I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4125

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

labeling system for wearing apparel and sporting goods made without

abusive and exploitative child labor, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 19, 1996

Mr. MILLER of California (for himself, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. BALDACCI, Mr.

BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. BONIOR,

Mr. BORSKI, Mr. BROWN of California, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr. CONYERS,

Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. DELLUMS, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. EVANS, Mr.

FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. FARR of California, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. FILNER, Mr.

FOGLIETTA, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. FROST, Mr. GEJDENSON,

Mr. GEPHARDT, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. HEFNER, Mr. HILLIARD, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts, Mr. LAFALCE, Mr. LANTOS, Mr.

LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. LIPINSKI, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. MANTON, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Mr.

MOAKLEY, Mr. MORAN, Mr. MURTHA, Mr. OBEY, Mr. OLVER, Mr.

OWENS, Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. RIVERS, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. SAWYER, Mrs. SCHROEDER, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. SPRATT, Mr. TORRICELLI, Mr.

UNDERWOOD, Mr. VENTO, Mr. WATT of North Carolina, Ms. WOOLSEY,

and Mr. YATES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Commerce

A BILL

To inform and empower consumers in the United States

through a voluntary labeling system for wearing apparel

and sporting goods made without abusive and exploitative

child labor, and for other purposes.
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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

5 Consumer Information Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that—

8 (1) the Secretary of Labor has conducted 2 de9 tailed studies that document the fact that abusive

10 and exploitative child labor exists worldwide;

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

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

13 that child laborers are often forced to work beyond

14 their physical capacities and under conditions that

15 threaten their health, safety, and development, and

16 are denied basic educational opportunities;

17 (3) in most instances, countries that have abu18 sive and exploitative child labor also experience a

19 high adult unemployment rate;

20 (4) the International Labor Organization (com21 monly known as the ‘‘ILO’’) estimates that hun22 dreds of millions of children are full-time workers,

23 and many of those children manufacture wearing ap24 parel and sporting goods that are offered for sale in

25 the United States;
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1 (5) consumers in the United States spend bil2 lions of dollars each year on wearing apparel and

3 sporting goods made by abusive and exploitative

4 child labor;

5 (6) consumers in the United States have the

6 right to information on whether the items of wearing

7 apparel and sporting goods that they purchase are

8 made without abusive and exploitative child labor;

9 (7) the labeling of wearing apparel and sporting

10 goods would provide the information referred to in

11 paragraph (5) to consumers; and

12 (8) it is important to recognize United States

13 businesses that have effective programs to ensure

14 that products sold in the United States are not

15 made with abusive and exploitative child labor.

16 TITLE I—CHILD LABOR FREE

17 LABELING STANDARDS

18 SEC. 101. LABELING STANDARDS.

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF LABELING STANDARDS.—

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

21 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec22 retary of Labor, in consultation with the Child

23 Labor Free Commission established under section

24 201 shall issue regulations to ensure that a label

25 using the terms ‘‘Not Made With Child Labor’’,
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1 ‘‘Child Labor Free’’, or any other term or symbol re2 ferring to child labor does not make a false state3 ment or suggestion that the article or section of

4 wearing apparel or sporting good was not made with

5 child labor. The regulations developed under this

6 section shall encourage the use of an easily identifi7 able symbol or term indicating that the article or

8 section of wearing apparel or sporting good was not

9 made with child labor.

10 (2) NOTIFICATION ON USE.—A producer, im11 porter, exporter, distributor, or other person intend12 ing to use any label referred to in paragraph (4)

13 shall notify the Commission not later than 60 days

14 after the product bearing that label becomes avail15 able to the public for purchase. Upon receipt of the

16 notification, the Commission shall review the notifi17 cation. A response from the Commission shall not be

18 required for use of the label.

19 (3) FEE.—The Secretary is authorized to

20 charge a fee to cover the expenses of the Commis21 sion in reviewing a notification under paragraph (2).

22 The level of fees charged under this subparagraph

23 shall not exceed the administrative costs incurred in

24 reviewing a notification. Fees collected under this

25 paragraph shall be available to the Secretary of
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1 Labor for expenses incurred in the review and re2 sponse of the Commission under this subsection.

3 (4) APPLICABILITY.—The regulations issued

4 under paragraph (1) shall apply to any label con5 tained in—

6 (A) an article or section of wearing apparel

7 or sporting good that is exported from or of8 fered for sale in the United States; or

9 (B) any packaging thereof.

10 (b) VIOLATION OF SECTION 5 OF THE FEDERAL

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

12 of the Federal Trade Commission Act for any producer,

13 importer, exporter, distributor, or seller of any article of

14 wearing apparel (or section of an article of wearing ap15 parel) or sporting good that is exported from or offered

16 for sale in the United States—

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

18 (or section) or sporting good or the packaging of the

19 article (or section) or sporting good that the article

20 (or section) or sporting good was not made with

21 child labor; or

22 (2) to otherwise falsely claim or suggest that

23 the article (or section) or sporting good was not

24 made with child labor.
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1 (c) AMENDMENT TO THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS2 SION ACT.—Section 5(m)(1) of the Federal Trade Com3 mission Act (15 U.S.C. 45(m)(1)) is amended—

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

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

6 subparagraph (D), the Commission’’;

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

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

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

10 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub11 paragraph:

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

13 subparagraph (A) or (B), in any case in which the Com14 mission commences a civil action for a violation of section

15 101 of the Child Labor Free Consumer Information Act

16 of 1996 under subparagraph (A) or under subparagraph

17 (B) for an unfair or deceptive practice that is considered

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

19 of such Act, if that violation is a knowing or willful viola20 tion, the amount of a civil penalty for the violation shall

21 be determined under clause (ii).

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

23 under clause (i) that is committed shall be—

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

25 the greater of—
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1 ‘‘(aa) 2 times the retail value of the arti2 cles of wearing apparel or sporting goods mis3 labeled; or

4 ‘‘(bb) $200,000; and

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

6 equal to the greater of—

7 ‘‘(aa) 4 times the retail value of the arti8 cles of wearing apparel or sporting goods mis9 labeled; or

10 ‘‘(bb) $400,000.’’.

11 (d) SPECIAL FUND TO ASSIST CHILDREN.—

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

13 in the United States Treasury a special fund to be

14 known as the Free the Children Fund.

15 (2) DEPOSITS INTO FUND.—An amount equal

16 to the amount of penalties collected under this sec17 tion shall be deposited into the special fund. The

18 Secretary of the Treasury shall, upon request of the

19 Secretary of the Labor, make the amounts deposited

20 into the special fund available to the Secretary of

21 Labor for use by the Secretary of Labor for edu22 cational and other programs described in paragraph

23 (3).

24 (3) AUTHORIZATION.—Amounts deposited into

25 the special fund are authorized to be appropriated
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1 annually for educational and other programs with

2 the goal of eliminating child labor.

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

4 FREE COMMISSION.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the procedures es6 tablished under section 5 of the Federal Trade Commis7 sion Act, the Child Labor Free Commission established

8 under section 201 shall assist the Federal Trade Commis9 sion by reviewing petitions under this section.

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

11 section shall—

12 (1) be submitted in such form, and in such

13 manner as the Federal Trade Commission, in con14 sultation with the Child Labor Free Commission,

15 shall prescribe;

16 (2) contain the name of the—

17 (A) petitioner; and

18 (B) person or entity involved in the alleged

19 violation of the labeling standards under section

20 101; and

21 (3) provide a detailed explanation of the alleged

22 violation, including all available evidence.

23 (c) REVIEW BY COMMISSION.—The Commission

24 shall—
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1 (1) to the maximum extent practicable, not

2 later than 90 days after receiving a petition, review

3 the petition to determine whether there appears to

4 have been a violation of the labeling standards; and

5 (2) upon completion of that review, forward

6 that petition to the Federal Trade Commission, to7 gether with a report by the Child Labor Free Com8 mission containing a determination by the Child

9 Labor Free Commission whether—

10 (A) it is appropriate for the Federal Trade

11 Commission, in consultation with the Secretary

12 of Labor, to take such action as may be nec13 essary under the Federal Trade Commission

14 Act to cause the person or entity in violation of

15 the labeling standards under section 101 to

16 cease and desist from violating those standards;

17 and

18 (B) there appears to have been a willful or

19 repeated violation of the labeling standards.

20 SEC. 103. COOPERATION BY THE SECRETARY OF COM21 MERCE.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—If, in the course of an investiga23 tion conducted by the Secretary of Commerce, the Sec24 retary of Commerce discovers a violation of the require-
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1 ments of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall report

2 that violation to the Secretary of Labor.

3 (b) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY OF LABOR.—The

4 Secretary of Labor shall review each report made by the

5 Secretary of Commerce under subsection (a), and, as ap6 propriate, refer the violation to the Federal Trade Com7 mission for enforcement under the Federal Trade Com8 mission Act.

9 TITLE II—CHILD LABOR FREE

10 COMMISSION

11 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com13 mission to be known as the Child Labor Free Commission.

14 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

15 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be

16 composed of 17 members, of whom—

17 (A) 1 shall be the Secretary of Commerce

18 or a designee of the Secretary of Commerce;

19 (B) 1 shall be the Secretary of the Treas20 ury or a designee of the Secretary of the Treas21 ury;

22 (C) 1 shall be the United States Trade

23 Representative or a designee of the United

24 States Trade Representative;
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1 (D) 1 shall be the Secretary of Labor or

2 a designee of the Secretary of Labor, who shall

3 serve as the Chairperson of the Commission;

4 (E) 3 shall be representatives of non5 governmental organizations that work toward

6 the eradication of abusive and exploitative child

7 labor and in the promotion of human rights,

8 appointed by the Secretary of Labor;

9 (F) 3 shall be representatives of labor or10 ganizations, appointed by the Secretary of

11 Labor;

12 (G) 3 shall be representatives of the wear13 ing apparel industry, appointed by the Sec14 retary of Labor;

15 (H) 3 shall be representatives of the sport16 ing goods industry; and

17 (I) 1 shall be an additional member, ap18 pointed by the Secretary of Labor.

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

20 of the Commission shall be made not later than 60

21 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

22 (c) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.—

23 (1) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—Each member of

24 the Commission who is an officer or employee of the

25 United States shall be appointed for the life of the
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1 Commission. Any vacancy in the Commission shall

2 not affect its powers, but shall be filled in the same

3 manner as the original appointment.

4 (2) NON-FEDERAL MEMBERS.—Each member

5 of the Commission who is not an officer or employee

6 of the Federal Government shall serve for a term of

7 4 years, except that in appointing the initial mem8 bers of the Commission, the Secretary of Labor shall

9 stagger the terms of the non-Federal members.

10 (d) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days after

11 the date on which all members of the Commission have

12 been appointed, the Commission shall hold its first meet13 ing.

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

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

16 of the members.

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

18 Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser num19 ber of members may hold hearings or other meetings.

20 SEC. 202. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

21 The Commission shall—

22 (1) assist the Secretary of Labor in developing

23 labeling standards under section 101; and

24 (2) assist the Secretary of Labor in developing

25 and implementing a system to ensure compliance
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1 with the labeling standards established under section

2 101, including—

3 (A) receiving, reviewing, and making rec4 ommendations for the resolution of petitions re5 ceived under section 102 that allege noncompli6 ance with the labeling standards under section

7 101;

8 (B) making recommendations to the Sec9 retary of Labor for the removal of labels subject

10 to the standards under section 101 that are

11 found to be in violation of those standards;

12 (C) assisting the Secretary of Labor in de13 veloping and implementing a system to promote

14 the increased use of the labeling standards

15 under section 101;

16 (D) publishing, not less frequently than bi17 annually, a list of persons and entities that

18 have notified the Commission of their intent to

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

20 (E) publishing, not less frequently than bi21 annually, a list of persons and entities found to

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

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

24 establishment of the Commission, commence devel25 oping an easily identifiable labeling standard that
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1 the Secretary of Labor shall issue to encourage the

2 use of voluntary labels ensuring consumers that an

3 article of wearing apparel or sporting good was

4 made without the use of sweatshop or exploited

5 adult labor.

6 SEC. 203. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

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

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

9 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission

10 considers advisable to carry out the duties of the Commis11 sion under this title.

12 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The

13 Commission may secure directly from any Federal depart14 ment or agency such information as the Commission con15 siders necessary to carry out the duties of the Commission

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

17 Commission, the head of such department or agency shall

18 furnish such information to the Commission.

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

20 the United States mails in the same manner and under

21 the same conditions as other departments and agencies of

22 the Federal Government.

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

24 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property.
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1 SEC. 204. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.

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

3 Commission who is not an officer or employee of the Fed4 eral Government shall serve without compensation.

5 (b) FEDERAL MEMBERS.—Each member of the Com6 mission who is an officer or employee of the United States

7 shall serve without compensation in addition to that re8 ceived for that member’s services as an officer or employee

9 of the United States.

10 SEC. 205. ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT SERVICES.

11 The Secretary of Labor shall, to the extent permitted

12 by law, provide the Commission with such administrative

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

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

15 TITLE III—RECOGNITION OF EX16 EMPLARY CORPORATE EF17 FORTS

18 SEC. 301. ANNUAL REPORT.

19 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment

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

21 Labor shall issue a report concerning companies that are

22 making exemplary progress in ensuring that products

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

24 made with abusive and exploitative child labor.
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1 SEC. 302. ADDITIONAL METHODS.

2 In addition to the reports made under section 301,

3 the Secretary of Labor in consultation with the Commis4 sion shall develop and implement other methods of provid5 ing recognition for exemplary programs carried out by

6 companies to ensure that products made, sold, or distrib7 uted by those companies are not made with abusive and

8 exploitative child labor.

9 TITLE IV—DEFINITIONS

10 SEC. 401. DEFINITIONS.

11 For purposes of this Act, the following definitions

12 shall apply:

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

14 (A) an individual who has not attained the

15 age of 15 years, as measured by the Julian cal16 endar; or

17 (B) an individual who has not attained the

18 age of 14 years, as measured by the Julian cal19 endar, in the case of an individual who resides

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

21 such an individual.

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

23 means the Child Labor Free Commission established

24 under section 201.

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

26 of written, printed, or graphic matter on or affixed
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1 to an article of wearing apparel or a sporting good

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

3 that meets the standards described in section

4 101(a).

5 (4) MADE WITH CHILD LABOR.—

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—A manufactured article

7 or section of wearing apparel or a sporting good

8 shall be considered to have been made with

9 child labor if the article or section—

10 (i) was fabricated, assembled, or proc11 essed in whole or in part; or

12 (ii) contains any part that was fab13 ricated assembled, or processed in whole or

14 in part,

15 by any child described in subparagraph (B).

16 (B) COVERED CHILDREN.—A child is de17 scribed in this subparagraph if that child en18 gaged in the fabrication, assembly, or process19 ing of the article or section—

20 (i) in exchange for remuneration

21 (without regard to whom the remuneration

22 is paid), subsistence, goods or services, or

23 any combination thereof;

24 (ii) under circumstances tantamount

25 to involuntary servitude; or
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1 (iii) under exposure to toxic sub2 stances or working conditions that other3 wise pose serious health hazards.

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

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

6 the Secretary of Labor.

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

8 apparel’’ shall have the meaning provided that term

9 by the Secretary of Labor.

Æ