Anna Canning
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annacanning.bsky.social
Anna Canning
@annacanning.bsky.social
180 followers 260 following 130 posts
Communication/campaigns. I talk a lot about labor, human rights, & calling out corporate nonsense. Also making gardens, woolen things, attempts at a better world through food systems. Portland, OR
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annacanning.bsky.social
Good news! Lucky Brand to pay $500,000 to garment workers.
This case has immediate impact ($$$ in people's hands) & sets a precedent: No matter the layers of opaque ownership, brands are ultimately responsible for the consequences of their purchasing practices.
dignityandrights.org/2025/09/toge...
A former worker from the Industrial Hana factory holds a sign that reads "Thank you for the solidarity! We are proud to finally receive the pay we deserve" /"Gracias por su solidaridad! Estamos orgullosos que finalmentee recibimos el pago que merecemos!" The sign is in English and Spanish as the factory was in Guatemala selling to Lucky Brand among others
September 26, 2025 at 3:02 PM
annacanning.bsky.social
Starting soon! We'll be hearing from women who sorted frankincense in doTERRA's supply chains, as well as the advocates who pursued the forced labor import ban because the abuses were so egregious.

Register to join - & share with the essential oil fans in your life
: bit.ly/HealingForWhom
Image is the flyer for a webinar taking place Sept 16 at 1pm ET/10am PT. The webinar title is Healing for Whom? Addressing Human Trafficking in Essential Oil Brand doTERRA's Frankincense Supply Chain. The link to register is: bit.ly/HealingForWhom Alongside the words, there is a picture of a woman in Somaliland wearing a warm gold dress. She's holding frankincense resin in her cupped hands over an open bag of more frankincense resin and more bags of resin are stacked behind her.
September 16, 2025 at 3:01 PM
annacanning.bsky.social
Good news: there's an AI solution for everyone's main Excel use case: summarizing a survey of how people feel about their office coffee.

Bad news: it shouldn't be used for anything "high stakes" like the financial reporting that most people actually use Excel for
www.theverge.com/news/761338/...
August 19, 2025 at 9:59 PM
annacanning.bsky.social
Salsa season is here.
A giant bowl of tomatillos sits on the dried up late summer grass next to a smaller bowl of tomatoes. Photo is of a counter absolutely covered in pint-sized canning jars. The jars hold 18 pints of pear salsa, 7 pints of pickled pears, & probably at least an ounce of heat-wave fueled sweat.
August 15, 2025 at 3:26 AM
annacanning.bsky.social
"Just living day to day" is a "cultural thing" and not a consequence of cocoa prices 🤡
Screenshot from article linked above quoting Barry Callebaut's marketing director saying "Very honestly when you know the African culture, it's different from how we live today. We earn money, we put some aside... They are living really from day to day, they have another attitude - which is perfectly fine," she told ConfectioneryNews at an industry event."
July 17, 2025 at 8:09 PM
annacanning.bsky.social
Happening tomorrow! We'll be talking about the industry that's helping the likes of Amazon & Nike dodge accountability for abuses in their supply chains.
Join worker leaders & advocates from 3 continents.

From the RSVPs, looks like it should be a lively conversation
us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Graphic for the webinar has the title "Checking Boxes, Cheating Workers: How Social Audit Firms are Complicit in Labor Rights Abuses." The bitly link to register is below, bit.ly/CheckingBoxes Next to the words is a picture of a woman who used to work at VK Garment factory in Thailand, one of the case studies in the report. She's holding a handwritten sign that says "Intertek [one of the social auditing firms in the report] failed to protect us!" Her face is serious as she stands in front of a background of plants in a residential-looking neighborhood. The Partners for Dignity and Rights logo is also on the graphic.
July 7, 2025 at 4:46 PM
annacanning.bsky.social
New report: lots has been said about how social auditing firms fail to detect even some of the most worst abuses.
My new report builds on that, examining 3 case studies & showing how social auditors are actually helping cover abuses & delay remedy for workers.

dignityandrights.org/resources/ch...
Photo of a woman who used to work for VK Garment factory in Thailand. She's holding up a hand-written paper sign that says "Intertek failed to protect us" (referring to the auditing firm Intertek). Below her is the title of the report linked in the thread: "Checking boxes, Cheating Workers: How social audit firms are complicit in labor abuses"
June 26, 2025 at 8:36 PM
annacanning.bsky.social
Webinar alert! Join the conversation with union leaders & worker rights advocates talking about the fight for decent work in supply chains & the role of international solidarity in holding corporations accountable.

Register & join me
us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Graphic says "Unraveled Commitments: The Global Impact of Fruit of the Loom’s Unionized Factory Shutdowns" below is the Partners for Dignity & Rights logo. The link it biy.ly/UnraveledCommitments. On the right is a photo of a group of Honduran trade unionists holding up signs protesting Fruit of the Loom in front of the Jerzees Nuevo Dia factory, which had represented their "new day" in human rights commitments before the chose to close it down.
June 2, 2025 at 4:24 PM
annacanning.bsky.social
Quote from a meeting today.
A photo of a piece of scrap paper where I wrote in my weird semi-cursive script “things are infinitely more difficult now.” The writing can’t capture the dry British accent & demeanor of the guy who said them, but imagine it
April 10, 2025 at 12:09 AM
annacanning.bsky.social
"If we deport people, food will be more expensive" is a bad argument against deportation.
It's going to be used as a reason to expand the guestworker program, which is appallingly exploitative as people's legal status is tied to their employer.

Great article on orgs to support in this time
Screenshot from article linked in 1st tweet: Can you talk about the implications for guestworker programs under Trump? Franks: The biggest thing we’ve been calling out is the growth of guestworker programs like H2A. In our eyes, this is a slave-like program. It’s legalized human trafficking. Mass deportations will open up the door to bring in more guestworkers, which will intensify the exploitation of farmworkers. All this goes hand in hand with anti-immigrant rhetoric. People say they don’t want immigrants here, but that we need their labor. The H2A program provides that. It’s a way to bring immigrants to the U.S. and exploit them with no way of ever becoming a resident or a citizen. They’re just disposable labor.
November 19, 2024 at 5:58 PM
annacanning.bsky.social
Lie 5: Stealing from workers is justified
There's no way to justify stealing wages. But this time Nike's lie was way too easily fact-checked.
Nike's supplier -& Nike- stole from workers not because they had to but because they could.
Screenshot from linked report reads: Universities in the U.S. are a key customer group for Nike, which manufactures their branded apparel. When concerned universities brought these violations of their code of conduct (and workers’ fundamental rights) to Nike, Nike explained the absurd notion that workers would forfeit their much-needed wages with a new lie. And that lie was even more bold than the others. Nike claimed that Hong Seng Knitting was facing such grave financial challenges that the workers feared the factory would close and thus they willingly gave up their wages to keep the company solvent. Once again, the evidence disproves this claim. WRC obtained Hong Seng Knitting’s financial reporting from the period in question. Hong Seng reported a profit - indeed, they paid out a dividend of nearly half a million dollars to their owners at that time (the initial wages owed to workers were approximately half million dollars as well; with interest that now stands at $800,000 and count
July 29, 2024 at 5:47 PM
annacanning.bsky.social
Lie 1 cont:
The Violet Apparel/Ramatex case shows how corporations use lack of transparency & long chains of subcontractors to dodge human rights responsibilities.
The irony: even as Nike distances themselves from that chain, they're also giving out awards to that same supplier
Two photos show boring, corporate-looking awards on a black marble conference room looking table. If you zoom in, you can see that they're from Nike to Ramatex for being such a good supplier. There's lots of irony here, but critical to note that these awards are for the same period that Nike now says Ramatex was illegally subcontracting. For more irony, there's a decorative printing on the wall above the awards that says "Your Brand is Our Brand, Our Factory is Your Factory." The caption reads "Photos from Ramatex Group's website taken April 2024 showing multiple awards from Nike."
July 29, 2024 at 5:44 PM
annacanning.bsky.social
Lie 1: Not our supplier.
Nike claims that they have no responsibility for workers at the Violet Apparel factory. That's despite numerous photos from inside the factory showing their logo.
Either Nike doesn't know its own supply chain (bad) or they're lying (also bad)
Photos from inside the Violet Apparel factory show Nike products with logos, hang tags, and instructions on placing sizing and care tags. The caption reads "Photos from Violet Apparel taken by workers before the factory closed down showing Nike products"
July 29, 2024 at 5:43 PM
annacanning.bsky.social
There's lots more to discuss!
Come to a webinar on Thursday, Oct 26 hosted by Corporate Accountability Lab to discuss the findings w/ me, co-author Dr James Daria & Abelina Ramirez Ruiz of the union SINDJA.
Webinar is in English & Spanish
us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Graphic has the cover of the report, “Certified Exploitation: How Equitable Food Initiative and Fair Trade USA Fail to Protect Farmworkers in the Mexican Produce Industry.” on one side. It’s a picture of a man, his face covered with just his eyes staring straight at the camera. He stands in the middle of a field of strawberries. On the other side is the Corporate Accountability Lab logo and below that reads: Report Launch & Discussion on labor abuses & the role of social certifiers in Mexico’s San Quintín valley. Thursday, October 26, 9am PT/11am CT/ noon ET. Speakers: Anna Canning and James Daria, report co-authors, and Abelina Ramirez Ruiz. The webinar will be available in English & Spanish
October 25, 2023 at 5:20 PM
annacanning.bsky.social
In addition to the standards' failures, these certifications paper over the inherent inequity of the agro-export industry.
Workers in Mexico earn just $15/*day* while less than 200 miles north, workers in California earn $15/*hour*, often picking for the same familiar brands
A photo of the dusty desert environment of San Quintin, where the research for the report takes place. Strawberries grow under giant covers to protect them from the environment. Overlayed on the photo is a quote from the report being discussed in the thread: “We are scared because as workers- & even more so us who are not from here, we don’t have 100% of our rights…Because the companies are at this level, when they have more money, us employees are like slaves. We are nothing. For them, there are plenty of people to work and we have to accept what they give us.” -from a farmworker on an Fair Trade USA & Equitable Food Initiative certified farm
October 25, 2023 at 5:18 PM
annacanning.bsky.social
Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) & Fair Trade USA are failing to protect workers.
Key reasons:
*Standards that are lower than Mexican law
*Lack of training for workers
*Rampant retaliation
*Weak to non-existent enforcement
Photo shows a woman bent carrying two 5 gallon buckets on her shoulders. She walks between tall vines of cucumber plants that dwarf her. Overlayed on the photo is a quote from the report being discussed in the thread: "The harass women... but if she doesn't want [his advances] as a punishment they give her heavier work. It's ugly on this farm but the EFI group doesn't do anything" -from a farmworker on an Fair Trade USA & Equitable Food Initiative certified farm
October 25, 2023 at 5:16 PM
annacanning.bsky.social
New report: Behind the "fair trade" & "ethically grown" claims are widespread abuses of workers, including forced labor.
Every week, seems there's another expose of the failures of certifiers. This time it's in the voices of 200+ Mexican farm workers, thanks to my coauthor’s fieldwork
Thread
A photo of a man wearing a camo face covering and red hoodie and cap stares into the camera. Overlayed on the photo is a quote from the report being discussed in the thread: "From the time I started at Rancho Nuevo five years ago, I do not know a benefit for the worker having EFI certification. This is what I would like to know. In what ways can the EFI group help us? In what ways does it benefit us?" -from a farmworker on an Fair Trade USA & Equitable Food Initiative certified farm A photo of a woman wearing a blue shirt and a blue handkerchief across her face. She's wearing a cap with blueberries on it so just her face is visible, staring at the viewer. She holds a plastic clamshell of berries in her hands and is reaching them out like she might be offering them to you. Overlaid on the text is a quote from the report discussed in the thread: "To me, Fair Trade means unfair trade." -from a farmworker on a Fair Trade USA & Equitable Food Initiative certified farm
October 25, 2023 at 5:15 PM
annacanning.bsky.social
New report coming soon! Join the webinar looking at how Fair Trade USA & Equitable Food Initiative certifications are papering over labor abuses on farms in Mexico.
This produce goes to Driscoll's berries, Costco, & (probably) produce departments near you.

Sign up:
us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Webinar announcement poster for the report: Certified Exploitation: How Equitable Food Initiative and Fair Trade USA Fail to Protect Farmworkers in the Mexican Produce Industry. Webinar is Thursday, October 26, 9am PT/ 11am CT/ noon ET. Speakers are Abelina Ramirez Ruiz, Secretary General of the union SINDJA, James Daria, Ass't Professor at Spelman College & Co-Director of the Food Studies Program, Erica Fernandez Zamora, Solidarity Center, and Anna Canning. The 2nd image has all this information in Spanish Information from the first slide but in Spanish: Webinar announcement poster for the report: Certified Exploitation: How Equitable Food Initiative and Fair Trade USA Fail to Protect Farmworkers in the Mexican Produce Industry. Webinar is Thursday, October 26, 9am PT/ 11am CT/ noon ET. Speakers are Abelina Ramirez Ruiz, Secretary General of the union SINDJA, James Daria, Ass't Professor at Spelman College & Co-Director of the Food Studies Program, Erica Fernandez Zamora, Solidarity Center, and Anna Canning
October 19, 2023 at 1:09 PM
annacanning.bsky.social
For context for US people, People Tree was one of the companies held up as an example of what fashion could be in the movie True Cost.

This is just business as usual.
screenshot from article linked in 1st tweet: "Several big suppliers in India are owed more than £100,000 with one due more than £400,000, according to the letter to creditors. One source said that some were only paid about half the amount owed for this year’s autumn collection. One supplier said his company was badly affected and he knew other suppliers were “in distress”."
September 29, 2023 at 4:51 PM
annacanning.bsky.social
There have been many critiques of social auditing as a tickbox exercise. Here we see evidence of it being a copy and paste job.

Need an even quicker "certification"? there's pre-filled audit reports for that
Screenshot of a table from the report linked in the first skeet. The table shows analysis by Human Rights Watch of auditing reports they were able to access specifically looking at Freedom of Association & Collective Bargaining protections. In 50% of cases, text was identical, clearly a copy & paste job. In other cases, the copy/paste text is almost identical.
September 14, 2023 at 8:42 PM
annacanning.bsky.social
Stuck in a hotel room in Cambodia with covid for a week & now I’m googling things like “can you dye with mangosteen skins?”

(The answer is yes -tbd if I’ll try it in a hotel electric kettle)
Photo of mangosteen fruit in various stages of being peeled sitting on a bamboo tray on the hotel bed in Cambodia where I’ve been for a week. Zoomed in shot of those mangosteen rinds which are absolutely rich red & definitely look like something that has pigment (it’s true, the answer from Google was yes, they are used as a dye)
August 17, 2023 at 10:38 PM
annacanning.bsky.social
Bold of the *Cotton* Council to let us know that they're nostalgic for the good old days of cotton picking.

Once again, seems like the agriculture system is still based on the model of enslaved labor they can treat as disposable
Screenshot of article linked in 1st skeet: A federal standard would, of course, apply nationwide. The prospect galvanizes the opposition. After OSHA opened the floor to public comments in 2021, industry lobby groups weighed in with objections. The American Farm Bureau Federation said it “appears unnecessary,” and proposed that OSHA “partner with employers” on better training materials instead. The National Cotton Council argued that heat injuries weren’t due to the work itself, but rather due to “present-day luxuries such as air-conditioning…making it more difficult [for workers] to face the severe change in temperature" and for "younger workers who are used to a more sedentary lifestyle.”
August 4, 2023 at 4:07 PM
annacanning.bsky.social
I grew up in Eugene, OR. I thought I'd seen it all when it comes to hippie BS as a cover for bad behavior, but here we are
screenshot of article linked in 1st skeet: On the stand, he also repeated the story of the employee with negative energy that damaged his kombucha: He described how one of his first managers, in the early 2000s, died of a heart attack a week after confiding in Dave that his wife had been cheating on him and that he planned to confront her. “The reason why this is important,” Dave testified, is that every batch the manager touched during this period “all turned to mold.” “That was my first indication that I can never take the nature of my product for granted,” Dave said. “It’s truly a living, breathing, empathetic, sensitive living food, which is why it keeps me honest with how we behave as a corporation.”
August 2, 2023 at 3:55 PM
annacanning.bsky.social
Peak summer
(If we’re going to do a new platform, maybe I’ll not keep the beauty & the newsy commentary quite so separate?)
Photo of dahlias from my garden sitting in assorted empty bottles. They’re orange & spiky & their shadows are dramatically dark.
August 1, 2023 at 5:34 PM
annacanning.bsky.social
Forced labor is often treated as an overseas problem. New research shows it's not.
Over 1/2 of forced labor risk in US food system is in US production-& that exploitation has a legacy that connects chattel slavery to current guest worker programs
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-023-00794-x
screenshot from linked article: Though it is often presupposed that most risk for high-income countries is embedded in importing practices and not domestic supply chains16,28, we found that more than half of the forced labour risk in US consumption can be attributed to domestic production or processing. The high fraction of domestic risk is both because the United States produces or processes a considerable fraction of what it consumes, on average, and due to systemic and long-standing risk in food-related labour. Contemporary forms of forced labour, debt bondage and labour exploitation are a continuation and evolution of a spectrum of labour abuses that began in US agriculture with chattel slavery and continued into forms of servitude post-Civil War into what they are today29. In high-income countries such as the United States, this has manifested as an overreliance on low-income migrant workers vulnerable to exploitation due to undocumented status or within the immigration programmes
July 25, 2023 at 5:39 PM