In addition to the standard Fair Labor Association assessments, in 2020 the FLA also collected information about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Balsu hazelnut supply chain in Sakarya, Turkey.
2015-2017 Independent External Monitoring and Independent External Verification Reports of Shared Hazelnut Supply Chain in Turkey: Nestle, Balsu, and Olam
Every summer, tens of thousands of seasonal workers migrate to agriculture production areas across Turkey. A majority of these workers are from the southeastern Turkey and they travel as family groups moving from crop to crop for six to eight months each year. Often, the children work alongside their migrant parents, contributing to the household income, but at the expense of their personal development.
In addition to the standard Fair Labor Association assessments, in 2020 the FLA also collected information about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Balsu hazelnut supply chain in Sakarya, Turkey.
2015-2017 Independent External Monitoring and Independent External Verification Reports of Shared Hazelnut Supply Chain in Turkey: Nestle, Balsu, and Olam
The FLA outlines the findings of research to test interventions designed to protect workers in the supply chains of three affiliates. The evaluation, called a social impact assessment, included interventions executed by Nestlé and its two suppliers, Balsu and Olam, in the hazelnut supply chain in Turkey and identified the most effective at upholding workers’ rights.
The Fair Labor Association commissioned this study to explore the relationship between the procurement price and working conditions in hazelnut production in Turkey (with a special focus on child labor and forced labor), and review different actors’ roles in the supply chain, as part of the project “Piloting the USDA Guidelines for Eliminating Child Labor and Forced Labor in the Hazelnut Supply Chain in Turkey”.