The increase of cotton production has affected the most vulnerable individuals around the world for the benefit of increasing wealth and power of nations and investors. As governments, companies and, investors prosper the land and people of the area of commercial cotton farms are deprived of their way of life. Furthermore, the cost of cotton produced today does not bare the true cost of water use, land depletion nor, deprivation of human rights.
The first cost that will be explored is the social dynamics related to cotton production, and how the cotton supply chain lends itself to social injustice. Cotton for textile use can be traced back thousands of years. But the intensification of production during the American industrial revolution, made the use of underpaid and slave labor essential to grow the economy quickly. In fact, more than half of the nation’s exports in the first six decades of the 19th century consisted of raw cotton, almost all of it grown by slaves (Gerdeman, 2017). America’s wealth today can be contributed to the work performed by slaves in the South during the 19th century. At that time, the United States economy prospered as merchants increase their wealth be selling slave-grown cotton. Since then, people around the world have enslaved humans to work cotton fields in hope the to bring wealth to new merchants.
One prominent example of forced labor that still occurs today is in Uzbekistan. Every year the government of Uzbekistan forcibly mobilizes citizens to grow and harvest cotton. In 2015 and 2016, the government of Uzbekistan forced more than a million people, including children, teachers, doctors, employees of government agencies and, private businesses to the cotton fields, against their will and under threat of penalty, especially losing their jobs and government benefits (Evens & Gill, 2017). The reason for this practice is because of the irrigation projects funded by The World Bank in 2014. The objective of the World Bank’s Horticulture Development Project for Uzbekistan is to enhance the productivity and profitability of horticulture sector in the project area (Karaban, 2014). As this forced labor still happen every year as the development project continues, the World Bank is responsible for this forced labor. Therefore, it should be held accountable to improve the lives of those living in rural areas rather than increasing national wealth.
To avoid the use of slave labor be sure to ask suppliers where their cotton is grown, ask for a paper receipt and look for certifications like GOTS and FairTrade and Better Cotton Initiative. To learn more about these and other certifications check out the Discovery tab.
References:
Evans, J., & Gill, A. (2017). We Can't Refuse to Pick Cotton: Forced and Child Labor Linked to World Bank Group Investments in Uzbekistan. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/06/27/we-cant-refuse-pick-cotton/forced-and-child-labor-linked-world-bank-group
Gerdeman, D. (2017). The Clear Connection Between Slavery and American Capitalism. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/hbsworkingknowledge/2017/05/03/the-clear-connection-between-slavery-and-american-capitalism/#7c64c3d27bd3
Karaban, E. (2014). Uzbekistan-Horticulture Development Project (THE WORLD BANK). Retrieved from http://projects.worldbank.org/P133703/?lang=en&tab=overview