severe sanctions, however, business-government interaction only, but
proves to be a complicated issue. At first sight, requires the involvement of other national and
one is inclined to applaud strict measures to ban international stakeholders as well. Research
child labor as this seems the logical consequence efforts in this direction might focus on the
of a business policy, usually developed after strong importance of firms’ country of origin, particu-
societal pressure. Nevertheless, on further con- larly the regulatory and societal context,
sideration, such “clean hands” may well be including the role of stakeholders (Langlois and
counterproductive because it does not tackle the Schlegelmilch, 1990; Van Tulder and Kolk,
child labor problem and its underlying causes. 2001). Available knowledge on ethics manage-
Moreover, it can worsen the situation for the ment in different cultures can be helpful in this
children who are forced to find work elsewhere, regard (Buller et al., 1997; Jackson, 1997;
often in the informal sector. In this regard, it is Weaver, 2001). Apart from the analysis of larger
important to note that only a small fraction of sets of multinationals with different nationalities,
the estimated 250 million child workers is sector-specific case studies of codes of conduct
employed in export-related industries. More than can be useful to understand the dynamics.
95% works in agriculture, small businesses or This article has provided insight into the
provides services outside the formal economy. contents and compliance likelihood of codes of
Child Labor and Multinational Conduct 299

conduct that address the very important moral suggested. This offers ample opportunities for
issue of child labour. The actual effectiveness of more research into the actual, “realistic” and
codes of conduct in tackling this child labor “pragmatic” strategies that are adopted for the
problem is difficult to assess, however, because of purpose, and their effectiveness in addressing
its multi-faceted nature. Some of the companies child labor.
that we approached for this study suggested that
it might be more effective not to have a code of
conduct (Cf. Kolk et al., 2001). Firstly, they Acknowledgements
argue that a strict code (without the broader
approach as distinguished in this article) might This article is one of the publications resulting
even aggravate the problem. Secondly, a broader from a joint, long-term project on multinational
code might damage a company’s reputation as a enterprises and corporate social responsibility.
result of negative media coverage in its country Inge Sloekers is gratefully acknowledged for her
of origin (this depends on the country in contribution to creating the dataset on which this
question, see Van Tulder and Kolk, 2001). paper is based. The authors would also like to
Thirdly, the company view on child labor, as thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful
included in the code, can differ from that of the comments.
host government, possibly leading to barriers to
entry for companies that might otherwise have
had a positive effect on the emancipation of Appendix.
children. List of codes of conduct (analyzed in this
Additional research is required to obtain article)
insight into business and stakeholder ideas about
the effectiveness of codes, and what roles firms International governmental organizations (n = 4)
and governments ought to play in attempts to ILO (Minimum Age Convention No. 138, 1973)
address child labor. This could also include a ILO (Convention 182 on Elimination of Worst
consideration of instruments and mechanisms Forms of Child Labor, 1999)
other than codes of conduct, and an analysis of OECD (OECD Guidelines for Multinational
those companies that claim to be concerned Enterprises, revised version, 2000)
about child labor but do not have codes of UN (United Nations Convention on the Rights
of the Child, 1989)
conduct (or codes with only modest monitoring
provisions or that take a strict approach). Non-governmental organizations (n = 5)
Moreover, the communication and implementa- Catholic Institute for International Relations
tion process of codes of conduct, and the related Clean Clothes Campaign
organizational aspects, such as company structure, Christian Aid
culture and leadership, that influence staff Danish Confederation of Labour Unions
behavior deserve further attention. This could Fédération Internationale de Football Association
build on insights from research on ethical codes
and the organizational and individual factors that Business associations (n = 6)
affect ethical conduct (e.g. Cleek and Leonard, American Apparel Manufacturers Assocation
1998; Somers, 2001). Future studies on this topic Athletic Footwear Association
might also focus on those parts of the supply Association Merchandising Cooperation
British Toy and Hobby Association
chain that are usually not covered by codes of
International Council of Toy Industries
conduct, but that employ the overwhelming Toy Industries of Europe
majority of the children.
This article has identified a “broader” and a Firms (n = 40)
“stricter” approach to child labor. Hence, the Body Shop
prevention of child labor seems to be much less Burton Group
of a universal “hypernorm” than is sometimes C&A
300 Ans Kolk and Rob van Tulder

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