Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe LONDON, May 29 (UPI) -- The very wristbands used to raise awareness and funds against world poverty are made in Chinese sweatshops, under "slave labor" conditions, an audit found. The wristbands, made of fabric or silicon and worn by politicians, actors, pop stars and professional athletes, are part of the Make Poverty History campaign created by a coalition of more than 400 British charities. Advertisement An "ethical audit" obtained by the Sunday Telegraph alleged Chinese factories making the silicon versions use "forced labor" by taking "financial deposits" from new employees in violation of Chinese law and the Ethical Trading Initiative. The audit also found workers paid at below the local minimum hourly wage, poor health and safety provisions, long hours, a seven-day work week, inadequate insurance and no vacation. "This is appalling. It goes against everything we stand for," said musician Bob Geldof, who has raised money for famine victims and worked to eradicate world hunger. "If we are criticizing big companies for trading unethically then we have to be whiter than white."
