The Truth Behind Fast Fashion

First, let us break down what modern slavery is. Modern slavery is when your employer controls you through either mental or physical abuse. It is estimated that there are around 29.8 million slaves in the world. In a variety of industries.

This hits close to home for me because I am from Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan was ranked by the US as a tier 3 country for human rights. In fact, the Global Slavery Index ranks Uzbekistan second after North Korea. Where they stated around 3.97% of the population is in modern slavery. The major violation happening in Uzbekistan is the forcing of citizens as young as 7 to pick cotton during the harvest time.

This is mandatory, during the USSR my parents participated in this while they were growing up. I never knew it was slavery. When they talked about it, they obviously complained about the conditions and quotas, but always made it seem like a summer camp where you hung out with friends. Since the fall of the USSR the conditions have gotten worse in the country, thus the country has become even more dependent on cotton.

Uzbekistan is the 5th largest exporter of cotton in the world. Last year they signed a 1 billion dollar contract to export cotton all over the world. The major consumer of Uzbek cotton is Daewoo. Daewoo is a South Korean company who produces a variety of products ranging from refrigerators to textile. Prior to signing a petition to stop using this cotton major brands like Macy’s, Target, and Zara all sourced their cotton from Uzbekistan.

What has been done in order to end this. 

From the international community putting pressure on the Uzbek government, rules have been in place to limit the amount of children who are forced to work. Unfortunately, not much has happened since. This topic isn’t presented in the media because Uzbekistan is a closed off country. Plus, no one knows where this place is. In fact, when I say I am from Uzbekistan people say Pakistan to which I say no it’s the country next to Kazakhstan or Borat.

The fashion industry has been taking responsibility. They pledged to not only stop using Uzbek cotton but other resources from around the world that were sourced from slave labor. I would ask all of you to think twice before buying something. There are lists online which show companies that source their products from places that use slavery.