Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy, and fibrous natural fiber obtained from the seedpod of the cotton plant. Cotton is widely used in textile production and is one of the most important cash crops in the world. Cotton has many desirable qualities, such as breathability, durability, and absorbency, which make it suitable for various applications, such as clothing, bedding, and towels. However, cotton production has been linked to environmental and social issues, such as water scarcity, land degradation, and forced labor. Some initiatives have been put in place to address these issues, such as sustainable cotton production practices and fair trade initiatives.

 

Local organization promotes shopping to end human trafficking this holiday season
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Local organization promotes shopping to end human trafficking this holiday season

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Ahead of Black Friday and the holiday shopping season, the Collaborative to End Human Trafficking is reminding customers to choose their products and retailers carefully to avoid contributing to the forced labor trade. The United Nations, this year, estimated 28 million people around the world, including children, are in forced labor –…

Lab results find Shein clothes likely made with Uyghur cotton
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Lab results find Shein clothes likely made with Uyghur cotton

Bloomberg News sent out Shein clothing for a laboratory test. The result? The German lab, Agroisolab GmbH, found that the carbon, hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios indicated that the Uyghur Region was the likely origin and that 95% of other possible cotton regions were definitely not the source. Agroisolab uses isotope testing to trace source…

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

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…

Improving the proposed EU regulation to ban forced labour products: a model law
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Improving the proposed EU regulation to ban forced labour products: a model law

10 November 2022 In the latest blog, Sian Lea and Rocio Domingo Ramos from the Business and Human Rights team discuss the proposed EU regulation to ban forced labour products and introduce our model law.   Image credit: Alexandre Lallemand, via Unsplash. On 14 September 2022, the European Commission published a proposal for a law…

Forced Prison Labor Was Also on the Ballot
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Forced Prison Labor Was Also on the Ballot

Terrancé Akins worked the entire seven years that he was incarcerated in the Hardeman Correctional Facility, a private prison contracted to imprison people in Tennessee. “You couldn’t not have a job,” he told The Nation. “We cooked. We cleaned. We washed the clothes. We taught the classes. The whole operation of the facility was dependent…

COMMENT: Farms, mines maintain infamy for child labour – The Chronicle
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COMMENT: Farms, mines maintain infamy for child labour – The Chronicle

The Chronicle Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter PLANS by Government to establish a National Action Plan targeted at eliminating child labour, which is reportedly mostly prevalent in the country’s agriculture and mining sectors, are commendable. Government is signatory to international Conventions 138 and 182 promulgated under the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to address minimum age…

Foreign court hears legal case from Uyghurs for the first time ever
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Foreign court hears legal case from Uyghurs for the first time ever

In what is believed to be the first time ever, according to ABC news, a foreign court has heard legal arguments from Uyghurs regarding forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. The case is being brought against the U.K. home secretary, HM Revenue and Customs and the National Crime Agency (NCA) by…

How to find ethical products – Sponsored Stories News – NZ Herald
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How to find ethical products – Sponsored Stories News – NZ Herald

New online tool highlights ethical products for Kiwi shoppers. New Zealanders are being urged to use new breakthrough technology to buy products that are ethically sourced to reduce exploitation. The call has come from ethical shopping activist Dr Susan Maiava who says the 2021 Global Estimates of Modern Slavery Report shows the number of people…

Human trafficking trial of seven Chinese nationals postponed due to language barrier
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Human trafficking trial of seven Chinese nationals postponed due to language barrier

The trial of seven Chinese nationals arrested for alleged human trafficking and child labour was on Monday postponed in the High Court in Johannesburg to Friday next week as the court tries to secure a Mandarin interpreter. “It emerged in court that the previous interpreter spoke Cantonese and the accused were battling to follow proceedings…

Forced labor camp survivor suing British government for “dragging its heels”
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Forced labor camp survivor suing British government for “dragging its heels”

  “I’m lucky I’m in a free country now. But I can’t not think about people who I left behind. I don’t know what happened to them, what kind of horrors they have been subjected to.” Erbakit Otarbay has escaped forced labor and torture at a Uyghur Region labor camp where he had been detained…