Explainer: Fashion’s New Tariff Threat

This piece was originally published in The Business of Fashion on April 30, 2026.  By Shayeza Walid This week, the Trump administration took a big step towards imposing new tariffs on fashion imports. A public hearing for trade investigations into 60 economies, including a number of fashion supply hubs and key allies —from Vietnam, India and Bangladesh […]

Forced Labor Takes Center Stage in Trade Policy

This piece was originally published in Sourcing Journal on 3-24-26.  By Tara Winter Recent headlines have made one thing clear: forced labor has officially entered the trade war. The Trump administration’s move to investigate 60 trading partners for forced labor under Section 301 of the Trade Act—with the potential to impose tariffs—marks a turning point. What […]

Transparentem Statement on USTR Section 301 Forced Labor Investigations

Yesterday, the U.S. Trade Representative initiated forced labor investigations into 60 of the United States’ largest trading partners under Section 301 of the Trade Act, a trade enforcement tool historically used to levy tariffs. The stated rationale for the investigations is to determine if those partners have failed to prevent the import of goods produced […]

Transparentem Statement on the Taiwan Textile Federation’s Announcement Urging an Employer Pays Principle

Transparentem welcomes the Taiwan Textile Federation’s recommendation released yesterday urging Taiwanese textile mills to protect migrant workers in the industry through responsible recruitment and employment. This is a critical step toward reducing recruitment abuse and forced labor risks in the industry and advancing protections for foreign migrant workers. We look forward to the Taiwanese Ministry […]

Transparentem Welcomes Tara Winter as Executive Director

Accomplished international labor and human rights leader Tara Winter joins Transparentem as Executive Director, effective September 2, 2025. She takes over from Founder E. Benjamin Skinner, who has served as Transparentem’s President since its inception in 2015. “This is an important moment in Transparentem’s history. As we celebrate our 10th anniversary and look to the […]

BHRRC: “Limited Progress Toward Remediation and Lack of Transparency by Some Global Apparel Brands | Transparentem Rejoinder to Company Responses to BHRRC”

Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, “Since the publication of Transparentem’s December 2023 report describing interviewed workers’ experience of poor labor conditions, including evidence of forced labor indicators, at four apparel manufacturers in Mauritius, we remain very troubled by insufficient remediation of past harms identified by workers — including the lack of repayment of recruitment […]

Fashion Brands to Compensate Garment Workers in Mauritius for Forced Labor

Fashion Brands to Compensate Garment Workers in Mauritius: Leading fashion brands, including Barbour and PVH, have committed to paying £400,000 to garment workers in Mauritius. Transparentem, a US-based organization, found signs of forced labor and illegal recruitment fees for jobs in five factories in Mauritius. PVH and Barbour have pledged to reimburse workers at REAL […]