Design for Freedom by Grace Farms

As we observe #HumanRightsDay, we're encouraged to announce our new Design for Freedom International Guidance & Toolkit is available for download. Twenty-eight million people around the world are held in forced labor conditions, many extracting the materials that go into our homes, schools, office buildings, and landscapes. We echo the UN's statement: "This is the time to mobilize action to reinvigorate a global movement for human rights." The Design for Freedom International Guidance & Toolkit, a comprehensive resource for design and construction professionals to implement ethical and forced-labor-free material sourcing strategies into their practices, builds upon the Design for Freedom Toolkit, published in 2022. In tandem with this release is a further amplification of the global Design for Freedom movement, with Elaine Mitchel-Hill's appointment as the first international lead for Design for Freedom, leading strategic partnerships in India and the UK. "Forced labor in the building materials supply chain is a global issue,” said Sharon Prince, Grace Farms' CEO and Founder. “By expanding our engagement in Europe and Asia and issuing the International Guidance and Toolkit geared towards a growing global audience, we are better poised to address this egregious human rights violation together Through new public and private sector partnerships, we are accelerating a radical paradigm shift to design and build a more humane future for all.” The Guidance features contributions from such experts as: Lindsay Baker, Living Future; Dr. Doreen Boyd, School of Geography, University of Nottingham; Dr. James Cockayne, New South Wales Anti-Slavery Commissioner; Benafsha (Bee) Delgado, UN Global Compact Network UK; Anna Dyson, Yale CEA; Fanny Frémont, Responsible Mica Initiative - RMI; Felix Heisel, Circular Construction Lab, Cornell University; John Morrison, Institute for Human Rights and Business; Jonsara Ruth, Healthy Materials Lab at Parsons School of Design; Stefano Savi, Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR); Christopher Sharples, SHoP Architects; Dame Sara Thornton, former Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, U.K.; and Eloise Savill, Anti-Slavery International. The Guidance opens with a contribution by the Right Honorable The Baroness Young of Hornsey OBE. Through this Guidance & Toolkit, which provides new human rights due diligence tools, we can all design and build a more humane future together. Download it now: https://lnkd.in/gNNKd47y

We're energized to share Grace Farms Foundation CEO and Founder, Sharon Prince, will be the featured Keynote Speaker at the Construction Law Institute presented by The Florida Bar on March 7th! Through her engaging keynote, 450+ attorneys will gain insight on the global Design for Freedom movement's mission to remove forced and child labor from the building materials supply chain. Prince will also share how resources, like the newly-released International Guidance & Toolkit, and upcoming events like the fourth annual Design for Freedom Summit on March 27th, can empower lawyers and their clients to lead on market transformation and connect with other individuals dedicated to building a more humane future. Excitingly, following Prince's keynote will be a plenary panel session featuring members of our Design for Freedom Working Group, each committed to creating a more ethical and transparent future for the built environment: Leslie King (Member, Cozen O'Connor, and International Guidance & Toolkit contributor) Hayes Slade (Co-Founder & Principal, Slade Architecture, and AIA New York | Center for Architecture 2019 President), Andrew Klemmer (Paratus Group, President & Founder) and Suzanne Bennett (SourceBlue, subsidiary of Turner Construction Company). We are honored to have this opportunity to engage with hundreds of construction lawyers who are at the front lines representing owners, builders, architects, engineers and suppliers! For more details, visit: https://bit.ly/41xbH7p Photo by Melani Lust

Research Update: Ethical Materials Sourcing The 2024 LAF Research Grant in Honor of Deb Mitchell was awarded to "Ethically Sourcing: Specifying Forced-Labor Free Materials in Landscape Architecture". The 14-month research project is being conducted by a joint team of MNLA, led by Noriko Maeda, and research partner Franca Trubiano of the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design. Six months into the project, they provided an update on their progress. Building on Design for Freedom by Grace Farms, their research focuses on how landscape architects can use project specifications and procurement processes to combat forced labor. The team is working to understand current awareness and trace supply chains for five commonly-used landscape materials: permeable pavers, synthetic turf, rubber safety surface, geotextile fabric, and plastic lumber. When the research concludes in August, the primary output will be samples of specification language for use in landscape architecture projects. The research team also plans to develop a framework for scalable landscape materials research. These products will be important tools in propelling market transformation in the built environment disciplines toward the ultimate goal of equitable labor practices. Read the full update here: https://lnkd.in/ew_nwi3H

We are pleased to announce our esteemed design jury for the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture 2025 Design for Freedom student competition, Ethical & Equitable Materiality to End Forced Labor! Comprised of leaders in architecture and design, committed to creating a more humane future, the design jury includes Design for Freedom Working Group members and contributors to our International Guidance & Toolkit. Meet the Jurors: Julia Gamolina (Founder, Madame Architect, & Associate Principal, Ennead Architects); Nina Cooke John, (Founder and Principal, Studio Cooke John Architecture + Design); Kai-Uwe Bergmann, FAIA, FAIA, (Partner, BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group); Michael J. Crosbie, Ph.d, FAIA (Professor, University of Hartford); Christopher Sharples, AIA (Founding Principal, SHoP Architects); Ina Dajci, Ph.D. (Researcher, Yale CEA); Alan Ricks (Founding Principal and Chief Design Officer, MASS Design Group); Farida Abu-Bakare (Associate Principal and Director of Global Practice at WXY); and Antonio Torres Skillicorn (PhD Candidate in Civil Engineering at Stanford University). This dynamic competition for the 2024-2025 academic year challenges architectures students to explore how design and material research can help remove forced labor from the building materials supply chain. Students may compete in two categories: Design Project and Material Research. By addressing these critical issues, students will explore the vital role of architects to transforming future of the built environment. Register for the competition by April 9th! Find more details: https://lnkd.in/ejEcNcpR *Hear expert insights from Nina Cooke John, Alan Ricks, and Ina Dajci at our fourth annual Design for Freedom Summit on 3/27 at Grace Farms: https://lnkd.in/eUzPcphf

We're looking forward to returning to Grace Farms and continuing the important conversation around Design for Freedom by Grace Farms to remove slavery from the building material supply chain. We've seen the impact of this important work in the ways our project teams are talking about our projects internally, and in the ways our teams are talking with outside companies. Let us know if we'll see you in CT so we can join forces and strengthen the impact of this work! #AuthenticSustainability #DesignForFreedom

We are excited to partner with Grace Farms for the fourth annual Design for Freedom Summit on March 27, 2025, in New Canaan, CT! Register now to be part of this crucial conversation: https://bit.ly/4hQ9RnV Join us and hundreds of industry leaders, innovators, and change-makers for this transformative day of action. Together, we're building momentum with Design for Freedom to eliminate forced and child labor from the building materials supply chain and create a more ethical, transparent built environment. Grace Farms Foundation #DesignForFreedom #DesignForFreedomSummit #EthicalBuilding

🌍 Call for Young Leaders! 🌱 CRB is excited to announce its Internship Programme with Design for Freedom by Grace Farms. The Internship Programme invites young leaders and sustainability practitioners to work with notable architects, policy influencers, industrialists, and international human rights and supply chain experts on some of today's most pressing and challenging issues for the construction sector. If you have or are pursuing a degree in architecture, design, or planning and have a deep understanding and interest in sustainability — including the application of circularity, ethical transition, climate resilience, and social well-being in India's construction industry — drop your resume at hr@c4rb.in by 20 March 2025. To learn more about the Internship Programme, please email Neha Tomar at neha@c4rb.in. #Sustainability #YoungLeaders #InternshipOpportunity #ArchitectureInternship #DesignInternship #CareerGrowth #InternshipAlert #WorkWithUs #EthicalConstruction #CircularEconomy #ClimateResilience #SustainableDesign

The 4th annual Design for Freedom Summit is only one month away! Register now to attend on March 27th at Grace Farms: https://lnkd.in/eUzPcphf This year's Summit will build on the incredible momentum launched by previous Summits. With insights from expert thought leaders throughout the day, the Summit will deliver hope, and inspiration, and underscore our mission to harness the power of the built environment to advance human dignity and remove forced and child labor from the building materials supply chain. We all have agency to Design for Freedom and raise awareness of this humanitarian crisis impacting millions of people around the world, including right here in the U.S. Register now to attend the 2025 Summit. Thank you to our: Event Sponsors: Collaborator: Acelab, ASSA ABLOY Door Security Solutions - US, MillerKnoll Advocate: Shaw Contract, Turner Construction Company, SourceBlue Contributor: Arup, Louis Fusco Landscape Architects, MASS Design Group Promo Partners: The American Institute of Architects (AIA), AIA Connecticut, AIA New York | Center for Architecture, Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation, Brick & Wonder, BuildGreenCT, Built Environment Plus, Carbon Leadership Forum, Connecticut Sustainable Business Council, Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, Living Future, mindful MATERIALS, Natural Stone Institute, NOMAct, Healthy Materials Lab at Parsons School of Design, SARA National, U.S. Green Building Council Media Sponsors: Architectural Record, The Architect's Newspaper, Architype, Metropolis Magazine In-Kind Sponsorship: Grace Farms Tea & Coffee, Greyston Bakery, Tony's Chocolonely

🌎 Join the Movement at the 2025 Design for Freedom Summit 🌎 We are proud to partner with Grace Farms Foundation for the 4th annual Design for Freedom by Grace Farms on March 27, 2025, in New Canaan, CT! Join the hundreds of industry leaders, innovators, and change-makers for this transformative day of action. Together, we're building momentum with Design for Freedom to eliminate forced and child labor from the building materials supply chain and create a more ethical, transparent built environment. 🔗 Register now to be part of this crucial conversation: https://lnkd.in/eUzPcphf #DesignForFreedom #DesignForFreedomSummit #EthicalBuilding

The work of eradicating modern slavery is never truly done. But rather than a source of exhaustion, I see this as a reminder of the boundless potential for change. Surely, there are moments when the weight of this mission feels overwhelming—when frustration creeps in, when time for something as simple as a walk in nature slips away. Yet, since founding the Human Thread Foundation in 2017, I have found that every challenge is matched by resilience, every moment of weariness countered by the unwavering belief that a better world is possible. That belief is renewed in moments like the one I experienced in November 2024, deep in the mica mining regions of Jharkhand, India. There, I met a young girl working alongside her parents, chiseling the earth to extract the glimmering shales of mica—minerals that find their way into everything from shimmering cosmetics to glossy car paint. While the dangers of collapsing mines loom, the greatest burden she and her family bear is the weight of forced, unpaid labor. While the mines hold potential danger such as crumbling earthen cave walls that occasionally collapse, the greatest threat to her and her family’s wellbeing is that their labor is forced and in most cases, unpaid. Even so, the look in her eyes and the firm grip on her tool shows me she has strength. She embodies the resilience of a young person who is immensely able. There is also an innocence in her outlook that equips her with a different perspective on her labor. She is pulling marvelous, shiny shales out of the earth, working in community with her parents, anticipating a world that aligns with her dreams. What she says to me is clear: build a world for people like me; make our dreams come alive. I am hopeful for the day when the work is done and all sentient beings live in harmony, peace, generosity, and love.