Outland Denim wins Stop Slavery Award

Outland Denim, billed as the world’s most humanitarian denim, has received the global Thomson Reuters 2020 Stop Slavery Enterprise Award for small and medium-sized companies, for their efforts to eradicate forced labour.

The award recognises companies around the world that have taken “concrete steps to eradicate forced labour from their supply chains and business operations” and Outland Denim, which employs survivors and vulnerable women in Cambodia, was praised for its “wide-ranging approach to helping staff”.

James Bartle, founding chief executive of Outland Denim, said in a statement: “It's time for small, medium and large business to stand and stop accepting slavery as part of our products or services. It is time for us to stop turning a blind eye or hoping it doesn’t exist; we need to actively look for it.”

Outland Denim jeans are crafted in the label’s stand-alone production and finishing facilities in Cambodia, which was founded to offer holistic support, training and employment to young women who have experienced exploitation, human trafficking and other human rights violations.

The company was praised for providing its staff with a living wage and education, as well as offering each of its seamstresses training across all aspects of garment making.

The award came as the Australian-based brand prepares to launch in Nordstrom and Bloomingdales.

Image: courtesy of Outland Denim