Child & Forced Labor

Although Altria's tobacco companies don't own or operate farms where tobacco is grown, we're committed to upholding human rights within our supply chain. Our companies discuss their expectations with suppliers and require them to accept responsibility for their labor practices. Our principles and policies for employees and our expectations of suppliers are guided by national laws, the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the International Labour Organization Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

The vast majority of our tobacco – about 70 percent of total leaf spend – is sourced domestically through direct contracts. We require our contracted growers to participate in the GAP Connections Certification program that assesses their compliance with practices related to crop, environment and labor management. Additionally, Altria’s tobacco companies:

 

• establish specific contract terms and conditions about child and forced labor;
• conduct social compliance audits in high-risk regions for goods and services; and
• work with others to address systemic child labor issues.

 

Our Commitment in Action

Altria's tobacco companies work to better understand child and forced labor issues and address stakeholders' concerns. This includes listening to stakeholders and evaluating opportunities to raise our standards for hired workers above those required by U.S. law.

Internationally, we buy tobacco from suppliers who source through direct relationships with their growers. Direct relationships provide supply chain traceability and we're able to audit those suppliers for compliance. Also, those suppliers must comply with minimum age employment requirements prescribed by the International Labour Organization conventions or applicable laws, whichever is higher.

We address child labor in tobacco farming through tools like our internal Child and Forced Labor Practices Policy, Supplier Code of Conduct, GAPC Certifications Program, STP and contract language. We work with the Farm Labor Practices Group (FLPG), a multi-stakeholder group that addresses farm worker issues, including child labor.

Beginning in late 2013, Human Rights Watch (HRW) engaged the major tobacco companies and others about their child labor research on U.S. tobacco farms. Following conversations with HRW, growers and others, we changed our contracts with farmers to further address child labor concerns. Our grower contracts:

 

• establish a minimum employment age at 16 years with limited exceptions granted based on local, state and federal laws;
• require parental/legal guardian consent for those under 18 who want to work on the farm; and
• require Good Agricultural Practices training on a range of topics including:
  • preventing Green Tobacco Sickness and heat stress; 
  • keeping compliant wage records; and
  • preventing human trafficking.