Tesco has announced that it is avoiding buying cotton from Uzbekistan
because of the country's continued use of forced child labor. The company issued a statement saying that
following discussions with campaign groups, they concluded that the use of
organized and forced child labor continued in the country, and that as a result
it would not use its cotton in its clothing.
Tesco said that it now required all of its suppliers to identify
the source of raw cotton used in all Tesco clothing. The campaign group
Environmental Justice Foundation praised Tesco's action, calling it
"unprecedented from a major UK retailer."