Apparel brands fight against forced child labour in Uzbekistan

By

Sarah Ahssen

Published
Sep 26, 2011

Adidas, Burberry, C&A, Columbia, Yves Saint Laurent, Li & Fung and PPR are just a few of the more than 60 apparel companies which, together with the American Apparel and Footwear Association (representing more than 800 brands), have signed a pledge not to knowingly source Uzbek cotton that was harvested using forced child labour. The pledge will be maintained until the International Labour Organisation (ILO) can verify the abolition of this practice.

It should be noted that on September 10 the Human Rights Watch (HRW) organisation congratulated the decision taken by the organisers of New York Fashion Week to cancel the catwalk show of the daughter of Uzbekistan’s president, who was due to present her Guli collection. According to HRW, the fashion event had no interest in providing a platform to a “person who has been proved guilty of violating human rights.”