What is Cotton?

Cotton is a made from the natural fibres of the cotton plant. Fluffy and soft cotton fibres are spun into yarn, and then woven to create durable cotton fabric. History of cotton dates back to 5000 BC.

Top cotton producing countries in the world are (cotton production in thousand metric tonnes)*:

1 India (5770)

2 The United States (3999)

3 China (3500)

4 Brazil (2787)

5 Pakistan (1655)

6 Turkey (806)

7 Uzbekistan (713)

8 Australia (479)

9 Turkmenistan (198)

10 Burkina Faso (185)

WICKED PROBLEMS WORTH SOLVING

WHAT’S THE ISSUE WITH COTTON?

Forced labour, child labour (including worst forms) and state-enforced forced labour is not unknown in cotton. In fact, of the top ten cotton producing countries in the world (including the US), only Australia has a clean record for its cotton.

Turkmenistan and China, both are top 10 cotton producing countries in the word, with issues of state-enforced forced labour in the cotton industry. Read about each of these countries below, and the success we celebrate in Uzbekistan which has successfully rid itself of forced labour in 2021!

Watch Carolyn Kitto’s testimony at Senate Inquiry of the Customs Amendment (Banning Goods Produced By Uyghur Forced Labour) Bill 2020, describing wicked problems we face in forced labour of Uyghurs in Xinjiang region of China. Fast forward to 13:03:37 to skip to Carolyn’s testimony.

UYGHUR COTTON

China is the third largest cotton producing country in the world, and Xinjiang Province provides the 84% of that cotton (20% of world’s cotton). According to Center for Global Policy’s new report, more than half a million people from ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang have been coerced into picking cotton, on a scale far greater than previously thought.

Uyghurs are a minority ethnic group in China, and live mostly in the Xinjiang Province. Recently there have been growing international concern over the Chinese Government’s treatment of Uyghurs with many government and international bodies (including the US Government) labelling the actions taken by the Government as genocide.

There’s a new report out (November 2021) by Dr Laura Murphy. Laundering Cotton: How Xinjiang Cotton is Obscured in International Supply Chains is an investigation into how forced-labor-produced cotton and cotton-based goods from the Uyghur Region wend their way into international supply chains. Based on international trade and customs data, we conclude that at the same time as Xinjiang cotton has come to be associated with human rights abuses and to be considered high risk for international brands, China's cotton industry has benefited from an export strategy that obscures cotton's origin in the Uyghur Region.

We understand that the following are occurring in China:

More than a million Uyghurs and Turkic Muslim minorities are in ‘re-education camps’ as well as being forced into ‘vocational training’ work in factories and on farms in Xinjiang Province and being moved to other Chinese provinces.
Their labour takes place in the context of extensive and intrusive surveillance and at times in the context of internment or imprisonment. They are not free to leave.
Failure to comply with the programs results in penalties, including loss of personal freedom and other sanctions, including against family members.
These factories supply global brands in industries ranging from garments and electronics to home decorations. These brands profit from this forced labour and provide their goods to consumers, including in Australia.

Visit our Uyghur Forced Labour page to find out more.

UZBEK COTTON

Be Slavery Free celebrates International Labour Organization’s findings that Uzbekistan in its 2021 cotton production cycle was free from forced and child labour. Be Slavery Free, as a member of the International Coalition Cotton Campaign, welcomes the end to the call for a global boycott of Uzbek cotton.

For years, Uzbekistan was one of the world’s largest cotton exporters, ranking third at one stage (it is now seventh). The government of Uzbekistan forcibly mobilised almost two million citizens (including children, young people, students, teachers, doctors, nurses, and employees of government agencies and private businesses) to the cotton fields to grow cotton and deliver production quotas under threats of penalty. These included the loss of lease to farm the land, criminal charges and fines, expulsion from school, job loss, and loss of social security benefits.

Profits of the Uzbek cotton sector supported only the inner circle of Uzbek government. Uzbek farmers were forced to meet state-established cotton quotas, purchase inputs from one state-owned enterprise, and sell the cotton to a state-owned enterprise at artificially low prices. The system trapped farmers in poverty, and the state profited from sales to global buyers. The profits disappeared into a secret fund to which only the highest-level officials had access.

The practice violated Uzbek labour laws and fundamental international labour and human rights conventions ratified by the Uzbek government.

Since 2011, Be Slavery Free has been raising awareness of this issue, and urging clothing companies to boycott Uzbek cotton. With 331 brands signed up the Uzbek cotton pledge, we stepped up the pressure for reform in the Uzbek cotton industry.

We commend the Uzbek government which embarked on a reform seven years ago, and today we celebrate that Uzbekistan has succeeded in eradicating systemic forced labour and systemic child labour during the 2021 cotton production cycle!

It is estimated that about two million children and half a million adults are now out of systemic child and forced labour. With increased wages for the cotton pickers, better working conditions, more people are volunteering to enter into the industry with hope that there will be decent jobs created in the Uzbek cotton industry as the international boycott lifts and international brands re-engage.

Be Slavery Free thanks the over 100 Australian and New Zealand brands signed onto the Uzbek Cotton pledge which provided the catalyst for transformation of Uzbekistan’s cotton industry. Australian and New Zealand brands lead the way in bringing change to the Uzbek cotton industry, representing over 30% of the total number of brands signed onto the pledge. When business, civil society, government and consumers come together, change is possible.

#TogetherWeCan #BeSlaveryFree

TURKMEN COTTON

Neighbouring Turkmenistan is the ninth largest cotton producer in the world. It has maintained that status through a system of forced labour under the auspices of the State. The Government had complete control over cotton production and obliges cotton farmers to respect annual quotas. Each cotton season, Turkmen public sector workers are forced by the government to fulfill cotton picking quotas and private businesses are forced to contribute to the efforts financially or with labour. To fulfill these quotas, parents often have to recruit their children’s help, despite national and international laws against forced and child labor. Every year, the harvest leaves schools, businesses, and health institutions understaffed or closed, placing a huge burden on the health, education, and general well-being of Turkmen citizens.

We are asking fashion companies to sign the Turkmenistan Cotton Pledge to not knowingly source cotton from Turkmenistan. You can find the list of companies who have already signed the Turkmenistan Cotton Pledge at https://www.sourcingnetwork.org/turkmen-cotton-pledge

View our webinar here, with exclusive interview with Ruslan Myatiev, editor of Turkmen News giving insider’s account of the Turkmen state-enforced labour situation.