Lost livelihoods: Pakistan floods leave cotton workers’ dreams in tatters
WAQAR MUSTAFA, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on the devastation floods in Pakistan have wrought on cotton farmers…
US retailers told to target forced labour in China after cotton import crackdown
Thomson Reuters Foundation A crackdown by the United States on cotton imports from China’s Xinjiang region is a “big red flag” that should spur retailers to ensure their supply chains are free of forced labor involving Uighur Muslims, according to a senior US customs official. US Customs and Border Protection said last week it would […]
China accused of forcing 570,000 people to pick cotton in Xinjiang
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation China is forcing hundreds of thousands of ethnic Uighurs and other minorities to pick cotton by hand, a US thinktank said, sparking calls for governments to ban all cotton imports from the Xinjiang region. The vast western province, home to about 11 million ethnic Uighurs, produces 85 per cent of China’s […]
Brands urged to stop sourcing from China’s Xinjiang over forced labour fears
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Major retailers must stop sourcing from China’s Xinjiang region due to the “grave risk of forced labour”, a coalition of civil society groups said on Thursday, amid mounting global pressure on Beijing over its treatment of the Uighur Muslim minority. More than 180 organisations urged brands from Adidas to Amazon to […]
UK urged to stop cotton imports made in Chinese “prison camps”
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Major brands are turning a blind eye to forced labour on a scale not seen since World War II, lawyers and campaigners said on Thursday as they urged Britain to halt imports of cotton goods originating from China’s Xinjiang region. They named H&M, IKEA, Uniqlo and Muji among companies selling merchandise […]
UN sees “major progress” on forced labour in Uzbek cotton harvest
Tbilisi, GeorgiaThomson Reuters Foundation Uzbekistan made “major progress” on stamping out forced labour in its cotton harvest last year, when 94 per cent of pickers worked voluntarily, the United Nations said on Wednesday. The Central Asian country, one of the world’s biggest cotton exporters, has for years been under international pressure to end the use […]
Indian state to map cotton supply chain to stamp out child labour
Chennai, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation A top cotton producing state in India is to start mapping its entire supply chain as part of a unique collaboration with the International Labour Organisation to weed out child labour and slavery from its fields and factories. The southern state of Telangana will this month begin a three-year project with […]
Uzbek teachers, nurses ‘forced’ to clean streets and harvest wheat
Thomson Reuters Foundation Nurses and teachers in Uzbekistan are being forced by officials to clean streets, plant trees and harvest wheat or face the sack, fines or pay cuts, despite a government drive to end state-imposed work, labour rights groups said on Thursday. Under international pressure, including boycotts by fashion giants, the Central Asian country […]
US bans imports of slave-picked cotton from Turkmenistan
Thomson Reuters Foundation The United States has banned cotton imported from Turkmenistan due to findings of state-enforced slave labour, a move celebrated by activists who said they hope other nations using enslaved workers will come under similar scrutiny. The US Customs and Border Protection will turn away any shipments of cotton originating in the Central […]