Cotton is the most important natural fibre used in the textile industry worldwide today. It accounts for about 40 per cent of global textile production. It is important because it is sustainable. It has been used for thousands of years. Cotton is the largest non-food crop in the world. It is grown in more than one hundred countries. Over one in seven people worldwide are employed at some point in the cotton market, from growing the crop to selling the cotton garments. It is known as White Gold, and its value cannot be ignored.
The dark side
Whereas many of the historic injustices in the cotton industry in Scotland were eradicated, this has not been the case in the cotton supply chain. White Gold has a dark side. Cotton is still a crop associated with slavery. A significant number of cotton pickers are children who miss school to pick the cotton and who are forced to work long hours every day. Forced labour and debt bondage are still present in the world’s cotton fields. Working conditions outlawed in the UK are now found in the sweat shops of Asian garment factories, where some workers have little choice but to work up to eighty hours a week in unsafe conditions earning wages that do not cover the cost of living. The problems have not been eradicated, they have moved elsewhere.
Although cotton is important on world commodity markets, cotton farmers have not seen the price of cotton rise over recent decades. The decline in cotton prices in real terms has been accelerated by the payment of subsidies by rich cotton producing countries in Europe and the US, protecting their own cotton producers at the expense of poor farmers in poor countries. Large monopolizing seed companies pursuing profits control the sale of cotton seeds and prevent farmers from saving seeds, a process they relied on in the past. In India hundreds of cotton farmers have committed suicide in recent years. Their situation became desperate as they were unable to pay debts to pesticide suppliers.
Environment
The problems are not just social and economic, there are environmental problems too. The cotton plant is vulnerable to pests and so large amounts of pesticides are used in its cultivation. These damaging pesticides, banned in Europe, contaminate not just the cotton fields but also the surrounding area, polluting local rivers and water supplies. Cotton is a demanding crop. It needs plentiful supplies of water and nutrients. Care needs to be taken to ensure these are replaced after the cotton has been harvested. The cost of the water footprint of worldwide cotton consumption is paid far away from those who wear the garments.
A thread of unfairness still runs through the industry. Practices long since considered unacceptable in the UK are prevalent in the cotton supply chain.
Additional references for Current Cotton:
- Cottoned On Campaign
- Cotton Campaign
- Environmental Justice Foundation
- International Cotton Campaign against Slavery
- International Slavery Museum
- UNICEF
- Walk Free
- White Gold: The True Cost of Cotton
- I.D: Fashion creates more greenhouse pollution than the airline industry
- Eco Watch
- True Cost Movie
- River Blue:The Movie
- The Machinists
Further Educational Resources