Free London Listings

This event is free but prior booking is required online at: http://www.amnesty.org.uk/events_details.asp?ID=1202

People in modern forms of slavery have contributed to the production of some of the goods we buy in the UK. These may be the products we eat, such as leeks and chocolate, but could also be the cotton in the clothes we wear.

Uzbekistan is the third biggest exporter of cotton in the world, generating over US$1 billion annually. The single biggest destination for Uzbek cotton is the European market.

In Uzbekistan, state sponsored forced labour, particularly of children, underpins the cotton industry. Schools are closed down for the duration of the cotton harvest and children, some as young as ten-years-old, are sent to the fields to pick cotton by hand for little or no pay. Students who fail to meet their targets or refuse to work are reportedly punished with detentions, beatings or can face expulsion from school. Human rights groups estimate that up to 200,000 children are involved each year.

This discussion will focus on what can be done to end the use of forced labour within the cotton industry. Considering the action taken by some retailers to ban Uzbek cotton from their products, why do other retailers continue to use it? How can we as consumers ensure that the products we buy are free from slave labour and that we are not inadvertently contributing to the problem?

Panel:

Lucy Siegle, Journalist (Chair)

Joanna Ewart-James, Anti-Slavery International

Rebecca Attwood, The Environmental Justice Foundation

Steve Grinter, International Textile, Garment & Leather Workers' Federation