How Can I Help Stop Child Labor Mining Practices?

The first step you can take to help stop child labor mining practices is to be informed that it happens. Too many consumers are unaware that the products they use every day involve the hard labor of children. Research companies of products you regularly use, such as anything with a lithium-ion battery. These batteries use cobalt, a prized mineral mined in places like the Democratic Republic of Congo, where many children help dig it up.

For cobalt, you can check sources such as the Fair Cobalt Alliance for information on such manufacturers.1 Brilliant Earth, one group committed to diamonds free of child labor, reports that 46 percent of diamond miners in Angola are between the ages of 5 and 16.2 At the Food Empowerment Project, you can find a list of chocolate companies that do not use child labor.3

Another thing you can do to help stop child labor is support organizations like GFA World that provide viable alternatives to families who need reliable income. Part of the cycle of poverty is that families often get trapped in labor situations from which there is no escape. No matter how hard they work, they cannot earn enough to cover minimal expenses for survival. They cannot afford to send their children to school, so they take them out. Then things get more difficult, and they have to put their children to work.

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