What is common to Levi's jeans, Coca-Cola, Heineken beer, Nike sneakers and goods that are produced for sale in London's exclusive Harrods stores? They are all designer labels that use slave labour even today. 'Produced by slaves and consumed by slaves' is a tag that can be used to describe an alarming number of products available in the market today. This proves the fact that despite the international arena being competitive and organisations like the ILO and the UNICEF making all possible efforts to abolish modern-day slavery, at least five of the top international brands available in the retail outlets today are actually made by slaves, most of them women and children, who work in sweatshops in developing countries, suffer in appalling conditions and earn a pittance for all their efforts and hard work.

Countries like India, China, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, etc. are good sources of cheap and abundant labour. So the next time you wear a pair of jeans, drink a can of Coke or beer, wear a pair of cool sneakers and use any of the Harrods' merchandise, think again. They are made with the blood, sweat, tears and toil of people who work in the most atrocious circumstances.