The US-based NGO Cotton Campaign has rehabilitated cotton from Uzbekistan. Child labor and forced labor during the cotton harvest in Uzbekistan are now a thing of the past, which is why the Cotton Campaign dropped the international call for a boycott. This is good news for the German knitting industry association – Gesamtmasche eV. “We are pleased about this long overdue step,” says Silvia Jungbauer, General Manager of Gesamtmasche. “The International Labor Organization (ILO) has been reporting positively on the Uzbek cotton harvest for several years.”
The end of the boycott is good news for the entire German textile industry. According to the association, trade in Uzbek cotton products has never been sanctioned, but since 2009 a total of 331 international brands and retailers have signed the NGO’s “Cotton Pledge”. “The Cotton Campaign’s call for a boycott increased Uzbekistan’s dependence on Russia and China,” says Silvia Jungbauer. “We can now stop this development.”
Meanwhile, the ILO encourages international manufacturers to get involved in the country, because Uzbekistan is now considered a sustainable procurement alternative to China. In its current monitoring report, the ILO attests to Uzbekistan that the cotton harvest is free of child and forced labor. Since April 2021, the European Union has granted Uzbekistan duty-free market access through the special status “GSP+”. This is only given to developing countries that have proven that they have implemented and comply with 27 international conventions in the areas of labour, social affairs, the environment and human rights.
The Cotton Campaign is a coalition of human rights NGOs, independent trade unions, brand associations, responsible investors and academics working to end forced labor in cotton production.