Cotton Field

The fiber that binds | Newberry Observer
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The fiber that binds | Newberry Observer

ByEyes on Trafficking News

Cotton is a popular textile fiber touted as being eco-friendly since it is derived from a sustainable plant. It is widely recognized for its use in the making of fabrics for clothing, sheets and towels. Surprisingly, it is also present in U.S. currency, rope, paper, cooking oil, livestock feed and some fuels. Despite its usefulness,…

Turkmenistan Mobilizing Thousands of Civilians in Cotton Harvest
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Turkmenistan Mobilizing Thousands of Civilians in Cotton Harvest

ByEyes on Trafficking News

It’s still unclear whether Turkmenistan has the political will to root out forced labor from its own cotton fields, Allison Gill, forced labor program director at the Global Labor Justice-International Labor Rights Forum, told Sourcing Journal Monday. Gill, whose organization hosts the Cotton Campaign, a multistakeholder initiative that aims to eliminate state-sponsored forced labor in…

History of labor trafficking
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History of labor trafficking

ByEyes on Trafficking News

ARIZONA, La. (KTAL/KMSS) –   The kids ran circles around the old brick chimney, yelling “You’re it,” at one another until they tired and headed back to the front porch of the crumbling mansion—but if the children had known the truth about the chimney in the middle of that Claiborne Parish field, would they have used…

Inside Louisiana’s forced prison labor and a failed overhaul attempt
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Inside Louisiana’s forced prison labor and a failed overhaul attempt

ByEyes on Trafficking News

BATON ROUGE – Breakfast at Louisiana’s state Capitol includes fresh coffee, cookies and egg sandwiches – made and served in part by incarcerated people working for no pay. “They force us to work,” said Jonathan Archille, 29, who is among more than a dozen current and formerly incarcerated people in Louisiana who told the Washington…

Inside Louisiana’s forced prison labor and a failed overhaul attempt
|

Inside Louisiana’s forced prison labor and a failed overhaul attempt

ByEyes on Trafficking News

BATON ROUGE – Breakfast at Louisiana’s state Capitol includes fresh coffee, cookies and egg sandwiches – made and served in part by incarcerated people working for no pay. “They force us to work,” said Jonathan Archille, 29, who is among more than a dozen current and formerly incarcerated people in Louisiana who told the Washington…

‘You’re a slave’: Inside Louisiana’s forced prison labor and a failed overhaul attempt
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‘You’re a slave’: Inside Louisiana’s forced prison labor and a failed overhaul attempt

ByEyes on Trafficking News

BATON ROUGE — Breakfast at Louisiana’s state Capitol includes fresh coffee, cookies and egg sandwiches — made and served in part by incarcerated people working for no pay. “They force us to work,” said Jonathan Archille, 29, who is among more than a dozen current and formerly incarcerated people in Louisiana who told The Washington…

The story behind why Louisiana voted against a ban on slavery
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The story behind why Louisiana voted against a ban on slavery

ByEyes on Trafficking News

Last week, Louisiana voters struck down an amendment to its constitution that would have prohibited slavery and involuntary servitude. The four other states where slavery was on the ballot – Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont – approved similar referenda. Louisiana was put in the national spotlight for rejecting the change. Trevor Noah did an entire…

Forced Cotton-Picking Earns Uzbekistan Shameful Spot In 'Slavery Index'
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Forced Cotton-Picking Earns Uzbekistan Shameful Spot In 'Slavery Index'

ByEyes on Trafficking News

A new report on global slavery ranks Uzbekistan and Pakistan among the five worst offenders in terms of the number of people forced into modern slavery. With its forced labor in the cotton fields, Uzbekistan also was estimated to be the world’s second-worst country when ranked by the prevalence of slavery in proportion to the…