Press Hits
May 11, 2022 – Q&A: Program Aims to Drive Forced Labor Out of Cotton Production – Advertising Specialty Institute
“‘A lot of brands don’t even know what abuse exists. It’s really opaque. … So even if a brand wants to do the right thing, they don’t have the tools or accessibility to improve the situation.”’
May 11, 2022 – This Initiative Wants to ‘Drive Change’ to End Modern Cotton Slavery – Sourcing Journal
“‘I know that a lot of effort has been going into traceability, blockchain and other mapping platforms, but none of them really focus on how to build capacity and empower the textile mills and yarn spinners,’ Jurewicz told Sourcing Journal. ‘There’s no expectation or effort given to trying to fix the problem.”’
May 10, 2022 – Five Ways to Improve Compliance with Anti-Slavery Import Legislation – Supply Chain Brain
“Brands and their suppliers might be hesitant to publish their sourcing and other information publicly. But while it might feel like you’re opening up your supply chain … to risk, you’re actually increasing your compliance with international due diligence requirements, and therefore reducing your risk of non-compliance”
May 6, 2022 – Circular Systems Co-led Pilot Project Shows Yarn & Fabric Manufacturers Are Ready to Drive Change to End Modern Slavery – Newswires
“‘The results of the pilot demonstrate that training and assessing manufacturers in the middle of the supply chain on due diligence processes empowers them to drive change,’ said Patricia Jurewicz, Chief Executive Officer of Responsible Sourcing Network and creator of YESS. ‘Spinners and mills need to be—and want to be—part of the solution to address modern slavery in the cotton industry.”’
April 29, 2022 – Forced labour pilot project releases findings – Ecotextile News
April 12, 2022 – A stretch and a run: Brazil’s ex-president returns – The Economist
“They’re seeing a really astonishing turnaround in Uzbekistan when it comes to forced labor in the cotton fields. What we're seeing now in Uzbekistan is all sides claiming forced labor has been rooted out of the cotton harvest.”
March 16, 2022 – Mandatory Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence Is Good for Investors and Business – Proxy Preview
“Human rights due diligence builds on established risk management processes and shifts the focus of risk to people, recognizing that the most severe human rights risks inevitably carry with them material risks to business, including reputational harm, financial loss, and legal liabilities.”
March 15, 2022 – With ESG on the Rise, Asset Managers Target the Murky Underbelly of Supply Chains – Institutional Investor
‘“If people are working under forced labor conditions for little or no pay, and you are paying them more to resolve the issue, that does not save you money,’ Jurewicz said.”
“Jurewicz said companies are reluctant to speak out about the labor conditions in China given ‘the pressure to sell into the Chinese market as well as the pressure of producing so many of their goods.”’
March 15, 2022 – Cotton Campaign ends call for global boycott of Uzbek cotton – Fibre 2 Fashion
‘“After encouraging hundreds of companies to avoid Uzbek cotton over the past 12 years, we’re happy to announce the time has come to lift the Uzbek Cotton Pledge,’ said Patricia Jurewicz, chief executive officer of Responsible Sourcing Network and Cotton Campaign co-founder, in a press release.”
March 12, 2022 – Cotton Campaign Ends Global Boycott of Uzbek Cotton – See News
“After encouraging hundreds of companies to avoid Uzbek cotton over the past 12 years, we’re happy to announce the time has come to lift the Uzbek Cotton Pledge,” said Patricia Jurewicz, CEO of Responsible Sourcing Network and Cotton Campaign co-founder. “Companies now need to conduct due diligence and make their own policy decisions regarding sourcing in Uzbekistan.”
March 10, 2022 – Cotton Campaign Ends its Call for a Global Boycott of Cotton from Uzbekistan – American Apparel & Footwear Association
“After encouraging hundreds of companies to avoid Uzbek cotton over the past 12 years, we’re happy to announce the time has come to lift the Uzbek Cotton Pledge,” said Patricia Jurewicz, CEO of Responsible Sourcing Network and Cotton Campaign co-founder. “Companies now need to conduct due diligence and make their own policy decisions regarding sourcing in Uzbekistan.”
March 5, 2022 – Uzbekistan has succeeded in abolishing forced labour – The Economist
“More than 300 big brands—including behemoths like Inditex, h&m, Nike and Walmart—have signed a pledge established in 2011 by the Responsible Sourcing Network (rsn), an American ngo, to boycott Uzbek cotton.”
“The environment is far from ‘risk-free’, said Patricia Jurewicz of the rsn, but ‘there is an opening to be able to source responsibly from Uzbekistan.”’
April 8, 2021 – Traceability Tools tipped to address sourcing concerns – Ecotextile News
April 7, 2021 – New tool screens for forced labour risk in cotton supply chains – Just Style
‘“SupplyShift is a powerful platform for mapping textile mills and yarn spinners, and we’re confident it will help provide insights for brands and retailers to better understand the risks in their cotton supply chains,’ says Patricia Jurewicz, founder and CEO of Responsible Sourcing Network.”
March 29, 2021 – Chinese diplomat cranks up rhetoric with insults against ‘boy’ Justin Trudeau – The Globe and Mail
“Both Canada Goose and Lululemon have stores in China. On its website, Lululemon has pledged not to use cotton from Uzbekistan – where forced labour is believed to persist – and says it has partnered with the Responsible Sourcing Network, a human-rights organization. But it makes no mention of China.”
March 19, 2021 – Call for multi-stakeholder approach to eliminate forced labour – Just Style
February 18, 2021 – Supply chain initiative to tackle worker exploitation – Ecotextile News
February 18, 2021 – Sourcemap joins fight to tackle forced labour in supply chains – Just Style
“The Supply Chain Tracing and Engagement Methodologies initiative (STREAMS) will work in collaboration with the Better Cotton Initiative, Phylagen, RCS Global and the Responsible Sourcing Network.”
“The STREAMS initiative aims to increase the dissemination of supply chain tracing tools and methodologies to a broad range of stakeholders. Funding is provided by the United States Department of Labor.”
December 2020 – Down the Rabbit Hole of Global Supply Chains – Center for Strategic & International Studies
“Product does go back and forth across various borders before it ends up as a garment or sheets or towels that you and I would purchase.” – Patricia Jurewicz
November 24, 2020 – Hasbro Advances Major Corporate Social Responsibility Priorities Including Eliminating Plastic in Packaging, Expanding Toy Recycling Program Globally and Furthering Environmental Assessments of Suppliers – Stockhouse
“Recognized externally for our strong conflict minerals program, ranking in the top six percent out of 207 companies by the independent Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN) and earning the highest score in the Travel and Leisure category.”
November 4, 2020 – Hanifa Hit A Cultural Reset On The Fashion Industry With A 3D Presentation – Essence
“‘This is the right time to do a collection inspired by Congo,’ [designer Anifa Mvuemba] says. ‘I’ve heard so many stories about the coltan and the mining issues.’ The country has one of the world’s largest reserves of coltan, but the mining practices are known to be controversial. ‘I wanted this collection to support the families that were affected and the organizations that are doing the groundwork.’”
“The collection also features the Pink Label Congo Colette T-Shirt, in partnership with the Responsible Sourcing Network.”
August 20, 2020 – Intel Travels to Africa to Closely Track Responsibly Sourced Tech Minerals – Business Wire
“For the past six years, of the more than 200 companies whose mineral sourcing programs are analyzed by the Responsible Sourcing Network, Intel has ranked No. 1.”
August 6, 2020 – Int'l organizations helping Uzbekistan to develop transparent cotton production – Trend
“Uzbekistan is beginning a joint project with international organizations to develop socially responsible and environmentally sustainable cotton production”
May 22, 2020 – Risk of Turkmenistan tainted cotton in Turkish textiles – Just Style
“An webinar, hosted by Anti-Slavery International, the Responsible Sourcing Network and Turkmen News, has highlighted how cotton picked in Turkmenistan’s cotton fields, often by means of forced and child labour, makes its way through the supply chain and into finished products available globally.”
“‘Turkmenistan is not on a lot of brand’s radars because it is a small country,’ says Patricia Jurewicz, founder and VP of the Responsible Sourcing Network, which is the co-founder of the Cotton Campaign worker rights group.”
May 14, 2020 – Post-Pandemic, Intel Is Leading The Way On Corporate Responsibility – Forbes
“In the semiconductor industry, responsible business practices often mean responsible sourcing. For Intel, responsible sourcing of minerals remains a top priority. Intel was ranked #1 in Responsible Sourcing Network’s 2019 Mining the Disclosures Guide.”
April 17, 2020 – Brands need assurances on forced labor and civil society in Uzbekistan, Cotton Campaign says – Aki Press
April 13, 2020 – The World’s Smartphones Are Filled With Gold. That’s a Problem. – One Zero
“In 2015, the Responsible Sourcing Network ranked a sample of 51 companies based on their first conflict minerals reports. Even the top three companies in terms of best practices and due diligence — Intel, Qualcomm, and Apple — declared their products as DRC conflict undeterminable.”’
April 1, 2020 – BCI sets up forced labour task force – Ecotextile News
March 10, 2020 – Uzbekistan scraps cotton quota system – Ecotextile News
February 21, 2020 – Forced labour to end in Uzbek cotton industry? – Ecotextile News
January 29, 2020 – Noble Profit aligns BFLO with Responsible Sourcing Network, r3.0 Network and Dream Tank – Enterprise Times
“Noble Profit will explore a collaboration with the Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN). This will address, and seek to eliminate, forced labour in cotton harvesting”
“Conventional cotton harvesting as well as cotton’s use in the fast fashion industry are rife with human slavery. According to Patricia Jurewicz, RSN founder, around 65% of the world’s cotton comes from nine countries known for having forced labour in their cotton production.”
January 5, 2020 – Cutting battery industry's reliance on cobalt will be an uphill task – The Guardian
“Batteries are the key component in the electric car revolution that Tesla kickstarted, and each one contains cobalt. Yet concerns about human rights abuses and child labour have prompted a dual effort to cut the amount of cobalt used in batteries and to clean up complex global supply chains.”
“The Congolese government has promised to pilot regulated areas for artisanal miners. Increasing consumer awareness has also led to supply chain auditing projects such as the Responsible Sourcing Network, run by the nonprofit organisation As You Sow”
October 23, 2019 – Companies ‘disregard responsibility’ over conflict minerals: Report – Mongabay
“In a report published this month by the Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN), the group analysed corporate compliance under the legislation, which requires public companies in the United States to disclose the use of tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold (3TG).”
“‘The majority of results in this year’s report demonstrate complacency,’ Patricia Jurewicz, vice president of RSN, said in a statement. ‘Companies need to constantly improve their due-diligence efforts to ensure the materials in their products are not causing harm to the planet or people. Otherwise, companies will lose their social license to operate in mining communities and access to raw materials.”’
October 17, 2019 – For the sake of workers, Uzbekistan is privatising its cotton industry – The Economist
“Uzbekistan, already the world’s seventh-biggest producer of cotton, wants to become a force in the garment industry, too, on a par with the likes of Bangladesh, China and Vietnam.”
“But Uzbekistan has an image problem. Over 300 Western clothing brands and retailers, including international giants such as Disney, Nike and Walmart, boycott Uzbek cotton in protest at the massive, state-organised system of forced labour that until recently was used to harvest the crop.”
“The Responsible Sourcing Network, which co-ordinates the international boycott of Uzbek cotton, says it will only be lifted if there is ‘substantial and sustainable’ progress.”
October 15, 2019 – Can Swiss assistance help clean up Uzbek cotton? – Swiss Info
“In Switzerland, home to some of the world’s biggest cotton traders, businesses are mixed on how to interpret reported changes in Uzbek cotton production. Several companies had boycotted the product through the Cotton Campaign, adding to the sharp fall in imports from the country.”
“Swiss retailer Coop’s clothing brand Naturaline, a signatory of the Responsible Sourcing Network petitionExternal link to ban Uzbek cotton from its supply chain, wrote in an email that ‘the use of cotton from Uzbekistan is prohibited’ under its textile and leather guidelines and that ‘a lifting of the ban is not currently planned.”’
April 18, 2019 – Brethren Benefit Trust signs Turkmen Cotton Pledge – Church of the Brethren
“In addition to the pledge, the Responsible Sourcing Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending human rights abuses, is asking that partners support the newly formed YESS: Yarn Ethically and Sustainably Sourced. YESS facilitates a means for cotton industry workers to avoid distribution of materials that are gathered using forced labor.”
March 29, 2019-YESS Addresses Forced Labor in Cotton Supply Chain-Inside Outdoor Magazine
Thus far, 77 supporters have signed a YESS statement expressing their commitment toward ethical and sustainable cotton and yarn sourcing, confirming their support of the development and implementation of the YESS initiative, and encouraging their peers to join them. Supporters include: adidas, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Hudson’s Bay, HUGO BOSS, Tesco, and others.
March 22, 2019-Introducing YESS: Yarn Ethically & Sustainably Sourced Standard-Freedom United News
VF Corporation is one company that has already signed on to YESS. “Spinning mills are the gatekeepers in the cotton supply chain,” said manager of responsible materials and traceability at VF Corp, Shanel Orton. “VF understands the value of taking an industry-wide approach in YESS.”
March 21, 2019- New Guidance Tackles Forced Labor in Cotton Sourcing- Just Style
The YESS standard is a specific and practical framework that assesses the operations and sourcing procedures of cotton yarn spinners.
March 20, 2019-YESS Aims to Eliminate Modern Slavery in Cotton Sourcing-Souring Journal
The YESS Standard is a detailed framework that assess the operations and sourcing procedures of cotton yarn spinning mills. It is meant to be a guide for spinners to avoid purchasing cotton that has a high production risk of forced labor.
February 15, 2019- Cotton Campaign Meets with Senior Uzbek Officials in Washington—Parties Agree to Intensify Dialogue on Ending Forced Labor- Cotton Campaign
“A key point of discussion during the strategy meetings was the Uzbek Cotton Pledge, a commitment from 310 apparel brands to not “knowingly source” cotton from Uzbekistan until it is no longer produced with government-organized forced labor. The Pledge will remain in place with the support of the private sector signatories until the Campaign sees that systemic forced labor has verifiably ended, structural reforms are sufficiently advanced to prevent it from returning, and civil society is enabled to monitor and report.”
January 28, 2019- The Mining Industry's Global Impact-PRI’s the World
From environmental damage to fueling conflict, the mining industry has left a trail of tangled impacts around the world. Host Marco Werman speaks with Responsible Sourcing Network's founder Patricia Jurewicz.
December 17, 2018- Uzbekistan Aims to End Forced Labor in Cotton Fields-Wall Street Journal
“The appearance of progress has made some companies who have signed the Cotton Campaign’s boycott wonder aloud whether it is time to lift it, the NGO has said, though it is unclear when they might return to Uzbekistan.
“Brands know that their reputation is on the line with their investors and consumers, and so they’re not going to go in easily,” said Patricia Jurewicz of the Responsible Sourcing Network, which hosts the pledge.”
October 1, 2018 – Twelve major brands sign Turkmen Cotton Pledge – Ecotextile News
September 10, 2018- Forced labor down in spring cotton work, systemic problems remain-Cotton Campaign
“A decade of international pressure from governments, companies, civil society and others has been successful in motivating the Uzbek government to acknowledge the problem and begin to initiate reforms,” said Patricia Jurewicz, founder and vice president of the Responsible Sourcing Network. “Close, independent monitoring of the 2018 harvest is needed to see how far the government’s commitments have actually contributed to ending forced labor in Uzbek cotton production, and what actions still need to occur.”
July 23, 2018-Fashion identified as one of five key industries implicated in modern slavery-Vogue
“In 2017, pressure from the Walk Free Foundation resulted in Zara’s parent company Inditex joining the likes of Gucci and Levi’s as signatories to the Responsible Sourcing Network’s cotton pledge that boycotts unethical Uzbek cotton.”
June 1, 2018 – Apparel brands take a closer look at sourcing after cotton ban – Supply Chain Dive
While direct trade between the U.S. and Turkmenistan is relatively small ($13.8 million imports in 2017), the Central Asian country exports cotton to Turkey, Pakistan, India and China. Apparel brands producing garments from those nations will need to pay attention to their cotton sources, Patricia Jurewicz, director of the Responsible Sourcing Network, told Supply Chain Dive.
May 24, 2018 – U.S. bans imports of slave-picked cotton from Turkmenistan – Thomson Reuters Foundation
“CBP’s ban means retailers and brands need to move quickly to identify and eliminate Turkmen cotton from their supply chains,” said Patricia Jurewicz, a co-founder of the Cotton Campaign, a global coalition aimed at ending child and forced labor in cotton production.
March 16, 2017 – Forced labour still picks Uzbek’s cotton – Innovation Forum
Patricia Jurewicz is director of Responsible Sourcing Network, which hosts the Cotton Pledge, a commitment to not knowingly source Uzbek cotton harvested by forced labour. She says it doesn’t matter if the person being pulled out of school or work is over or under 15 years old. “Any type of forced labour is still modern slavery. If the workers are not voluntarily choosing to do a job, they are being forced to work, which is inexcusable exploitation.”
March 01, 2017 – Drapers Textiles Report: What is driving textiles pricing? - Drapers
Uzbekistan is the fifth-largest exporter of cotton worldwide, but The Cotton Campaign, Responsible Sourcing Network and other watchdogs have long claimed that its government uses forced child and adult labour on an industry-wide scale.
April 13, 2017 – Apple, Intel Carry on as SEC Relaxes Conflict Minerals Scrutiny – Bloomberg BNA
“We’ll continue to call for transparency on this issue and call out companies who roll back their own reporting just because the SEC isn’t asking for it,” said Patricia Jurewicz, director of the Responsible Sourcing Network, which ranks companies each year based on their reporting.
April 4, 2017 – OP-ED: Repeal and Replacement of Conflict Minerals Rule 1502 Undermines Peace and Stability in the Congo – Huffington Post Co-authored by Lauren Compere and Patricia Jurewicz
Not only does [1502] support companies and investors by creating a level playing field to compare company actions, such as in RSN’s Mining the Disclosures reports, but it also helps minimize violence and despair.
February 22, 2017 – Investors with $3trn sign up to defend SEC conflict minerals rule – Responsible Investor
Responsible Sourcing Network is a lead investor signatory (on the letter submitted to the SEC).
February 14, 2017 – Can going green help pick the slavery out of cotton? – Eco-Business
“There are improvements little by little and the most where brands get involved in production as they don’t want to be linked to abuse,” [Patricia Jurewicz] said. “But there’s a long way to go”.
February 10, 2017 – Conflict Minerals Latest Disclosure Rule Targeted for Rollback – Bloomberg BNA
Rebels are still profiting from gold mining in the region, the U.N. Security Council said in June. Some companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Owens Corning, are also telling suppliers not to source from the region at all, effectively creating an embargo, according to the Responsible Sourcing Network.
February 02, 2017 – SEC to ‘Reconsider’ Conflict Minerals Reporting – Bloomberg BNA
“Given the global market available to companies today, if they don’t have to abide by something in this country, they’re likely to abide by something in another country,” Patricia Jurewicz, director of the Responsible Sourcing Network, told Bloomberg BNA.
January 02, 2017 – Is a Tesla really ethical? Company won’t say how its batteries aren’t tainted – Australian Financial Review Originally published in The Washington Post, December 30, 2016.
"Most consumers have an expectation that their products are sourced responsibly," said Patricia Jurewicz, director of the Responsible Sourcing Network, a group that seeks to correct human rights abuses in the way raw materials are harvested and mined… “It’s important for companies to demonstrate what they’re doing and go beyond a mere verbal commitment,”