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42 U. Pa. J. Int'l L. 1 (2020-2021)
From Bitter to Better: A Collective Effort to Improve Workers' Rights in the Coffee Industry

handle is hein.journals/upjiel42 and id is 2 raw text is: FROM BITTER TO BETTER: A COLLECTIVE EFFORT TO IMPROVE WORKERS' RIGHTS IN THE COFFEE INDUSTRY DR. YING CHEN * ABSTRACT Coffee has become a staple in our everyday life. We reach for our coffee machine or French press in the morning before turning our minds to work or school. We crave that caffeine hit to kick-start the morning and have a productive day. However, while we enjoy our coffee, very few of us think about where our coffee comes from and under what conditions the beans are produced. Nowadays, coffee production is still closely linked to child labor, forced labor, poor working conditions, unfair wages, and many other forms of human rights violations. These issues have attracted some media attention. However, they have not generated much academic interest among scholars. Existing literature often focuses on a single issue, such as child labor, or they favor a single-solution approach, such as fair trade. This Article acknowledges that the existing literature has provided great insight into individual labor issues in the coffee industry. However, piecemeal approaches often struggle to bring about rapid improvement and they lead to suboptimal results. This Article aims to provide a holistic approach to improve global labor practices in the coffee industry. It argues that no individual or individual organization can solve labor issues in the global supply chains on its own. Rather, a collective effort across * Dr. Ying Chen, Lecturer in Law, Chair of International Advisory Group, University of New England (UNE) School of Law, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia. Email: ychen56@une.edu.au. The author would like to thank Professor Michael Adams, Head of UNE Law School, for his continuous encouragement and support. The author is also grateful to Ms. Carlie Drew, Ms. Celina Antonellis, and the University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law editors for their helpful suggestions. The responsibility for any oversights or mistakes remains mine alone. 1

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