Even though cotton is grown in South Africa, most is exported for processing and manufactured into clothing items, before being imported again
As apparel retailers and brands scramble to try to disentangle their cotton supply chains from possible links to forced labour abuses in Xinjiang province, China is likely to be looking for alternative markets for its fibres – presenting new challenges for countries like South Africa.
Allegations that ethnic minority labourers in the Xinjiang region in China – which produces 85% of the country s and 20% of the world s cotton – are forced to pick cotton by hand through state-mandated schemes first surfaced more than a year ago.