Many US and European store chains are boycotting Uzbek cotton in protest against the use of forced child labour in cotton harvesting. Undaunted Uzbek authorities have not changed such practice but sought instead other markets.
A report by the International Labour Rights Forum and Human Rights Defenders of Uzbekistan slammed Uzbek authorities for drafting tens of thousands of closely supervised, poorly fed and underpaid school students, some as young as 12 years old, to help in cotton harvesting.