II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1549

To inform and empower consumers in the United States through a voluntary

labeling system for wearing apparel or sporting goods made without

abusive and exploitative child labor, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 5, 1999

Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Mr. HOLLINGS, and Mr. DORGAN) introduced the

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on

Commerce, Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To inform and empower consumers in the United States

through a voluntary labeling system for wearing apparel

or sporting goods made without abusive and exploitative

child labor, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Labor Free Con5 sumer Information Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—
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1 (1) the Secretary of Labor has conducted at

2 least 5 detailed studies that document the fact that

3 abusive and exploitative child labor exists worldwide;

4 (2) the Secretary of Labor has also determined,

5 through the studies referred to in paragraph (1),

6 that child laborers are often forced to work beyond

7 their physical capacities or under conditions that

8 threaten their health, safety, and development, and

9 are denied basic educational opportunities;

10 (3) in most instances, countries that have abu11 sive and exploitative child labor also experience a

12 high adult unemployment rate;

13 (4) the International Labor Organization (com14 monly known as the ‘‘ILO’’) in 1999 estimated

15 that—

16 (A) approximately 250,000,000 children

17 who are ages 5 through 14 are working in de18 veloping countries; and

19 (B) many of those children manufacture

20 wearing apparel or sporting goods that are of21 fered for sale in the United States;

22 (5) consumers in the United States spend bil23 lions of dollars each year on wearing apparel and

24 sporting goods;
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1 (6) consumers in the United States have the

2 right to information on whether the articles of wear3 ing apparel (including any section of that wearing

4 apparel) or sporting goods that the consumers pur5 chase are made without abusive and exploitative

6 child labor;

7 (7) the rugmark labeling and monitoring system

8 is a successful model for eliminating abusive and ex9 ploitative child labor in the rug industry;

10 (8) the labeling of wearing apparel or sporting

11 goods would provide the information referred to in

12 paragraph (6) to consumers; and

13 (9) it is important to recognize United States

14 businesses that have effective programs to ensure

15 that products sold in the United States are not

16 made with abusive and exploitative child labor.

17 TITLE I—CHILD LABOR FREE

18 LABELING STANDARDS

19 SEC. 101. CHILD LABOR FREE LABELING STANDARDS.

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF LABELING STANDARDS.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec23 retary of Labor, in consultation with the Child

24 Labor Free Commission established under section

25 201, shall issue regulations to ensure that a label
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1 using the terms ‘‘Not Made With Child Labor’’,

2 ‘‘Child Labor Free’’, or any other term or symbol re3 ferring to child labor does not make a false state4 ment or suggestion that an article or section of

5 wearing apparel or sporting good was not made with

6 child labor. The regulations developed under this

7 section shall encourage the use of an easily identifi8 able symbol or term indicating that the article or

9 section of wearing apparel or sporting good was not

10 made with child labor.

11 (2) NOTIFICATION ON USE.—

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—A producer, importer,

13 exporter, distributor, or other person intending

14 to use any label referred to in paragraph (1)

15 shall submit a notification to the Commission

16 for review under subparagraph (C).

17 (B) NOTIFICATION.—The notification re18 ferred to in subparagraph (A) shall include in19 formation concerning the source of the article

20 or section of wearing apparel or sporting good

21 to which the label will be affixed, including in22 formation on—

23 (i) the country in which the article or

24 section of wearing apparel or sporting good

25 is manufactured;
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1 (ii) the name and location of the man2 ufacturer; and

3 (iii) any outsourcing by the manufac4 turer in the manufacture of the article or

5 section of wearing apparel or sporting

6 good.

7 (C) REVIEW OF NOTIFICATION.—Upon re8 ceipt of the notification, the Commission shall

9 review the notification and inform the Secretary

10 of Labor concerning the findings of the review.

11 The permission of the Secretary of Labor shall

12 be required for the use of the label. The Sec13 retary of Labor, in consultation with the Com14 mission, shall establish procedures for granting

15 permission to use a label under this subpara16 graph.

17 (3) FEE.—The Secretary of Labor is authorized

18 to charge a fee to cover the expenses of the Commis19 sion in reviewing a notification under paragraph (2).

20 The level of fees charged under this paragraph shall

21 not exceed the administrative costs incurred in re22 viewing a notification. Fees collected under this

23 paragraph shall be available to the Secretary of

24 Labor for expenses incurred in the review and re25 sponse of the Commission under this subsection.
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1 (4) APPLICABILITY.—The regulations issued

2 under paragraph (1) shall apply to any label con3 tained in or affixed to—

4 (A) an article or section of wearing apparel

5 or sporting good that is exported from or of6 fered for sale in the United States;

7 (B) any packaging for an article or section

8 of wearing apparel or sporting good referred to

9 in subparagraph (A); or

10 (C) any advertising for an article or sec11 tion of wearing apparel or sporting good re12 ferred to in subparagraph (A).

13 (5) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The regulations issued

14 under paragraph (1) shall take effect on the date

15 that is 180 days after the date of publication as

16 final regulations.

17 (b) VIOLATION OF SECTION 5 OF THE FEDERAL

18 TRADE COMMISSION ACT.—It is a violation of section 5

19 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) for

20 any producer, importer, exporter, distributor, or seller of

21 any article or section of wearing apparel or sporting good

22 that is exported from or offered for sale in the United

23 States—

24 (1) to falsely indicate on the label of that article

25 or section of wearing apparel or sporting good, the
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1 packaging of the article or section of wearing ap2 parel or sporting good, or any advertising for the ar3 ticle or section of wearing apparel or sporting good

4 that the article or section of wearing apparel or

5 sporting good was not made with child labor; or

6 (2) to otherwise falsely claim or suggest that

7 the article (or section of that article) of wearing ap8 parel or sporting good was not made with child

9 labor.

10 (c) AMENDMENT TO THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS11 SION ACT.—Section 5(m)(1) of the Federal Trade Com12 mission Act (15 U.S.C. 45(m)(1)) is amended—

13 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘The

14 Commission’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in

15 subparagraph (D), the Commission’’;

16 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘If the

17 Commission’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in

18 subparagraph (D), if the Commission’’; and

19 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub20 paragraph:

21 ‘‘(D)(i)(I) In lieu of the applicable civil penalty under

22 subparagraph (A) or (B), in any case in which the Com23 mission commences a civil action for a violation of section

24 101 of the Child Labor Free Consumer Information Act

25 of 1999 under subparagraph (A), under subparagraph (B)
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1 for an unfair or deceptive practice that is considered to

2 be a violation of this section by reason of section 101(b)

3 of such Act, or under subparagraph (C) for a continuing

4 failure that is considered to be a violation of this section

5 by reason of section 101(b) of such Act, if that violation—

6 ‘‘(aa) is a knowing or willful violation, the

7 amount of a civil penalty for the violation shall be

8 determined under clause (ii); or

9 ‘‘(bb) is not a knowing or willful violation, no

10 penalty shall be assessed against the person, part11 nership, or corporation that committed the violation.

12 ‘‘(II) For purposes of this subparagraph, if in an ac13 tion referred to in subclause (I), the Commission asserts

14 that a violation is a knowing and willful violation, the de15 fendant shall bear the burden of proving otherwise.

16 ‘‘(ii) The amount of a civil penalty for a violation

17 under clause (i)(I)(aa) that is committed shall be—

18 ‘‘(I) for an initial violation, an amount equal to

19 the greater of—

20 ‘‘(aa) 2 times the retail value of the arti21 cles of wearing apparel or sporting goods mis22 labeled; or

23 ‘‘(bb) $200,000; and

24 ‘‘(II) for any subsequent violation, an amount

25 equal to the greater of—
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1 ‘‘(aa) 4 times the retail value of the arti2 cles of wearing apparel or sporting goods mis3 labeled; or

4 ‘‘(bb) $400,000.’’.

5 (d) SPECIAL FUND TO ASSIST CHILDREN.—

6 (1) CREATION OF FUND.—There is established

7 in the United States Treasury a special fund to be

8 known as the ‘‘Free the Children Fund’’.

9 (2) TRANSFERS INTO FUND.—There are appro10 priated to the special fund amounts equivalent to the

11 penalties collected under this section (including the

12 amendments made by this section). The Secretary of

13 the Treasury shall, upon request of the Secretary of

14 Labor, make the amounts in the special fund avail15 able to the Secretary of Labor for use by the Sec16 retary of Labor for educational and other programs

17 described in paragraph (3).

18 (3) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts deposited into the

19 special fund shall be available for educational and

20 other programs with the goal of eliminating child

21 labor.

22 (e) OTHER INDUSTRIES.—The Commission may, as

23 appropriate, develop labeling standards similar to the la24 beling standards developed under this section for any in25 dustry that is not otherwise covered under this Act and
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1 recommend to the Secretary of Labor that those standards

2 be promulgated. If the standards are promulgated by the

3 Secretary of Labor—

4 (1) the provisions of this Act and the amend5 ments made by this Act shall apply to the labeling

6 covered by those standards in the same manner as

7 they apply to any other standards promulgated by

8 the Secretary of Labor under this section; and

9 (2) it shall be a violation of section 5 of the

10 Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) for

11 any producer, importer, exporter, distributor, or sell12 er of any good that is covered under the labeling

13 standards and that is exported from or offered for

14 sale in the United States—

15 (A) to falsely indicate on the label of that

16 good, the packaging of the good, or any related

17 advertising that the good was not made with

18 child labor; or

19 (B) to otherwise falsely claim or suggest

20 that the good was not made with child labor.

21 SEC. 102. REVIEW OF PETITIONS BY THE CHILD LABOR

22 FREE COMMISSION.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the procedures es24 tablished under section 5 of the Federal Trade Commis25 sion Act (15 U.S.C. 45), the Child Labor Free Commis-
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1 sion established under section 201 shall assist the Federal

2 Trade Commission by reviewing petitions under this sec3 tion.

4 (b) CONTENTS OF PETITIONS.—A petition under this

5 section shall—

6 (1) be submitted in such form and in such man7 ner as the Federal Trade Commission, in consulta8 tion with the Secretary of Labor and the Child

9 Labor Free Commission, shall prescribe;

10 (2) contain the name of the—

11 (A) petitioner; and

12 (B) person or entity involved in the alleged

13 violation of the labeling standards under section

14 101; and

15 (3) provide a detailed explanation of the alleged

16 violation, including all available evidence.

17 (c) REVIEW BY COMMISSION.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall, to

19 the maximum extent practicable, not later than 90

20 days after receiving a petition, review the petition to

21 determine whether there appears to have been a vio22 lation of the labeling standards.

23 (2) ACTION BY THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS24 SION.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Upon completion of a

2 review conducted under paragraph (1), the

3 Commission shall forward the petition to the

4 Secretary of Labor, together with a report by

5 the Commission containing a determination by

6 the Commission concerning the merits of the

7 petition, including whether a violation of the la8 beling standards occurred and whether there

9 appears to have been a knowing and willful

10 (within the meaning of section 5(m)(1)(D)(i) of

11 the Federal Trade Commission Act, as added

12 by section 101(c) of this Act) or repeated viola13 tion of those standards.

14 (B) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY OF

15 LABOR.—Upon receipt of the petition and re16 port, the Secretary of Labor shall—

17 (i) forward a copy of the petition and

18 report to the Federal Trade Commission

19 for review by the Federal Trade Commis20 sion; and

21 (ii) review the petition and report.

22 (3) TEMPORARY WITHDRAWAL OF PERMISSION;

23 ORDER TO CEASE AND DESIST.—

24 (A) TEMPORARY WITHDRAWAL OF PERMIS25 SION.—If the Secretary of Labor determines,
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1 on the basis of the report referred to in para2 graph (2), that there is a substantial likelihood

3 that a violation of the labeling standards pro4 mulgated under section 101 has occurred, the

5 Secretary of Labor may temporarily withdraw

6 the permission granted under section

7 101(a)(2)(C) and inform the Federal Trade

8 Commission of the action and the reason for

9 the action.

10 (B) ORDER TO CEASE AND DESIST.—If the

11 Federal Trade Commission concurs with a de12 termination of the Child Labor Free Commis13 sion in the report referred to in subparagraph

14 (A) that a violation of the labeling standards

15 has occurred, the Federal Trade Commission

16 shall take such action as may be necessary

17 under the Federal Trade Commission Act (15

18 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) to cause the person or entity

19 in violation of the labeling standards under sec20 tion 101 to cease and desist from violating

21 those standards immediately upon that concur22 rence.
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1 TITLE II—CHILD LABOR FREE

2 COMMISSION

3 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com5 mission to be known as the ‘‘Child Labor Free Commis6 sion’’.

7 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

8 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be

9 composed of 17 members, of whom—

10 (A) 1 shall be the Secretary of Commerce

11 or a designee of the Secretary of Commerce;

12 (B) 1 shall be the Secretary of the Treas13 ury or a designee of the Secretary of the Treas14 ury;

15 (C) 1 shall be the United States Trade

16 Representative or a designee of the United

17 States Trade Representative;

18 (D) 1 shall be the Secretary of Labor or

19 a designee of the Secretary of Labor, who shall

20 serve as the Chairperson of the Commission;

21 (E) 3 shall be representatives of non22 governmental organizations that work toward

23 the eradication of abusive and exploitative child

24 labor and the promotion of human rights, ap25 pointed by the Secretary of Labor;
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1 (F) 3 shall be representatives of labor or2 ganizations, appointed by the Secretary of

3 Labor;

4 (G) 3 shall be representatives of the wear5 ing apparel industry, appointed by the Sec6 retary of Labor;

7 (H) 3 shall be representatives of the sport8 ing goods industry, appointed by the Secretary

9 of Labor; and

10 (I) 1 additional member shall be appointed

11 by the Secretary of Labor.

12 (2) DATE.—The appointments of the members

13 of the Commission shall be made not later than 60

14 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

15 (c) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.—

16 (1) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT.—Each member

17 of the Commission shall serve for a term of 4 years,

18 except that in appointing the initial members of the

19 Commission, the Secretary of Labor shall stagger

20 the terms of the members who are not officers or

21 employees of the United States.

22 (2) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commis23 sion shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in

24 the same manner as the original appointment.
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1 (d) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days

2 after the date on which all members of the Commission

3 have been appointed, the Commission shall hold its first

4 meeting.

5 (e) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the

6 call of the Chairperson or at the request of a majority

7 of the members.

8 (f) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the

9 Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser num10 ber of members may hold hearings or other meetings.

11 SEC. 202. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

12 The Commission shall—

13 (1) assist the Secretary of Labor in developing

14 labeling standards under section 101;

15 (2) assist the Secretary of Labor in developing

16 and implementing a system to ensure compliance

17 with the labeling standards established under section

18 101, including—

19 (A) receiving, reviewing, and making rec20 ommendations for the resolution of petitions re21 ceived under section 102 that allege noncompli22 ance with the labeling standards under section

23 101;

24 (B) making recommendations to the Sec25 retary of Labor for the removal of labels subject
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1 to the standards under section 101 that are

2 found to be in violation of those standards;

3 (C) assisting the Secretary of Labor in de4 veloping and implementing a system to promote

5 the increased use of the labeling standards

6 under section 101;

7 (D) publishing, not less frequently than

8 annually, a list of persons and entities that

9 have notified the Commission of their intent to

10 use a label under section 101(a)(2); and

11 (E) publishing, not less frequently than

12 annually, a list of persons and entities found to

13 be in violation of any provision of this Act; and

14 (3) not later than 1 year after the date of the

15 establishment of the Commission, commence a study

16 into the feasibility of developing an easily identifi17 able labeling standard that the Secretary of Labor

18 may issue to encourage the use of voluntary labels

19 that ensure consumers that an article of wearing ap20 parel or sporting good was made without the use of

21 sweatshop or exploited adult labor.

22 SEC. 203. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

23 (a) HEARINGS.—The Commission may hold such

24 hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take such

25 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission
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1 considers advisable to carry out the duties of the Commis2 sion under this title.

3 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The

4 Commission may secure directly from any Federal depart5 ment or agency such information as the Commission con6 siders necessary to carry out the duties of the Commission

7 under this title. Upon request of the Chairperson of the

8 Commission, the head of such department or agency shall

9 furnish such information to the Commission.

10 (c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use

11 the United States mails in the same manner and under

12 the same conditions as other departments and agencies of

13 the Federal Government.

14 (d) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, and

15 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property.

16 SEC. 204. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.

17 (a) NON-FEDERAL MEMBERS.—Each member of the

18 Commission who is not an officer or employee of the Fed19 eral Government shall serve without compensation.

20 (b) FEDERAL MEMBERS.—Each member of the Com21 mission who is an officer or employee of the United States

22 shall serve without compensation in addition to that re23 ceived for that member’s services as an officer or employee

24 of the United States.
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1 SEC. 205. ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT SERVICES.

2 The Secretary of Labor shall, to the extent permitted

3 by law, provide the Commission with such administrative

4 services, funds, facilities, staff, and other support services

5 as may be necessary for the performance of its functions.

6 SEC. 206. PERMANENCY.

7 Section 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act

8 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Commission.

9 TITLE III—RECOGNITION OF EX10 EMPLARY CORPORATE EF11 FORTS

12 SEC. 301. ANNUAL REPORT.

13 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment

14 of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of

15 Labor shall issue a report concerning companies that are

16 making exemplary progress in ensuring that products

17 made, sold, or distributed by those companies are not

18 made with abusive and exploitative child labor.

19 SEC. 302. ADDITIONAL METHODS.

20 In addition to the reports made under section 301,

21 the Secretary of Labor in consultation with the Commis22 sion shall develop and implement other methods of pro23 viding recognition for exemplary programs carried out by

24 companies to ensure that products made, sold, or distrib25 uted by those companies are not made with abusive and

26 exploitative child labor.
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1 TITLE IV—DEFINITIONS

2 SEC. 401. DEFINITIONS.

3 In this Act:

4 (1) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means—

5 (A) an individual who has not attained the

6 age of 15 years, as measured by the Julian cal7 endar; or

8 (B) an individual who has not attained the

9 age of 14 years, as measured by the Julian cal10 endar, in the case of an individual who resides

11 in a country that, by law, defines a child as

12 such an individual.

13 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’

14 means the Child Labor Free Commission established

15 under section 201.

16 (3) LABEL.—The term ‘‘label’’ means a display

17 of written, printed, or graphic matter on or affixed

18 to an article of wearing apparel or a sporting good

19 or on the packaging of the article or a sporting good

20 that meets the standards described in section

21 101(a).

22 (4) MADE WITH CHILD LABOR.—

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—A manufactured article

24 or section of wearing apparel or a sporting good
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1 shall be considered to have been made with

2 child labor if the article or section—

3 (i) was fabricated, assembled, or proc4 essed in whole or in part; or

5 (ii) contains any part that was fab6 ricated, assembled, or processed in whole

7 or in part,

8 by any child described in subparagraph (B).

9 (B) COVERED CHILDREN.—A child is de10 scribed in this subparagraph if that child en11 gaged in the fabrication, assembly, or proc12 essing of the article or section—

13 (i) under circumstances that the Sec14 retary of Labor considers to be abusive or

15 exploitative;

16 (ii) under circumstances tantamount

17 to involuntary servitude; or

18 (iii) under—

19 (I) exposure to toxic substances

20 or working conditions that otherwise

21 pose serious health hazards; or

22 (II) working conditions that re23 sult in the child’s being deprived of

24 basic educational opportunities.
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1 (5) PRODUCER.—The term ‘‘producer’’ includes

2 a contractor or subcontractor of a manufacturer of

3 all or part of a good.

4 (6) SPORTING GOOD.—The term ‘‘sporting

5 good’’ shall have the meaning provided that term by

6 the Secretary of Labor.

7 (7) WEARING APPAREL.—The term ‘‘wearing

8 apparel’’ shall have the meaning provided that term

9 by the Secretary of Labor.

Æ