Interactive world map: Global supply chains

As set out in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, 2025 was supposed to be the year in which we end child labour in all its forms. However, the reality is very different. Child labour has not decreased in recent years, not least due to the multiple crises and wars we are facing. Around 140 million children worldwide are still currently in child labour, although the real figure is estimated to be much higher.

Supply chain laws are a crucial instrument for making globalisation more socially fair, resilient and sustainable. They are also vital in the fight against child labour. Countries like Germany, France, Australia, Norway and the USA have already passed laws that directly or indirectly address child labour in the supply chains of multinational companies.

The new interactive map from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung shows what legal requirements for corporate due diligence have been established worldwide and what differences between these laws exist. The map clearly shows how a paradigm shift has been underway for many years and how voluntary commitments from companies are no longer enough.

Supply chain laws have faced criticism and objections from the outset. In the past year, however, discussions in Germany and across Europe have intensified to such an extent that the debate is now dominated by numerous falsehoods and fallacies, with measures to protect people and the environment repeatedly being equated with bureaucracy. That’s why we have presented the key arguments in favour of supply chain legislation on our website. Here, we clear up the misinformation and explain why an effective EU supply chain law is needed more urgently than ever before.

• Discover the interactive world map that shows what corporate due diligence requirements have already been established, in which countries they apply and how they differ from each other.

• Read the key arguments that explain why supply chain laws are indispensable for a sustainable and social economy.