LONDON (AFP) — Britain's biggest retailer Tesco on Tuesday said the use of forced child labour in Uzbekistan meant it would no longer buy the country's cotton to make its clothes.
"Following ongoing discussions with campaign groups on the subject of cotton production and the use of child labour ... we feel the need to re-iterate Tesco's deep concern at the use of child labour," Tesco said in a statement received by AFP.
"We realise that this is a complex issue with many causes which we acknowledge are hard to address individually.
"However, the use of organised and forced child labour is completely unacceptable and leads us to conclude that whilst these practices persist in Uzbekistan, we cannot support the use of cotton from Uzbekistan in our clothing," added the supermarket chain.
Uzbekistan is one of the world's biggest producers of cotton.
In a separate statement, the Environmental Justice Foundation applauded Tesco's "breakthrough decision" following ongoing discussions with the campaigning group.
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