To coincide with the Turkmen president’s attendance at the UN General Assembly – the first time since 2015 – apparel companies and global investors have expressed disapproval regarding the nation’s use of statesponsored forced labour in Turkmenistan’s cotton sector.
As a method to remedy this, twelve apparel brands and retailers from around the world have signed the Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN) Turkmen Cotton Pledge, committing not to source cotton from Turkmenistan until forced labour has been eliminated.
Controlled by the government, the Turkmenistan cotton sector is said to be the seventh largest producer and seventh largest exporter of cotton globally. Turkmenistan exports the majority of its raw cotton to Turkey, Pakistan, India, and China, where the cotton eventually makes its way into many textile products sold all over the world.
In order to meet the strict quotas and criteria imposed by the government, many farmers are believed put thousands of citizens into fields for the annual cotton harvest, some of whom are believed to do so against their will.
The original twelve signatories to the new RSN initiative, many of which include subsidiaries which will also adhere to the pledge, are: Adidas (including Reebok); Columbia Sportswear Company; Designworks Clothing Company; Gap Inc.; H&M group; M&S; Nike Inc.; Rowlinson Knitwear Limited; Royal Bermuda LLC; Sears Holdings; Varner Retail AS; and VF Corporation – with its vast range of apparel brands.
In May 2018, the US Customs and Border Protection agency issued a ‘Withhold Release Order’ (/2018052423500/social-compliancecsr-news/campaigners-back-us-decision-to-ban-imports-of-forced-labour-cotton-from-turkmenistan.html) relating to the nation’s cotton, stating that the importation of “all Turkmenistan cotton or products produced in whole or in part with Turkmenistan cotton” could be stopped from entering the States.
This means that US companies which have not taken precautions to ensure the avoidance of sourcing cotton from Turkmenistan are now at risk of the protection agency stopping products at the border.
At the time of publishing, 42 institutional investors have signed a statement urging global brands and retailers to take action in addressing the grave human rights abuses in the cotton sector of Turkmenistan.
Assessing the situation from a business perspective, Lauren Compere from Boston Common Asset Management said: “It is a material risk to companies and investors to turn a blind eye to this abuse and do nothing…As responsible corporate actors, all must state their commitments against modern slavery and implement robust due diligence processes to eliminate sourcing Turkmen cotton until statesanctioned forced labour in the market has stopped.”
In addition to the Turkmen Cotton Pledge, investors are imploring brands to support RSN’s YESS (Yarn Ethically & Sustainably Sourced) initiative, which provides a due diligence verification system for yarn spinners to help avoid cotton harvested through forced labour.
Patricia Jurewicz, vice president and founder of RSN, stated: “Seven years ago RSN created the Uzbek Cotton Pledge. Due in part to the international community refusing to source cotton harvested with slave labour, we are starting to see a commitment by the government of Uzbekistan to change its antiquated and abusive system.”
