Uzbekistan is one of the "Big Five" countries that dominate global cotton production (China, USA, India, Pakistan and Uzbekistan). However, unlike China, India and Pakistan, which each use most of the cotton they produce, Uzbekistan has a limited capacity for domestic textile production. As a result over 75% of Uzbek cotton - around 800,000 tonnes - is sold on the world market every year, making Uzbekistan the second biggest cotton exporter in the world. According to data from the United Nations, the major destination for Uzbek cotton is Europe, which receives almost a third of all cotton sold by Uzbekistan. These exports have a value of around US$350 million each year.

Companies that buy Uzbek cotton are inextricably entwined in an economic system that perpetuates poverty and supports labour practices that constitute flagrant violations of human rights. But while the realities of government corruption and forced child labour are hard to ignore, the global cotton industry has done little to address the manner in which Uzbek cotton in produced. According to one expert, the large cotton buyers appear to operate on a "don't know, don't care" basis with regard to the social, economic and environmental impact of cotton farming, harvesting and distribution.

A selection of recent statements made by cotton traders appears to support this claim:

• Paul Kinney, President of Cargill Cotton UK, was recently quoted as saying "Cargill has nothing to do with picking cotton in those countries. I have no further comment and prefer to end this conversation."


• In February 2004, a spokesman for Cargill was quoted as saying that to its knowledge children who picked cotton did so to help their parents during the harvest.


• Thomas Reinhart, who runs a Swiss family-owned company that is one of the biggest traders in central Asian cotton, said he had never heard of the use of child labour in the region. "We buy our cotton from government agencies and don't know what happens out in the fields."

Perhaps the reason that global cotton traders are able to turn such a blind eye to the manner in which Uzbek cotton is produced is that the logistics of the cotton supply chain are complex and consumers have very little awareness of where their clothes originate. Whilst some cotton products contain labels stating the country of their manufacture, details of where the cotton is grown is almost always absent. It is very difficult for consumers to find out about the way in which the cotton in their clothes has been produced. This makes it difficult for them to take action to improve conditions of the thousands of workers in the industry.

But just as clothing retailers have started to take measures to address the labour conditions in the factories in which their products are manufactured, the cotton industry as a whole must now focus on the conditions under which cotton is grown. Those companies that trade in Uzbek cotton, those that finance the buying of cotton, and those that retail products made from cotton, must work together in protecting the rights of the people who produce it. Without such action it seems certain that trade in cotton from Uzbekistan will only perpetuate the human misery associated with its production.