Cotton crimes: Write to retailers

Around half of all cotton in Uzbekistan is picked by forced child labour and the single biggest destination for Uzbek cotton is the European market. Over 60 per cent of Uzbek cotton is exported to Bangladesh which produces garments for the world market. The Cotton Crimes campaign is calling upon companies to ban the use of Uzbek cotton within their products until forced child labour has been eradicated from the production process in Uzbekistan.

Which retailers should I write to?
Some retailers such as Wal-Mart (Asda), Tesco, GAP and Marks & Spencer, amongst others, have already taken action to ban Uzbek cotton from their products. However, many retailers have yet to make this commitment. Therefore we encourage you to write to the Chief Executive of any of your favourite retail chains asking them to do so.

Please click here to view the responses we have received from retailers so far to help inform your letters.
 
See the sample letter below which you can personalise and add to. You can find the address of the company's headquarters on their website or on your receipts.

Thank you for your help.

sample letter

Subject: Helpl stop forced child labour in Uzbekistan's cotton industry

Dear Chief Executive,

I am writing to you because I am concerned about ongoing state-sponsored forced child labour in Uzbekistan's cotton industry.

Schools are closed down for the duration of the cotton harvest and children, some as young as nine years old, are sent to the fields to pick cotton by hand for little or no pay. Students who fail to meet their targets or refuse to work are beaten or can face expulsion from school. Human rights groups estimate that hundreds of thousands of children are involved each year.

I regularly shop at your stores and I would like to know where the cotton in your products originates from. I would like assurances that you will not use Uzbek cotton until such time as forced labour is eradicated from the production process.

Finally, I urge you to label your cotton clothing with the country of origin of the cotton and not just the country of manufacture, so that I can be sure that I am not buying clothes which have been produced with forced child labour.

Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully,
(your name)