[richmarr]

If you offer them a better margin to mine in a more ethically palettable way, and any up-front resources to do so, then it's reasonable to assume that they will.

I think this quickly gets into the details though. How much safety is required and what does it cost? Are there alternative materials that cost less than ethical cobalt? What age restrictions should be put on the labour involved and what will those children do instead (both with their time and to earn money)? Where will the adult workers come from to replace those kids and what training do they need?

[manigandham]

Places where rule of the land (or lack thereof) already lets this happen is unlikely to change simply from increased margins. Most likely they’ll just pocket the increased profit with no improvement in conditions.

[adaml_623]

Responsible businesses do full inspections of their supply chains. All the way back to the farms which grow the food.

[lotsofpulp]

How about the factories where the fertilizer and pesticide/insecticide is made?

My point is it is unreasonable to expect a business to be able to do the kind of oversight that would require the reach of government agencies.

[count]

Taking on that responsibility would make defending against these types of lawsuits significantly harder...

[jcranmer]

Or, they'll launder the proceeds of the unethical mining by sending it through a few intermediaries so that it is now certified as ethically mined.

We've tried this before, and failed at it before (with respect to diamonds).