Tesco to ban Uzbek cotton in response to child labour abuses

Britain's biggest retailer Tesco said the use of forced child labour in Uzbekistan meant it would no longer buy the country's cotton to make its clothes.

 The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) applaud Tesco's breakthrough decision following ongoing discussions with the campaigning group to place a ban on all cotton sourced from Uzbekistan for its clothing range, homeware and corporate purchases. The decision comes following a 3-year investigation on cotton production in Uzbekistan conducted by the EJF.  Tesco said in a statement received by AFP: "We realise that this is a complex issue with many causes which we acknowledge are hard to address individually. However, the use of organised and forced child labour is completely unacceptable and leads us to conclude that whilst these practices persist in Uzbekistan, we cannot support the use of cotton from Uzbekistan in our clothing," added the supermarket chain.