Some of the world’s biggest retailers and food companies including Kellogg Co, Walmart Inc, and Nestle backed a new initiative on Wednesday to improve global supply chains amid rising consumer demand for slave-free goods and services.

Consumers, and millennials specifically, have clearly set a precedent: they want sustainability to be top-of-mind for brands when it comes to achieving their business goals, according to social media software provider Digimind Inc.

With trade tensions escalating between the United States and China, fears are growing that American technology companies could be hit in the next round of tit for tat moves between the world's two biggest economies.