A recent report from the United States has revealed that several top apparel brands purchased cotton grown by children in India, who were exploited and forced to work in inhumane conditions. The report, conducted by the US government, found that thousands of Indian children were trafficked and forced to work on cotton farms to meet the high demand for low-cost cotton in the global apparel industry.
Major brands such as H&M, Primark, and Uniqlo were identified as having unknowingly purchased cotton from these exploited children. The report also mentioned that some companies were aware of the child labor practices but did nothing to prevent it.
Child labor is banned in India under the country’s Child Labor Act, but children continue to work in the informal sector, particularly in agriculture, due to poverty and lack of education. The US report’s findings have raised concerns about the lack of enforcement of labor laws and the prevalence of child exploitation in India’s cotton industry.