Cotton

Table of Contents

The nature of forced labor and child labor risk varies significantly by country, so understanding a company’s geographic sourcing footprint is critical. In many countries with labor risk in cotton production, the risk is linked to contextual factors such as low earnings and incomes for small producers and workers, sharecropping arrangements, or induced or inherited indebtedness. In these contexts, traceability to the level of individual producer may be less critical, as a broader approach is required to address labor risk.
In a small number of countries, the state sponsors forced labor, which increases the risk of labor rights abuses. In these countries, approaches to remediating risks and impacts at the producer level are not viable. To comply with importing country regulations, companies seek to eliminate sourcing from countries with state-sponsored forced labor. In some cases, import country regulations require importing companies to offer origin assurances specific to a physical batch of cotton or product made with cotton. Traceability approaches like forensic testing can confirm the geographic region of production of a batch of goods but are not likely to be practical for large-scale implementation.
The structure of cotton production and downstream supply chains vary greatly between producing countries. In some countries, cotton production is largely mechanized and takes place on larger scale commercial farms. Such countries often have a lower risk of forced and child labor in their cotton industries. In other contexts, production takes place primarily on smallholder farms. Traceability systems implemented in these contexts should be accessible to smaller producers and those with lower financial and technical capacity.
Cotton goes through multiple points of aggregation and transformation between cotton production and integration into consumer products. Linked downstream tiers, like yarn spinning, textile production, and garment production may also present labor risks. Traceability approaches must account for this complexity in order to be feasible in these contexts.

Forced Labor or Trafficking in Persons cited by U.S. Government

Child Labor cited by U.S. Government

Risk of Forced Labor or Trafficking in Persons cited by other source

Risk of Child Labor cited by other source

Documented presence of migrant workers

Documented presence of other vulnerable workers

Documented presence or significant likelihood of third-party labor recruiters

The U.S. Department of Labor has identified the presence of forced labor in the cotton industry in Benin, Burkina Faso, China, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.¹ The U.S. Department of State reports that Uyghur children and adults are forced to produce cotton in China and that forced child labor is present in India.² There are also reports of trafficking in persons in India, Mali (where boys are trafficked and forced to work on cotton farms in Côte d’Ivoire), Pakistan and Togo.³
The U.S. Department of Labor cites the presence of child labor in the cotton industry in Argentina, Azerbaijan, Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, China, Egypt, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Zambia.⁴ The U.S. Department of State also reports the existence of child labor in Cameroon and Zimbabwe.⁵
Human rights organizations have highlighted the risk of forced labor in the cotton industry in the Xinjiang province of China,⁶ Turkmenistan,⁷ and Pakistan.⁸
There are reports of child labor risk in the cotton industry in China, India, Pakistan, Brazil, and Turkey.⁹ Children in India are sometimes bonded laborers, which means that their employer has forced them to work in order to repay a parent’s loan.¹⁰ Government-sanctioned child labor has been identified in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and China. In these countries, the government takes children from schools and forces them to work in the cotton production industry to meet national quotas.¹¹
There is a documented presence of migrant workers in the cotton industry. In Turkmenistan, there are reports of police forcing internal migrants in the Balkan region to pick cotton.¹² In Turkey, the presence of unprotected migrants and refugees, including a large number of Syrian refugees, has led to a greater risk of child labor.¹³
Human rights groups have linked cotton production in China to the exploitation of the ethnic Uyghur Muslim minority population in the Xinjiang region where they have been detained in ‘re-education’ camps and forced to work in the cotton industry.¹⁴
There is a documented presence of labor recruiters in Xinjiang who use harassment to recruit Uyghur Muslims into the Chinese state-sponsored labor programs.¹⁵ There are also reports of middlemen who transport workers, oftentimes children, across state borders in India and between countries in West Africa.¹⁶

Large numbers of dispersed, unorganized, or informal small producers or other worksites

Multiple points of aggregation, co-mingling, and/or transformation across supply chain

Complex, opaque supply chains and/or lack of vertical integration

High degree of flexibility in procurement practices of downstream entities

Cotton production sites vary across the globe from large mechanized systems to smallholder farms.¹⁷ Smallholder farms dominate cotton production in India, Africa, and Latin America.¹⁸ Small, medium, and family farms are common in Brazil, China, India, Pakistan, and Western Asia (including Turkey and Syria),¹⁹ although there are also some large farms in Pakistan and India.²⁰
Cotton goes through multiple points of transformation across the supply chain. After being harvested, the seed is separated from the lint through the ginning process. It is then spun to create cotton yarn and thread.²¹
The global cotton supply chain is opaque and complex.²² There are a number of actors involved in cotton production, including field owners, cotton producers, cotton pickers, cotton traders, and ginning mill owners.²³ There is a high degree of flexibility in procurement practices of downstream entities due to the large number of small producers.²⁴

Scale or nature of risk varies significantly based on geographic area of production

Scale or nature of risk is strongly associated with certain types of suppliers/entities

Scale or nature of risk is present across multiple tiers or nodes of supply chain (including in associated downstream or upstream goods)

The nature of labor risk, whether state-imposed or from the private sector, varies depending on geographic location. State-imposed forced labor is prevalent in the Xinjiang region of China and Turkmenistan; there have also been some isolated incidences of local officials authorizing child labor in Uzbekistan.²⁵ In other countries, the nature of the risk is more closely associated with private producers.
The nature of the risk of forced and child labor in the cotton production industry is strongly associated with smaller producers of cotton and those that do not have access to expensive mechanization equipment.²⁶
Risk of forced and child labor is present across multiple tiers of the supply chain, including the agricultural and harvesting tier and the ginning tier.²⁷

The risk of child and forced labor exists at multiple nodes of cotton production. Cotton production can be categorized into five stages. In the first stage, production begins with the sowing of cotton seeds in ploughed fields.²⁸ The cotton plant takes approximately five months from germination to boll maturation.²⁹ It can then be harvested manually or mechanically. Forced and child labor is prevalent on farms where cotton is harvested by hand.³⁰ The quality of the cotton can decrease if it is improperly harvested, contaminated with foreign materials, or poorly stored.³¹ The second stage features ginning. Ginning is the separation of the cotton lint from the cotton seed.³² The cotton is cleaned and pressed by the ginner.³³ Ginning usually takes place in the country that the cotton is produced in.³⁴ Ginning can be a dangerous process for those who work without protective clothing because breathing in white cotton dust can cause respiratory problems. Children are at special risk; there are reports that child labor exists in the factories where the ginning takes place.³⁵ The third stage features trading. Trading is when cotton is bought and sold, often multiple times, between producers and buyers. Trading can take place domestically or across international borders.³⁶ The fourth stage, manufacturing, encompasses the spinning, dyeing, weaving, knitting, and assembling of cotton materials into finished textile products. At this point, the cotton is worth several times more than the value of cotton at the production stage. Finally, in the fifth stage of distribution, finished textile products are transported to retailers.

Cotton Farming

Ginning

Spinning

Trading

Distribution

The production of hybrid cottonseeds, which can be used to produce cotton with a higher degree of fiber quality, is strongly associated with child and forced labor.

Textiles Apparel and Luxury Goods

Cotton lint is commonly manufactured into thread and yarn that are used to produce.

Food and Beverage

Cottonseed, which is discarded during the ginning stage of production, can be used to make cottonseed oil and as feed for cattle.

China³⁸
India
United States of America
Brazil
Pakistan
Turkey
Uzbekistan
Australia
Mexico
Benin

Better Cotton Child Labor in Cotton Supply Chains: Action-Based Collaborative Project to Address Human Rights Issues in Turkey Fairtrade International (Segregated/Bulk Commodity) Cotton and garment traceability using additive tracers Fiber-forward traceability using digital twin blockchain technology Leather & Cotton traceability using supply chain mapping Responsible Sourcing Network’s Yarn Ethically and Sustainably Sourced (YESS) Initiative Tracing Organic Cotton from Farm to Consumer Pilot Project UNECE Blockchain Traceability Pilot Projects – Cotton and Leather Value Chains Digital Chain of Custody platform for cotton product tracking

1
List of Goods Produced by Child or Forced Labor. Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 28 September 2022, www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods?tid=All&field_exp_good_target_id=5777&field_exp_exploitation_type_target_id_1=All&items_per_page=10&combine=&page=1.
2
2022 Trafficking in Persons Report, U.S. Department of State, 19 July 2022, www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/337308-2022-TIP-REPORT-inaccessible.pdf.
3
2022 Trafficking in Persons Report, U.S. Department of State, 19 July 2022, www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/337308-2022-TIP-REPORT-inaccessible.pdf.
4
List of Goods Produced by Child or Forced Labor. Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 28 September 2022, www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods?tid=All&field_exp_good_target_id=5777&field_exp_exploitation_type_target_id_1=All&items_per_page=10&combine=&page=1.
5
2022 Trafficking in Persons Report, U.S. Department of State, 19 July 2022, www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/337308-2022-TIP-REPORT-inaccessible.pdf.
6
Murphy, Laura T., et al. “Laundering Cotton – How Xinjiang Cotton is Obscured in International Supply Chains”, Sheffield Hallam University, November 2021, www.politico.com/f/?id=0000017d-3164-dddc-a77f-35f7068e0000.
7
Review of the Use of Forced Labor During the 2021 Cotton Harvest in Turkmenistan, Cotton Campaign, July 2022, https://www.cottoncampaign.org/news/turkmenistan-systematic-forced-labor-in-the-2021-cotton-harvest.
8
Labor Rights in Pakistan’s Cotton Value Chain: Harnessing Technology to Eliminate Child and Forced Labor, ELEVATE, 25 February 2022, www.elevatelimited.com/engage/webinars/labor-rights-in-pakistans-cotton-value-chain-harnessing-technology-to-eliminate-child-and-forced-labor.
9
Child Labour in Cotton – A briefing, International Labour Organization, 2016, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—ipec/documents/publication/wcms_ipec_pub_29655.pdf.
10
Child Labour in Cotton – A briefing, International Labour Organization, 2016, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—ipec/documents/publication/wcms_ipec_pub_29655.pdf.
11
Child Labour in Cotton – A briefing, International Labour Organization, 2016, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—ipec/documents/publication/wcms_ipec_pub_29655.pdf.
12
Review of the Use of Forced Labor During the 2021 Cotton Harvest in Turkmenistan, Cotton Campaign, July 2022, https://www.cottoncampaign.org/news/turkmenistan-systematic-forced-labor-in-the-2021-cotton-harvest.
13
Child Labour in Cotton Supply Chains, Fair Labour Association, June 2017, www.unicef.nl/files/child_labor_in_cotton_supply_chains_june_2017.pdf.
14
Fanzeres, Julia., Ren, Henry. “U.S. Bans Xinjiang Cotton Products, Tomatoes Over Forced Labor”, Bloomberg, www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-13/u-s-bans-all-xinjiang-cotton-products-tomatoes-on-forced-labor?sref=crvicPLk.
15
Murphy, Laura T., et al. “Laundering Cotton – How Xinjiang Cotton is Obscured in International Supply Chains”, Sheffield Hallam University, November 2021, www.politico.com/f/?id=0000017d-3164-dddc-a77f-35f7068e0000.
16
The Children Behind Our Cotton, Environmental Justice Foundation, 2007, www.ejfoundation.org/resources/downloads/The-Children-behind-Our-Cotton-FINAL_small.pdf.
17
Child Labour in Cotton – A briefing, International Labour Organization, 2016, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—ipec/documents/publication/wcms_ipec_pub_29655.pdf.
18
Child Labour in Cotton – A briefing, International Labour Organization, 2016, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—ipec/documents/publication/wcms_ipec_pub_29655.pdf.
19
Child Labour in Cotton – A briefing, International Labour Organization, 2016, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—ipec/documents/publication/wcms_ipec_pub_29655.pdf.
20
Child Labour in Cotton – A briefing, International Labour Organization, 2016, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—ipec/documents/publication/wcms_ipec_pub_29655.pdf.
21
Child Labour in Cotton – A briefing, International Labour Organization, 2016, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—ipec/documents/publication/wcms_ipec_pub_29655.pdf.
22
Allen, Andrew, “Major brands ‘likely to have cotton linked to slavery in supply chains”, CIPS, 17 November 2021, www.cips.org/supply-management/news/2021/november/major-brands-likely-to-have-cotton-linked-to-slavery-in-supply-chains.
23
Child Labour in Cotton Supply Chains, Fair Labour Association, June 2017, www.unicef.nl/files/child_labor_in_cotton_supply_chains_june_2017.pdf.
24
Seeds of Oppression, ARISA and Centre for Labour Research and Action (CLRA), July 2021, arisa.nl/wp-content/uploads/SeedsOfOppression.pdf.
25
Murphy, Laura T., et al. “Laundering Cotton – How Xinjiang Cotton is Obscured in International Supply Chains”, Sheffield Hallam University, November 2021, www.politico.com/f/?id=0000017d-3164-dddc-a77f-35f7068e0000 : 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report, U.S. Department of State, 19 July 2022, www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/337308-2022-TIP-REPORT-inaccessible.pdf.
26
Seeds of Oppression, ARISA and Centre for Labour Research and Action (CLRA), July 2021, arisa.nl/wp-content/uploads/SeedsOfOppression.pdf.
27
The Children Behind Our Cotton, Environmental Justice Foundation, 2007, ejfoundation.org/resources/downloads/The-Children-behind-Our-Cotton-FINAL_small.pdf; Forced Labour and Child Labour in the Cotton Industry, World Vision Action, 2012 www.worldvision.com.au/docs/default-source/buy-ethical-fact-sheets/forced-and-child-labour-in-the-cotton-industry-fact-sheet.pdf?sfvrsn=2.
28
Child Labour in Cotton – A briefing, International Labour Organization, 2016, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—ipec/documents/publication/wcms_ipec_pub_29655.pdf.
29
Child Labour in Cotton – A briefing, International Labour Organization, 2016, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—ipec/documents/publication/wcms_ipec_pub_29655.pdf.
30
Child Labour in Cotton Supply Chains, Fair Labour Association, June 2017, https://www.unicef.nl/files/child_labor_in_cotton_supply_chains_june_2017.pdf.
31
Child Labour in Cotton – A briefing, International Labour Organization, 2016, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—ipec/documents/publication/wcms_ipec_pub_29655.pdf.
32
Child Labour in Cotton – A briefing, International Labour Organization, 2016, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—ipec/documents/publication/wcms_ipec_pub_29655.pdf.
33
Child Labour in Cotton – A briefing, International Labour Organization, 2016, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—ipec/documents/publication/wcms_ipec_pub_29655.pdf.
34
Child Labour in Cotton – A briefing, International Labour Organization, 2016, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/—ipec/documents/publication/wcms_ipec_pub_29655.pdf.
35
The Children Behind Our Cotton, Environmental Justice Foundation, 2007, ejfoundation.org/resources/downloads/The-Children-behind-Our-Cotton-FINAL_small.pdf; Forced Labour and Child Labour in the Cotton Industry, World Vision Action, 2012 www.worldvision.com.au/docs/default-source/buy-ethical-fact-sheets/forced-and-child-labour-in-the-cotton-industry-fact-sheet.pdf?sfvrsn=2.
36
The Children Behind Our Cotton, Environmental Justice Foundation, 2007, ejfoundation.org/resources/downloads/The-Children-behind-Our-Cotton-FINAL_small.pdf.
37
List of exporters for the selected product in 2021. Product : 52 Cotton. ITC Trade Map, www.trademap.org/Country_SelProduct.aspx?nvpm=1%7c%7c%7c%7c%7c52%7c%7c%7c2%7c1%7c1%7c2%7c1%7c1%7c2%7c1%7c%7c1
38
Crops and livestock products. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL.

Funding is provided by the United States Department of Labor under cooperative agreement number IL‐35805. 100 percent of the total costs of the project or program is financed with federal funds, for a total of USD 4,000,000. This material does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the United States Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the United States Government

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Supply Chain Characteristics that Impact Traceability

Traceability Takeaways

Nature of Labor Rights Risk/Vulnerable Workers

Features of Production and Supply Chain

Distribution of Labor Risk in Various Production Areas

Linked Upstream and Downstream Risks

Risk in Nodes in Cotton Production

Associated Upstream Goods with Labor Risk

Associated Downstream Goods and Consumer Sectors

Top Global Countries

Examples & Resources: Traceability Efforts Associated With Cotton

Footnotes