Bridgestone

Bridgestone

The Bridgestone Corporation has been nominated because its workers at a rubber plantation in Liberia have to endure slave-like conditions. They live in dilapidated mud hats and are forced to seek the aid of their children in the strenuous and dangerous task of extracting latex from rubber trees. Both adult and child labourers are exposed to toxic chemicals on a daily basis. Their wellbeing and livelihoods are further impacted by discharge from the company's rubber processing plant which has polluted the adjacent river, killing all life forms in it except one fish species. The merciless exploitation of Liberia's people and natural resources by Bridgestone is directly linked to the nation's impoverishment as the raw materials produced in Liberia are sent elsewhere for processing, thereby shutting out the possibility of added value.