XINJIANG − The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) has condemned the use of forced labour in the cotton industry by Muslim prisoners held in Uyghur detention camps in the Xinjiang region of China but has stopped short of pulling out of the country.
The global non-profit organisation, which works to encourage more sustainable cotton production, says it will continue its role in Xinjiang, China’s main cotton producing hub, where it has worked with cotton farmers for the last seven years.
It says that it does not have any "evidence of forced labour on farms within BCI programmes" in Xinjiang - where 20 per cent of its 'better cotton' is produced - but admits that "due diligence efforts are being called into question in the region".
