The investigation is being motivated by a concern that FTSE 100 companies may inadvertently become involved in human trafficking through links with suppliers around the world.
Rachel Parry, Global Relations Director for the mission agency Us (formerly USPG), which is helping to fund the research, explained: "Human trafficking is a highly profitable global trade - more profitable than the drugs trade. People who have been trafficked - typically those from poor or vulnerable communities - can end up as slave labour which can be embedded within the supply chains utilised of many well-known companies.
"Our research will dig deep into the phenomenon of human trafficking, taking as our focus the supply chains of the FTSE 100 companies. We want to explore how human trafficking could be a part of the picture.
"We want to see FTSE 100 companies better informed to help them ensure there is as little risk as possible that their supply chain is somehow touched by the traffickers' trade."
According to the group Finance Against Trafficking, one person is sold every 30 seconds while UNICEF claims every year, 1.2 million children are trafficked across or within countries
The research project began last week and is due to report its findings later this year.