Report Links Cotton Produced With Forced Labor to 60 Brands
Three Indian cotton suppliers linked to 60 global brands sourced cotton from farms that use forced labor, advocacy group Transparentem said in a report published Jan. 27. The investigation leading to the report found evidence of child labor, debt bondage, withholding of wages, and abusive working conditions at farms in Madhya Pradesh, India.
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Between 2022 and 2023, Transparentem investigated 90 cotton farms that supplied cotton products to Pratibha Syntex, Maral Overseas, and Remei India. The group then traced the cotton to 60 brands, including Adidas, American Eagle, Columbia, Gap and Hanes. In late 2023, Transparentem said it contacted the suppliers and brands to "provid[e] them the opportunity to address the issues uncovered during our investigation."
All three of the suppliers, and "over half" of the buyers (including those listed above) began "efforts to address labor concerns within their supply chains." However, 15 buyers didn't adequately respond to the group and haven't made efforts to improve their supply chain integrity; these brands include Chico's, Cracker Barrel and Skechers.
The conditions Transparentem observed fall under the International Labor Organization’s 11 indicators of forced labor. Should CBP concur with a forced labor finding, it can bar imports from the offending suppliers, as it recently did with an aluminum supplier in the Dominican Republic (see 2412030017).