Boycotting Xinjiang cotton: What does it mean for environmental and labor justice in Central Asia?

Are other cotton producers faring better on labor and environmental issues?

Originally published on Global Voices

Workers pick cotton in Uzbekistan. Image via Wikipedia. Creative Commons license CC0 1.0

In recent years, the international community has boycotted cotton sourced from Xinjiang, a vast region in northwestern China, due to concerns over human rights violations. Under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Beijing has subjected Xinjiang’s Muslim minorities to arbitrary detention and forced labor.