General Mills, Walmart, Whole Foods, General Motors, and Fruit of the Loom. These are just a few of the brand names mentioned in The New York Times’ exposé on illegal child labor in our “new economy of exploitation.” Inside the plants that make the products of these and many other huge brand-name corporations, migrant children are toiling in grueling jobs, often working full time on overnight shifts running industrial machinery.

Large corporations will often say they shouldn’t be held responsible for working conditions they do not know about or directly control. However, they undeniably have power and leverage over their contractors and suppliers and can set and control labor standards through their contracts.

If we really want to stop child labor abuses, responsibility must begin at the top of the supply chain.

Brand-name corporations have increasingly outsourced work to subcontractors and temporary staffing agencies to reduce costs and limit responsibility. If workers say that their labor rights are being violated, the corporation can point the finger at the staffing agency and plead ignorance–distancing itself from their exploitation, even as it profits from their work. In outsourcing work, all too often corporations also outsource responsibility.