Tesco to ban Uzbek cotton in response to child labour abuses

16 Jan '08

3 min read

Cotton production in the Central-Asian Republic represents one of the most exploitative enterprises in the world. EJF report that up to one-third of the workforce is required to labour in the annual cotton harvest for very low wages. This includes tens of thousands of children who are withdrawn from school to pick the cotton that funds President Karimov?s government, which receives around £500 million annually in export revenues from the crop. Europe is a major buyer of Uzbek cotton.

After several meetings with EJF, Terry Green, CEO Tesco Clothing and Hardlines, has told suppliers in a letter that “the use of organised and forced child labour is completely unacceptable and leads us to conclude that whilst these practices persist in Uzbekistan we cannot support the use of cotton from Uzbekistan in our textiles”.

“The Uzbek regime?s abusive cotton industry operates within a framework of totalitarian control – a system that discounts fair elections; prohibits free media; and condones torture,” Steve Trent says.

“We are urging all retailers to follow Tesco's move to send a message to the government of Uzbekistan that its flagrant human-rights abuses cannot continue. Tesco has proven that the sourcing of cotton fibre and the tracking of supply chains are entirely possible and there is no excuse for all other retailers of cotton goods not to pledge a commitment to do the same.”

Environmental Justice Foundation

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