We take ethics seriously, bringing you sweatshop-free products without any child labor. All of our t-shirts use fair trade cotton made in the USA, including our regular t-shirts. The manufacturer’s working conditions are closely monitored through a transparent Code of Conduct and regular independent audits. This article gives details about our fair labor certifications, the manufacturer’s ethical guidelines and code of conduct, as well as the country of origin of the products and the cotton raw material.

Fair labor certifications

All of our products (including imported apparel) are approved by independent fair labor certifications and ethical seals such as :

• Fair Labor Association (FLA)
• Worldwide Responsible Apparel Foundation (WRAP)
• Vérité Fair Labor
• Empowering Ethical Supply Chains (SEDEX)
• Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA)
• California Safety Compliance Corporation (CSCC)
• Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI-Intl)
• Social Accountability 8000 (SA8000)

The clothing is also environment-friendly approved by Oeko-Tex Certification Class 100

Ethical Guidelines – Code of Conduct for manufacturers and their supply chain

Our manufacturer partner requires all of its suppliers to sign their “Ethical Guidelines Code of Conduct” to ensure fair production conditions and ethical standards. This includes, among other labor standards, the assured prevention of child labor and the guarantee of fair payment. To ensure these standards, our partner works with suppliers who bindingly sign the Code of Conduct, or provide similar binding assurances of their own. In addition, our partner works to gather detailed information about the supplier’s production conditions such as Social Audit Reports and monitoring.

Our exclusive manufacturing partner, defined as SPRD, Inc in the following text, is a contractor working with the cooperative to supply us with clothing and products to be printed on. SPRD has designed a code of conduct to create humane conditions at work worldwide. Contractual partners of SPRD are obligated to sign this code of conduct and adhere to it if they cannot present a similar document.

This partnership with a business specialized in the clothing industry allows us to ensure the whole supply chain is closely monitored to prevent ethical issues and ensure decent working conditions

All manufacturers of the products sold on this website adhere to this Code of Conduct, even our cheaper imported t-shirts. This Code of Conduct applies to contractual partners as well as their subsidiaries.

1. The Scope of the Code

This Code of Conduct applies to the shop, to SPRD’s contractual partners as well as their subsidiaries.

2. Legal Compliance

The contractual partners must follow their relative applicable national and international laws, particularly the labor and social laws. In addition, this Code of Conduct, which states the fundamental labor and social standards, is based on the ILO Conventions, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Conventions on the Rights of the Child and on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, as well as the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

The SPRD Code of Conduct describes only the ensured minimum standards for the protection of employees. If the provisions of national and international legislation and / or industry standards and this Code of Conduct contain rules on the same subject, then the strictest regulations shall apply.

3. Information and Communication

The contractual partners must make the SPRD Code of Conduct freely accessible to all employees in their language and in the relevant work areas.

Contractual partners who operate with third parties (producers, subcontractors etc.) are required to make the SPRD Code of Conduct a central idea of this concrete business relationship.

The contractual partner must designate a specific contact person to handle questions of implementation and observance of this Code of Conduct.

4. Inspection and Monitoring

The business partners agree and understand that the adherence to the minimum requirements and standards of this Code of Conduct can be monitored at any time, either by employees of SPRD or by independent organizations.

5. Standards

a) Working Hours

A work week includes a maximum of 48 hours as well as a maximum of 12 overtime hours. Every employee is entitled to at least one day off from work per week. Overtime will be paid corresponding to the legal regulations or the industry’s regional practices, whichever of those has a higher standard.

ILO-Conventions 1 and 14 apply.

b) No Child Labor

Employees must be at least 15 years of age and cannot be less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling. Child labor and the supply of services by children is prohibited. The definition of child labor is determined by the United Nations regulations or the nation’s specific applicable regulations, whichever of those is more stringent.

ILO-Conventions 79, 138, 142 and 182 as well as ILO-Recommendation 146 apply.

c) Forced Labor

Employment must be freely chosen and must be established on the basis of employment forms which follow the national laws and procedures. Forced labor, bonded labor or slave labor is not tolerated.

Employees’ identity papers may not be retained. The employees may not be prevented from leaving the place of work.

ILO-Conventions 29 and 105 apply.

d) Prison Labor

Prison labor is forbidden.

e) Equal Treatment

Every employee is to be treated fairly and according to the principle of equality. This means that no employee may be discriminated against or preferred according to differences in race, religion, age, social backgrounds, political attitude, gender, sexual orientation or position in the company.

ILO-Conventions 100, 111, 143, 158 and 159 apply.

f) Dignity in the Working Environment

Human dignity is inviolable and therefore to be implicitly respected in the workplace. Forced labor, harassment, physical or mental coercion and degrading methods of discipline or punishment are prohibited.

g) Working Contracts

Employees must receive a written contract for the documentation of their terms of employment. This documentation must indicate at a minimum: Name of the employee, date of birth, place of birth, home address, function, starting date of contract, agreed hours of work, salary and further compensation, probation period (if applicable), holiday entitlements, regulations for the termination of the working relationship (both by employer and employee), date and signature or thumb print of the employee as well as the employer.

In cases of illiteracy, the terms of the contract must be additionally communicated verbally. This is to be documented in writing.

h) Compensation

The wages must meet the basic needs of the employee and must never fall below the legally prescribed minimum wage for that country. The employees must receive all benefits mandated by national law, e.g. insurance contributions, premium payments for overtime and paid holidays. Illegal and unauthorized deductions as well as disciplinary deductions are forbidden.

The wages should be provided in accordance with the local common practice.

ILO-Conventions 26 and 131 apply.

i) Occupational Safety

The safety of the employee in the workplace is to be guaranteed. It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure this to its full extent. All of the respective nation’s current industrial safety regulations are to be complied with, as well as the relevant legal regulations with regard to the exposure to harmful substances. Thus, use of dangerous chemicals, which leave residue and could be harmful to one’s health, are prohibited. Similar regulations apply to working conditions with regard to noise levels, fire, sanitation, ventilation, etc. and for the employees’ accommodation, if such are provided. Access to First Aid and emergency/evacuation plans must be present. Furthermore, all regulations are to be ensured for the protection the environment.

j) Freedom of Association

The employees may not be prevented from participation in the freedom of association. They have the right to join trade unions or other labor organizations as well as the right to collective bargaining in accordance with local laws.

ILO-Conventions 87, 98, 135 and 154 as well as the ILO-Recommendation 143 apply.

SPRD, Inc. requires that the above provisions are followed by all contractors, employees, subcontractors and other third parties.

The resulting requirements of this Code of Conduct may not be circumvented through the use of contract work, pseudo training programs or similar measures. Under pseudo training programmes are especially those which do not have the objective of propagating employees’ knowledge or skills.

SPRD, Inc. reserves the right to withdraw from the business relationship in the case of any violation of the above. The aim of cooperation would be to clarify problems and, in the possible case of violation, to improve the situation together.

MANUFACTURER – We, the undersigned, attest to having read and understood the contents of the SPRD Code of Conduct, and agree to comply with the resulting obligations.
Location, Date, Company Stamp, Signature, Name and Position of the Signatory

Sources: [1] – [2]

Products country of origin

All of our clothing is printed, processed, packaged and shipped from the United States.

We usually offer two types of products manufacturers options – either imported or produced locally. The most ethical t-shirts are of course the local products but the downside is the premium price. However, we understand that most of our working class customers are on a budget and sometimes prefer the cheapest option available. That’s why we give the choice between two options and also offer regular t-shirts at $15 – but we still make sure to always use brands among the most ethical in the imported clothing industry.

The brands we carry will depend on availability and other factors, therefore we can’t provide the details about each manufacturer and product origin in this F.A.Q. but you can contact us to get specific information.

Our t-shirts are made of cotton ethically produced in the United States

The vast majority of the cotton used by our t-shirts manufacturers is produced in the United States, including even our standard t-shirts and imported products. US cotton farmers are required to adhere to strict US labor laws and regulations. These regulations are most likely some of the most stringent in the cotton growing industry globally. They provide workers with ethical workplaces and because cotton is regulated as a food crop, workplace health and safety conditions mirror those of the vast majority of the foods we find on our tables.

Regulated as a food and fiber crop under strict U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) standards, cotton grown in the USA represents the best combination of quality and value for cotton and cotton blended products. Under the guidance of the National Cotton Council, USDA and various other organisations, US farmers have continuously reduced their environmental footprint by constantly improving their agricultural practices.

Under the guidance of the USDA, the National Cotton Council (NCC) and various other organizations, US Cotton farmers have partnered with industry and academia in order to develop and implement numerous agricultural conservation practices and technologies. These technologies have resulted in a dramatically reduced environmental footprint.

Seed varieties have increased production yields while lowering water, land and energy, and further reducing the frequency and intensity of chemical applications. Conservation agriculture practices and advanced soil monitoring systems have reduced soil erosion and residual impacts on the environment. GPS positioning and advanced delivery systems allow farmers to be more efficient while planting, fertilizing and harvesting, effectively allowing for a reduction in GHG emissions and environmental impacts on the land and neighboring ecosystems.

Some U.S. Cotton facts:

– The US Cotton industry as a whole employs over 126,000 employees, whose farms output is valued in excess of 3.5 billion. The economic impact of all parts of the US Cotton industry are estimated to be in excess of $21 billion

– U.S. cotton is regulated as a food crop as well as a fiber crop by U.S. regulatory agencies (USDA, USEPA and FDA). It is therefore subject to the same rigorous environmental standards as food producers.

– U.S. Cotton growers offer ethical and safe work environments respecting employee rights according to the laws and regulations as set forth under U.S. law and OSHA.

– U.S. Cotton is a drought and heat-tolerant crop, with two-thirds of a planted acreage requiring no supplemental irrigation in addition to rainfall.

– Two-thirds of U.S. growers use conservation tillage, which saves about 907 million metric tons of soil per year and over one billion liters of tractor fuel. Conservation tillage is a method different than conventional tillage. It reduces soil erosion and therefore nutrient loss. It also increases the soil’s moisture and organic matter content.

– U.S. cotton is a net greenhouse gas (GHG) absorber. More GHGs are absorbed in the fiber, plants and soil than those GHGs emitted during the entire agricultural cycle: field preparation through harvest.

Sources: [1] – [2] – [3]

We boycott cotton from Uzbekistan’s forced labor

Every year the Government of Uzbekistan, one of the world’s largest exporters of cotton, forces over 1 million of Uzbek citizens to leave their regular jobs and go to the fields to pick cotton for weeks in arduous and hazardous conditions. Many people have died in fields from extreme heat and accidents. According to several human rights organizations, slavery-like practices are used in Uzbekistan’s cotton fields.

Read more about Uzbekistan cotton here:
https://www.DefendAnimals.com/blog/we-boycott-cotton-from-uzbekistan/

The vast majority of the cotton used by our t-shirts manufacturer is produced in the United States. Notwithstanding this fact, our supplier requires all business partners to confirm, by means of a signed statement, that they do not use or procure any cotton fiber originating from Uzbekistan.

In 2013, our t-shirts manufacturers established a cotton traceability assessment for its cotton yarn suppliers in order to ensure that the cotton, yarn or products they supplied did not contain cotton originating from Uzbekistan. The suppliers included in the assessment were selected according to several risk factors that include their proximity to Uzbekistan, and the quantities of yarn purchased by our t-shirts manufacturer or third party contractors manufacturing their products. 

Sources: [1] – [2] – [3]

Respect of the environment

To find out more about our eco-responsible policies, please refer to this article:
Eco-responsibility, environment-friendly practices and use of non-chemical inks

Our t-shirts are made of cotton ethically produced in the United States. The cotton used by our manufacturers is grown in the United States, including even for our standard t-shirts and imported products. US cotton farmers are required to adhere to strict US labor laws and regulations. These regulations are most likely some of the most stringent in the cotton growing industry globally. They provide workers with ethical workplaces and because cotton is regulated as a food crop, workplace health and safety conditions mirror those of the vast majority of the foods we find on our tables.

Click here to learn more about our US cotton.

Slavery-like practices are used in Uzbekistan’s cotton fields

Every year since 1989, the Government of Uzbekistan, one of the world’s largest exporters of cotton, forces over 1 million of Uzbek citizens to leave their regular jobs and go to the fields to pick cotton for weeks in arduous and hazardous conditions. Many people have died almost every year in fields from extreme heat and accidents, including children who are also forced to work. According to several human rights organizations, slavery-like practices are used in Uzbekistan’s cotton fields.

Human rights organizations, such as the IHF, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and others, define Uzbekistan as “an authoritarian state with limited civil rights” and express profound concern about “wide-scale violation of virtually all basic human rights”.

According to the human rights violations reports, the most widespread violations are torture, arbitrary arrests, and various restrictions of freedoms: of religion, of speech and press, of free association and assembly. It has also been reported that forced sterilization of rural Uzbek women has been practiced by the government. The reports maintain that the violations are most often committed against independent journalists, members of religious organizations, human rights activists and political activists, including members of the banned opposition parties.

Human rights campaigners have been threatened, beaten and detained while attempting to monitor conditions during the harvest. There is currently thousands of political prisoners in Uzbekistan and Human Rights Watch reported that Uzbek prison authorities routinely beat prisoners and use electric shocks, asphyxiation and sexual humiliation to extract information and confessions. Muslim prisoners have even been tortured for praying. According to a forensic report commissioned by the British embassy, some prisoners were boiled to death.

Uzbekistan also maintains the world’s second-highest rate of modern slavery, around 4% of the country’s population working as modern slaves. The only country with an higher slavery rate is North Korea. Recent reports on violations on human rights in Uzbekistan indicate that violations are still going on without any improvement.

The 2005 civil unrest in Uzbekistan, which resulted in over 1500 people being killed by the military. These events are viewed by many as a landmark event in the history of human rights abuse in Uzbekistan. A concern has been expressed and a request for an independent investigation of the events has been made by the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, the OSCE and other human rights NGOs.

Forced labor repeats every year during harvest. Provincial government offices order schoolteachers to close schools and enforce quotas in the cotton fields. The local authorities send government and private business employees in order to meet cotton production quotas. The Uzbek government combines these orders with threats, detains and tortures Uzbek activists seeking to monitor the situation, and refuses to address the problem of forced labor.

The forced labor system orchestrated by the government of Uzbekistan violates human rights, holds Uzbek citizens as modern slaves, and condemns future generations to a cycle of poverty. Only the high officials of the corrupt regime in place for more than 30 years, profits from the forced labor and the massive exports of cotton. We join Uzbek citizens in supporting the Call to Boycott Uzbek Textile organized by the victims of governmental persecution.

Our commitment against forced labor in Uzbekistan

We endorse the Responsible Sourcing Network coalition against forced labor in Uzbekistan:

We are working to ensure that forced labor does not find its way into our products. We are aware of reports documenting the systemic use of forced labor in the harvest of cotton in Uzbekistan. We are collaborating with a multi-stakeholder coalition to raise awareness of this very serious concern, and press for its elimination.

As a signatory to this pledge, we are stating our firm opposition to the use of forced labor in the harvest of Uzbek cotton. We commit to not source Uzbek cotton for the manufacturing of any of our products until the Government of Uzbekistan ends the practice of forced labor in its cotton sector. Until the elimination of this practice is independently verified by the International Labor Organization, we will maintain this pledge. [1] [2]

The vast majority of the cotton used by our manufacturers is produced in the United States. Notwithstanding this fact, our supplier requires all business partners to confirm, by means of a signed statement, that they do not use or procure any cotton fiber originating from Uzbekistan.

In 2013, our imported t-shirts manufacturers established a cotton traceability assessment for its cotton yarn suppliers in order to ensure that the cotton, yarn or products they supplied did not contain cotton originating from Uzbekistan. The suppliers included in the assessment were selected according to several risk factors that include their proximity to Uzbekistan, and the quantities of yarn purchased by the manufacturer or third party contractors manufacturing their products.

To learn more about our ethical guidelines, please read the Manufacturer’s Code Of Conduct

Sources: [1] – [2] – [3]

Uzbekistan Cotton Production Facts

Every year the government of Uzbekistan forcibly mobilizes over a million citizens to grow and harvest cotton. The Uzbek government forces farmers to grow cotton and deliver production quotas under threats of penalty, including the loss of the lease to farm the land, criminal charges and fines. The government forces over a million citizens to pick cotton and deliver harvest quotas under threat of penalty, including expulsion from school, job loss, and loss of social security benefits. The government claim that these forced and unpaid labor are a “duty of patriotism”.

• Uzbekistan is one of the world’s largest cotton exporters, and the government of Uzbekistan uses one of the largest state-orchestrated systems of forced labor to produce it.
• Forced labor and child labor in the cotton sector of Uzbekistan is unique to the world: it is a state-controlled system, under the direction of a president in power since the end of the Soviet Union, which violates the fundamental rights of millions of Uzbek citizens each year.
• Cotton picking is dangerous work. Each year, the forced-labor system of cotton production has claimed the lives of several Uzbek citizens, and many forced to pick cotton are exposed to unknown chemicals in the fields, unsanitary housing, and lack of safe drinking water.
• Uzbek citizens and political refugees launched a call to “Boycott Uzbek Textile and Companies Using It”. “We, the undersigned citizens of Uzbekistan, call for an international boycott of Uzbek textile and companies that use it. For the Uzbek textile is produced of cotton harvested using forced labour of children and adults. Foreign investors and partners of Uzbek textile companies must comply with international human rights standards, and press for the Uzbek government to respect human rights. Only independent monitoring by the International Labour Organization can confirm when Uzbekistan ceases the practice of forced labour. We urge the European Union and the United States of America to cancel the trade benefits for Uzbek textile manufacturers, provided by the General System of Preferences. Below is a list of companies in Uzbekistan that feed cotton products into supply chains of Western companies. We call for a boycott.”

• Until recently, the government mobilized schoolchildren age 11-15 on a mass scale to pick cotton, leaving schools throughout much of the country effectively closed during the harvest season as pupils from the fifth grade and older and teachers from all grades worked in the fields. In recent years, following bans on Uzbek cotton by international retailers and clothing brands alarmed by reports of widespread mobilisation of children into the fields, the country has embarked on reforms. Yet human rights campaigners say forced labour – and sometimes child labour – still persists.
• In 2015 and 2016, the government of Uzbekistan forced more than a million people, including students, teachers, doctors, nurses, and employees of government agencies and private businesses to the cotton fields, against their will and under threat of serious penalties.
• The government of Uzbekistan has increased the use of forced adult labor, apparently to compensate for fewer children. Massive mobilization of teachers, doctors, nurses and other adults to the cotton harvest has degraded education and health services. It has also led to widespread extortion of individuals and businesses, with officials demanding contributions individuals and businesses, including multinational enterprises.
• Profits of the Uzbek cotton sector support only the inner circle of Uzbek government. Uzbek farmers are forced to meet state-established cotton quotas, purchase inputs from one state-owned enterprise, and sell the cotton to a state-owned enterprise at artificially low prices. The system traps farmers in poverty, and the state profits from sales to global buyers. The profits disappear into a secret fund to which only the highest level officials have access, known as the Selkhozfond.
• The cotton ends up in brand-name retail and apparel supply chains and therefore on consumers, even though citizens of Uzbekistan have called for an international boycott of cotton from Uzbekistan, and over 260 global brands have pledged to avoid while forced and child labor continues.
• The government of Uzbekistan harasses, detains, and exiles Uzbek citizens who call for recognition of human rights, violating their human rights and denying freedoms of speech and the press.
• The Uzbek-government forced labor system violates the human rights of Uzbek citizens and condemns future generations to a cycle of poverty. The practice violates Uzbek labor laws and fundamental international labor and human rights conventions ratified by the Uzbek government, including the International Labour Organization Abolition of Forced Labour Convention (No. 105), International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (Article 8), the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons (supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and also known as the “Palermo Protocol”), and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 23).

Uzbekistan is the fifth largest exporter of cotton, estimated export share is 6.5% of the global cotton market.

• Currently, cotton is estimated to generate over $1 billion USD in export earnings for the Uzbek government. Profits disappear into an extra-budgetary fund in the Finance Ministry to which only the highest-level officials have access. Meanwhile,farmers and citizens forced to pick cotton incur debt to fulfill their assigned quotas and pay penalties for not fulfilling them.
• The Uzbek government owns all land and has monopoly control over agriculture input suppliers, cotton purchasing,and sales. It imposes annual production quotas on farmers and enforces quotas with coercion, including confiscation of property, to enforce them. The government exerts this coercion against farmers via the financial system used for the cotton sector, threats of physical abuse and legal charges.
• The Uzbek government is the only legal buyer of cotton. It sets the procurement price for cotton purchased from farmers below its own calculation of production costs. Farmers incur debt in order to fulfill their assigned cotton production quotas, and therefore are unable to hire voluntary labor or invest in good agricultural practices.
• Governmental control of the cotton industry is a holdover from the Soviet era. In spite of breaking from the USSR in 1991 and restructuring collectivist practices into private farms, a command economy system continues to exist today.
• Many Uzbek citizens (7% of the total population according to World Bank estimates) emigrate to Russia, Kazakhstan,United Arab Emirates, Turkey, South Korea,and Europe in search of decent work.
• The International Organization for Migration and government sources have estimated that a quarter of Uzbekistan’s adult population are labor migrants, working abroad due to lack of domestic employment opportunities.

Forced Child Labor

For the first twenty years of Uzbekistan’s independent history, the government closed schools for three months every year and sent more than one million children to pick cotton during the annual cotton harvest.

• Following a decade of international pressure, in the 2014 cotton harvest the Uzbek government stopped forcing children to pick cotton. This policy change resulted in more than a million children removed from forced labor and demonstrated the Uzbek government’s ability to unilaterally end state-orchestrated forced and child labor in the cotton sector.
• 2014 was the first harvest that did not include the mass mobilization of children. However, thousands of children were still sent to the fields in at least three regions in 2014, where local officials mobilized them in order to avoid stiff penalties for failing to meet production targets.
• Third-year college students, of whom approximately 8% are under the age of 18, were mobilized across the country, equating to tens of thousands of 17 year olds in the fields.
• Reports suggest that mass mobilization of children has not occurred during the harvest of 2015.Unfortunately, the government has not changed policies that ensured the continued, albeit much reduced, use of child labor in the cotton fields. In 2015, the central government continued to order local officials to fulfill their portion of the national cotton production plan under threat of punishment, including dismissal. In some cases, this led local authorities to mobilize child labor rather than risk failing to meet their quotas.
• In 2015 the Uzbek government again mobilized third-year high-school students under threat of dismissal from school without exempting students under 18, the legal age for cotton work. Officials continued to force adults to fulfill state-assigned work quotas in the cotton fields, resulting in children helping their parents fulfill their quotas and escape punishment.

Forced Adult Labor

Every year, forced labor is imposed upon 1 million uzbeks citizens

• The Uzbek government has always forced adults to pick cotton during the annual harvest and increased its use of adult forced labor when it reduced its use of forced child labor.
• University students, government employees, private sector businessmen, and low-income residents are forced to sign “willing volunteer” documents and pick cotton under threat to their education, livelihood, or welfare benefits. -In addition, mass mobilization of education and health-care workers creates a shortage of essential service providers.
• Private businesses are also ordered to contribute staff to the harvest and face tax fines if they disobey.

Human Rights Violations

The Uzbek government imprisons, arrests, attacks and intimidates citizens who attempt to report forced labor. It also eliminates political opposition; represses civil rights; controls registered civil-society organizations; restricts freedom of movement; censors internet, telephone and other media; and uses detention and violence to curb human rights monitoring.

• As essential elements of its coercive system of cotton production,the Uzbek government denies freedom of association and due process and represses human rights monitors. There are no independent trade unions, and in 2014 the government imprisoned and tortured independent union organizers Fahriddin Tillaev and Nuriddin Jumaniyazov.
• Throughout 2015 and 2016, the government increased the frequency and severity of its efforts to silence citizens who report abuse. Officials arrested, beat and filed charges against many human rights activists.
• The Uzbek government denies freedoms of association, expression and religion. No independent human rights organizations are permitted to work in the country. Authorities repress all forms of freedom of expression and do not allow any organized political opposition, independent media, free trade unions, independent civil society organizations, or religious freedom. Those who attempt to assert rights, or act in ways deemed contrary to state interests, face arbitrary detention, lack of due process, and torture. Forced labor of adults and children continues in 2017.
• Media criticism of the governmental policies incurs prosecution, fines, and prison terms. Torture and human rights’ violations are commonly used by the police and prison administrations. Since 2013,the International Committee of the Red Cross has been unable to visit Uzbek prisons due to lack of cooperation from the Uzbek government.
• The government massacred participants in the first and last mass public rally, in Andijan in 2005, and refused repeated international calls for independent investigation.
• Human rights defenders face threats of government reprisal, including imprisonment and torture. Authorities block international rights groups and media from operating in Uzbekistan. The government has imprisoned more than a dozen human rights defenders on wrongful charges and has brought charges against others because of their work.

Environmental Degradation

Uzbekistan, the world’s sixth leading producer of cotton, is a prime example of how cotton can severely impact a region’s environment. In the 1950s, two rivers in Central Asia, the Amu Darya and and the Syr Darya, were diverted from the Aral sea to provide irrigation for cotton production in Uzbekistan and nearby Turkmenistan.

Today, water levels in the Aral Sea, once the fourth largest lake in the world, has been reduced to 10% of its area in the last 60 years due to water mismanagement, primarily for cotton irrigation. As the Aral dried up, fisheries and the communities that relied on them failed. Over time, the sea became over-salinated and laden with fertilizer and pesticides from the nearby fields. Dust from the dry, exposed lakebed, containing these chemicals and salt saturated the air, creating a public health crisis and settling onto farm fields, contaminating the soil.

The Aral is rapidly becoming a dry sea and the loss of the moderating influence that such a large body of water has on the weather has made the region’s winters much colder and summers hotter and drier.

The Aral Sea’s surrounding soil, air,and water is heavily contaminated with pollutants from fertilizers and pesticides, driving extraordinary rates of tuberculosis, lung disease, and cancer among the marginalized population of Karakalpakstan

Sources and links

• https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/06/27/uzbekistan-forced-labor-linked-world-bank
• https://www.antislavery.org/take-action/campaigns/end-uzbek-cotton-crimes/
• http://www.cottoncampaign.org/uzbekistans-forced-labor-problem.html
• http://www.cottoncampaign.org/what-companies-that-use-cotton-can-do.html

We offer t-shirts made of 100% organic cotton, bringing you eco-friendly products manufactured with the highest possible environmental and vegan standards, in combination with our 100% organic and vegan print inks. Our organic cotton is also GMO-free and certified by USDA and GOTS.

Organic cotton certifications

Our organic t-shirts are certified 100% organic and approved by the USDA under strict production and labeling requirements, including annual inspections by the certifier. The cotton is also certified by Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and Control Union (SKAL). Cotton clothing is only organic if it is certified to an organic cotton standard – we guarantee no greenwashing! Our eco-friendly printing inks are also certified vegan and organic.

Why Organic? Here are the environmental benefits of organic cotton

• Organic cotton uses 71% less water and 62% less energy – The cotton grown organically is 80% rain-fed, which reduces pressure on local water sources. The absence of chemicals also means that water is cleaner and safer.
• A percentage of the sales is donated to environmental organizations – Our manufacturer donates a part of the sales to environmental non-profits that are working to restore, protect, and advocate for our home, planet earth.
• Contain absolutely no Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) – Buying organic products ensures that zero of the proceeds of the t-shirt you are buying go to Monsanto.
• Reduce global warming – Organic farms pull CO2 out of the atmosphere as much as three times the rate of conventional farming practices and releases less CO2 into the atmosphere because it does not rely on chemical fertilizers and herbicides. Reversing climate change is achievable by farming organically, according to studies.
• Promote bio-diversity –  Insect and bird life has been found to be as much as 50% greater on organic farms than conventional farms
• Social & Economic Benefits – Organic cotton promotes safe work & better livelihoods. Growing organic cotton keeps farmers and their families safe. They are not exposed to toxic chemicals in the field or through their food and water supply. It also means farmers grow more than one crop which supplements their food and income.

Cotton facts – how non-organic cotton is destroying our planet

• 20,000 liters of water is needed to produce a single t-shirt, according to WWF. 73% of global cotton harvest comes from irrigated land.
• Cotton covers only 2.4% of the world’s cultivated land but uses 24% of the world’s insecticide and 16% of pesticides.  Cotton is considered the world’s most polluting crop due to its heavy use of pesticides, according to Rodale Institute and WWF.
• Cotton agriculture is the second dirtiest industry in the world, second only the oil industry, according to Ecowatch.
• 77 million cotton workers suffer poisonings from pesticides each year. Growing cotton is a toxic business; it uses a lot of pesticides – putting in peril the lives of women, men, and children in cotton farming communities. According to the World Health Organization up to 20,000 deaths each year are caused by pesticide poisoning in developing countries. In the US alone, more than 10,000 farmers die each year from cancers related to such chemicals. Eight of the top 10 pesticides most commonly used on U.S. conventionally produced cotton were classified as moderately to highly hazardous by the World Health Organization.
• Cotton’s pesticides are killing bees. On top of polluting our water and soil, the chemical products used in cotton crops include Neonicotinoids, which were linked to bees deaths. The insecticides used on cotton also include dangerous chemicals called Organophosphates, which were originally introduced by Nazi Germany as nerve poisons during World War II, before it was transformed into a pesticide. Studies find that both Neonicotinoids and Organophosphates contributes to killing bees, which is a fact now also recognized by the EPA.
• Birds decline – Pesticides used in cotton crops, like Neonicotinoids, are also killing at least 67 million of birds every year and are linked to birds decline, according to studies. It is estimated that of the roughly 10% of the birds exposed annually to pesticides on U.S. agricultural lands are killed. This staggering number is a conservative estimate that takes into account only birds that inhabit farmlands, and only birds killed outright by ingestion of pesticides. The full extent of bird fatalities due to pesticides is extremely difficult to determine because most deaths go undetected.
• 90% of the world’s cotton is genetically modified. More than 270,000 Indian farmers have committed suicide since the introduction of Monsanto’s GMO cotton in just 11 years in India. Monsanto has pushed up prices of seeds by more than 8,000%, pushing the farmers to debt and financial ruin.

The importance of organic cotton

Wearing organic fabrics has a major positive impact on the health of our planet. Organic cotton is grown in a way that uses methods and materials that lessen the impact on our environment. A big effort in the organic movement is to use growing systems that replenish and maintain soil fertility and build biologically diverse agriculture. Organic cotton uses far less water too.

The main benefit of organic materials, however, is that the crops aren’t treated with pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, and Genetically Modified Organisms. These toxins are harmful to farmers and workers, us as consumers, and entire wildlife ecosystems.

Conventionally grown cotton uses more insecticides than any other crop in the world. It is estimated that each year cotton producers use as much as 25 percent of the world’s insecticides; an incredible amount for one just one crop.

These chemicals can be deadly. Such pesticides poison farmers all over the world. Factory workers also have to breathe in their fumes during the manufacturing process.

Aldicarb, cotton’s second best-selling insecticide and most acutely poisonous to humans and wildlife is still used in 25 countries, including the U.S., where 16 states reported it in their groundwater. The dangers are recognized by the EPA and they have signaled its upcoming phase-out.

To make matters worse, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has also found that pesticides unintentionally kill at least 67 million birds annually in the U.S.

These chemicals seep into run-off water after heavy rains, poisoning lakes, rivers, and waterways. Pesticide residue has been increasingly discovered in foods, farm animals, and even breast milk. Not only are these carcinogens responsible for thousands of cases of cancer in adults, but they are also particularly harmful to young children who can develop debilitating neurodevelopmental effects.

We even feel the harmful effects of non-organic cotton and fabrics in our daily lives. Irritated skin, rashes, and even headaches, and dizziness can be caused by the chemical residue trapped in the threads.

If our choices literally kill our farmers, destroy our rivers and streams, and endanger our youth we have an obligation to consider organic along with style and fit. It’s that important.

Source: [1]

The problem with genetically modified cotton and Monsanto

• More than 90% of the world’s cotton is genetically modified
• Conventional cotton is one of the top four GMO Crops.
• 95% of the cotton seed market is controlled by GMO Giant Monsanto

By making the cotton crops resistant to pesticides using GMOs, farmers are encouraged to use even more pesticides with little adverse effects on the crop. This makes an already toxic business potentially even more toxic for the environment.

The suicide rate among Indian cotton farmers has skyrocketed since the introduction of Monsanto’s BT cotton in 2002. The price of seeds has also skyrocketed, and with few alternate options, farmers are being stretched thin. About one Indian farmer killed himself every 30 minutes in 2009, for a grand total of 17,638 in that year alone. Their harvests are low and prices are high. The suicide phenomenon has become known as “The GM Genocide”.

A number of social activist groups and studies proposed a link between genetically modified cotton and farmer suicides. Monsanto’s BT cotton was claimed to be responsible for farmer suicides. The BT cotton seeds from Monsanto cost 8000% more than ordinary ones. The higher costs forced many farmers into taking ever-larger loans, often from private moneylenders charging exorbitant interest rates (60% a year). The moneylenders force farmers to sell their cotton to them at a price lower than it fetches on the market. According to activists, this created a source of debt and economic stress, ultimately suicides, among farmers. Increasing costs in farming associated with decreasing yields even with the use of BT cotton seeds are often quoted cause of distress among farmers in central India.

Farmers are killing themselves so that we can have our GM cotton t-shirts and socks. It’s difficult to truly grasp the gravity of this matter, but the fact is—it’s happening now and it’s happening, in a large part, due to the GMO industry.

Source: [1]

Environment impact of conventional cotton

Uzbekistan is a good example of the environmental destruction caused by cotton farming. Today, water levels in the Aral Sea, once the fourth largest lake in the world, have been reduced to 10% of its area in the last 60 years due to conventional cotton.

Over time, the sea became over-salinated and laden with fertilizer and pesticides from the nearby fields. The Aral Sea’s surrounding soil, air, and water are heavily contaminated with pollutants from fertilizers and pesticides, driving extraordinary rates of tuberculosis, lung disease, and cancer among the population. This situation is creating a public health crisis and settling onto farm fields, contaminating the soil.
Read our blog article about Uzbekistan’s cotton to learn more.

Fair price for sustainability – why organic cotton is more expensive

When you buy organic cotton you are investing in water conservation, cleaner air, better soil, and farmer livelihoods. Less than 1% of the cotton grown in the world is organic, so due to low offer and demand, the cost of organic cotton is therefore higher. However, with demand on the rise, more choices will become available.

Learn more about organic cotton

Today there are many organizations working to educate people about the benefits of organic agricultural methods in an effort to promote the growth of organics globally.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ORGANIC COTTON:

1. Organic Exchange: www.organicexchange.org
2. Organic Farming Research Foundation: www.ofrf.org
3. Organic Trade Associate: www.ota.org
4. Pesticide Action Network: www.panna.org
5. Rodale Institute: www.rodaleinstitute.org
6. The Organic Center: www.organic-center.org

OUR SOURCES FOR THIS ARTICLE:

1. Manufacturer’s FAQ – Econscious
2. AboutOrganicCotton.org
3. Most cotton we wear today is genetically modified
4. Genetically modified farming statistics
5. Monsanto dominates the global seeds market
6. The Seeds Of Suicide: how Monsanto destroys cotton farming
7. The GM genocide: Thousands of Indian farmers are committing suicide after using genetically modified crops
8. Cotton is a water-wasting crop – World Wildlife (WWF)
9. Organic cotton is better for the environment
10. Cottoned On
11. Mythbuster: Increased water use of organic cotton?
12. Rodale Institute – Chemical cotton
13. How Genetically Modified Cotton Is Taking Over
14. Cotton Is the Second Dirtiest Industry in the World, Next to Big Oil
15. It’s the Second Dirtiest Thing in the World—And You’re Wearing It
16. Not Just Bees: Controversial Pesticides Linked to Bird Declines
17. Seed Monopolies, GMOs and Farmer Suicides in India – A response to Nature

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