The interiors industry is full of creativity, craft, and innovation.
But behind the beautiful finishes, furnishings, and materials, there’s a less visible side of the story: the people who make them.
And the uncomfortable truth is that modern slavery and labour exploitation remain widespread across global supply chains, particularly in products and materials commonly used in interiors — from textiles and timber to metals and furniture.
If you’re an architect, designer, specifier, or supplier, understanding where the risks lie in your supply chain is a key step to taking meaningful action.
The good news? You don’t need to wait for a perfect strategy to start making a difference.
Here are 5 practical actions you take right now that will make a difference.
1. Map Your Key Products, Materials and Services
If you’re an architect or designer
Take stock of what you specify or source most often: furniture, joinery, carpets, textiles, stone, timber, metals.
Write down the top 10 product categories and where you think they may come from.
Even if you don’t know the full journey, mapping what you do know helps highlight where risk might sit.
If you’re a product supplier
Map all your product and material suppliers, what you procure and where you procure it from.
Some products and sourcing locations in the interiors industry are particularly high risk, including:
Furniture, timber, and metals from China
Textiles from China, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Argentina, Bangladesh, and Türkiye
Rugs and carpets from India, Pakistan, and Nepal
Leather from India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan
It’s also important to remember that exploitative work practices happen here in Australia too.
Goods and services linked to low-paid, low-skilled jobs, such as hospitality and cleaning can carry high risk of exploitation.
2. Ask Your Suppliers Simple, Brave Questions
This is where real impact happens and it’s critical to the process of addressing modern slavery.
You can’t do this work without the support and commitment of your suppliers. This makes supplier engagement absolutely essential to driving real change.
Ensure they know that you’re working on this as a partner. We’re here to listen, understand your business, and support suppliers.
Start the conversation. Ask:
Where do your products and raw materials come from?
What steps are you taking to ensure workers are treated fairly and are working in a safe environment in your own operations and your supply chains?
Do you have evidence to back this up?
Do you have a modern slavery statement that demonstrates meaningful action, one that goes beyond box ticking?
Do you have a long-term strategy to tackle modern slavery and exploitation in your supply chains?
You don’t need all the answers right away.
The act of asking signals that you care, and it helps identify which suppliers are open and proactive about ethical practices.
3. Use Trusted Risk Resources
Leverage existing research instead of starting from scratch.
Resources like the U.S. Department of Labor’s List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor, the Design for Freedom Toolkit, and reports from Walk Free and the ILO provide insight into which products, countries, and industries carry the highest risks.
Cross-check your mapped materials against these lists – you’ll quickly see where to focus attention.
4. Look Beyond Tier 1 Suppliers
Often, the risk of exploitation isn’t with the supplier you deal with in Australia—it could be in tier two or further down the chain, in the mills, mines, and factories producing raw materials.
For example, risk could be found in the fabric mill that supplies your upholsterer, or the quarry that produces the stone your joiner installs.
Begin by asking your direct suppliers how far they can trace back their own supply chain. Even tracing one or two tiers is a step toward greater transparency.
It’s also important to note that Australian wholesalers or retailers should not automatically be classified as low risk. Even though they are Australian companies, they are often procuring goods from all over the world.
5. Build a Culture of Curiosity, Connection and Commitment
Understanding modern slavery risk isn’t just about compliance.
It’s about culture and commitment.
Encourage your team to stay curious, ask questions, and share what they learn. Bring modern slavery and exploitation into design discussions, procurement decisions, and client conversations.
When curiosity becomes part of the culture, awareness grows, and collective responsibility leads to stronger action.
This work also requires ongoing commitment. Change doesn’t happen overnight, but every action builds momentum.
The Key to Ending Modern Slavery is in Taking the First Step
You don’t need to have everything figured out to begin addressing modern slavery in your supply chain.
Start small, take one step at a time, and build momentum.
Every question asked, every supplier engaged, and every material mapped brings you closer to ensuring the interiors you create are not only beautiful but also dignified, ethical, and free from exploitation.
👉 Your turn: Which of these five actions could you start this week?
Looking for support with Modern Slavery Risk in your organisation?
I work with designers, architects and product suppliers, helping them identify labour exploitation and modern slavery in their supply chains – and take meaningful action towards ending it.
If you’re an architect or designer, you can download a FREE Guide to Modern Slavery here.
If you’re a product supplier, you can download a FREE guide to Modern Slavery here.
If you would like more information, guidance, resources, or advice on how to assess for risk or how to meaningfully engage with suppliers please get in touch with me here.