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Nike is facing criticism and risking reputational damage for maintaining business ties with Daewoo International, a company accused of profiting from forced labor in Uzbekistan’s cotton sector.
Over 130 apparel brands, including Nike, have pledged not to buy Uzbek cotton. Yet Nike continues to source synthetics from Daewoo, the largest cotton processor in Uzbekistan and one of the few firms still operating in the region despite international pressure, says one campaign group.
Activists urge Nike to sever Daewoo connection
Anti-Slavery International says Nike is refusing to cut ties with one of the major companies profiting from the forced labour in the Uzbek cotton industry. Daewoo International, the largest processor of cotton in Uzbekistan, is one of only a handful of companies that have defied an international call to stop using Uzbek cotton harvested using forced labour.
Several major brands, including H&M, C&A, and Michael Kors, have already ended their relationships with Daewoo over its alleged involvement in modern-day slavery.
Uzbek human rights activists are calling on apparel companies to completely cut ties with companies like Daewoo International, that they say are profiting from modern-day slavery in the Uzbek cotton industry.
An open letter to Nike signed by Uzbek human rights activists, political leaders, and prominent dissidents called on Nike to stop doing business with Daewoo.
Call to adopt 'Daewoo Protocol' amid abuse revelations
The Cotton Campaign, a coalition of organisations working together to end forced labour in the Uzbek cotton industry of which Anti-Slavery International is a member, is therefore asking Nike to stop doing business with Daewoo and implement the Daewoo Protocol – a series of steps the company needs to take to eliminate Uzbek cotton from its supply chain.
The letter describes the recent death of 18-year-old Navruz Muyzinov, who was beaten by police officers in Shahrisabz, Uzbekistan when he left his assigned cotton field before meeting his cotton picking quota. According to a letter to Radio Free Europe from an anonymous source, who said he witnessed the episode, the teenager went to pick cotton that day instead of his mother. Feeling sick, he left the fields early. On the road he was stopped by two police officers, who quarreled with Navruz and beat him. The teenager was later taken to a hospital, where he died that evening.
Joanna Ewart-James, Supply Chain Programme Co-ordinator at Anti-Slavery International said: “This is an opportunity for Nike to do the right thing and end its association with a company that continues to process around 20 per cent of Uzbekistan’s cotton output despite the industry’s heavy reliance on state-sponsored forced labour.
“All companies have a responsibility to undertake due diligence in their supply chains to ensure that they are not complicit in human rights violations such as modern-day slavery.”
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“Nike would apparently rather harbour companies in its supply chain that are profiting from human rights violations than help bring an end to Uzbekistan’s heinous forced labour system,” said Umida Niyazova, founder of the Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights, another member of the Cotton Campaign.
Nike response cites traceability efforts
In response, the sportswear giant said: "Nike takes very seriously reports of widespread use of forced child labor in Uzbekistan cotton production. We do not knowingly source cotton from Uzbekistan.
"Nevertheless, we are taking action on two fronts:
"1. Because global cotton markets are highly complex and difficult to trace with certainty, we are currently exploring ways to increase traceability across our cotton supply chain to verify that no Uzbek cotton is unknowingly entering our supply chain. This is an important next step for Nike and the industry in obtaining greater visibility to the conditions under which cotton used in our products is grown.
"2. Nike is participating in a US-based multi-stakeholder network, comprised of brands, industry groups, investors, trade unions, and NGOs aimed at eliminating the practice of forced child labor in Uzbekistan cotton production. We believe this group can play a critical role in communicating with stakeholders in Uzbekistan, including the government and the private sector, so that they are aware of our collective concern with ending this practice."
The question is whether the strategy goes far enough to protect Nike’s reputation as an employer and its employee value proposition, or if more direct action is required to re-establish trust among current and future employees who may have been negatively impacted by Nike's involvement in the controversial supply chain.
