Cotton

Program Overview

The Cotton Program at the Responsible Sourcing Network supports cotton value chains that aim to eliminate the most egregious human rights abuses and environmental destruction at the field level. We advocate for cotton supply chain transparency, traceability and accountability, and believe these objectives can be best achieved using the collective force of a diverse group of stakeholders.

According to the most recent statistics from the International Labor Organization, over 132 million boys and girls, aged 5-14 years old, work in agriculture around the world. Many of these children labor in cotton fields, harvesting cotton fiber that may eventually make its way into the clothes we buy.

In 2009, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a list of goods produced by child labor and forced labor. Cotton and Cotton Seed were on the list regarding child labor for 15 countries and for 9 countries regarding forced labor.

By leveraging the economic position of home goods and apparel brands and retailers, the historical knowledge of socially conscious investors, and the expertise of NGOs, we approach challenges in the cotton value chain using diplomatic and CSR strategies.

The Problem

While child labor in cotton production remains endemic in many countries, nowhere is it more pernicious than in Uzbekistan, where the Uzbek government forces over one million children to labor in the country’s cotton fields each year. The government shuts down schools and public offices for months at a time, mobilizes the country’s youth, teachers and civil servants, and sends them to the cotton fields every autumn.

Children are given daily quotas they must fulfill, oftentimes mandated to pick up to 80 pounds of cotton in a given day. Some children will be lucky to receive 50 cents per day for picking that amount, and then may be charged for their food and lodging. The Uzbek government can sell 80 pounds of Uzbek cotton on the open market for approximately $75 dollars.

Additionally, the government dictates the price of inputs (seeds and fertilizers) for the farmers, controls irrigation, tells the farmers specifically what to plant and when to plant it, and then purchases the crops for a fraction of the market price. This abusive practice, a relic of Uzbekistan’s Soviet past, earns the Government of Uzbekistan over one billion dollars annually.

The U.S. Department of State noted in its 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report (pdf) that Uzbekistan did not work to eliminate the use of forced child and forced adult labor in the annual cotton harvest and did not make efforts to investigate, prosecute, or convict government officials complicit in the use of forced labor during the harvest.

What We Are Doing

The Responsible Sourcing Network operates within a broad network of NGOs, apparel brands and retailers, investors, industry associations, and trade unions seeking to end forced child labor in Uzbekistan’s cotton sector through a variety of strategies.

We leverage our unique position both as an NGO and as a socially responsible investor (SRI) to ensure major apparel brands and retailers are fulfilling on their commitments to not source cotton from Uzbekistan, until the Uzbek government stops exploiting children during the cotton harvest.

We also coordinate with other stakeholders to utilize diplomatic and private sector channels to apply pressure on the Uzbek government, encouraging them to interact with the International Labor Organization (ILO) and transform its cotton sector to abide by international norms.

What Consumers Can Do

1. Before you purchase clothes, check apparel companies’ websites to see if they have developed policies on Uzbek cotton.
2. Spread the word to friends and family about forced child labor in Uzbekistan to help raise public awareness of the plight of the children there.
3. Purchase garments that have accountability built into them, such as those made with alternative cottons (Organic, Fair Trade, Better Cotton, et cetera).
4. Check out our resource pages for the latest information and links to others in our network.

What Companies Can Do

1. Create a policy that prohibits suppliers from sourcing Uzbek cotton until the Government of Uzbekistan ceases mobilizing children to harvest cotton.
2. Establish procedures that ensure suppliers are abiding by the company policy to not source Uzbek cotton.
3. Implement a supply chain traceability program to track the Country of Origin for the cotton inputs in company’s products.
4. Become an active member in the multi-stakeholder network of NGOs, investors, companies, trade associations and trade unions that are collectively working to end forced child labor in Uzbekistan’s cotton sector.