On 21 May 2025, the Cotton Campaign Coalition released a report titled Turkmenistan Cotton: State-Imposed Forced Labour In the 2024 Harvest and Links to Global Supply Chains, which presents findings related to forced and child labour in cotton production in Turkmenistan. The report is based on monitoring of the cotton harvest from April to December 2024 by in-country civil society partners Turkmen.news and Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights (TIHR). Based on the continued forced labour risks, we would advise clients to maintain their existing programmes and/or prohibitions on cotton sourced from Turkmenistan.
The report finds that state-imposed forced labour remains a systemic issue in Turkmenistan’s cotton harvesting with little change in how it operates. Public sector employees are expected to either pick cotton themselves or to pay for a ‘replacement worker’ to pick cotton on their behalf. For example, one employee reported paying approximately 2,000 manats (US$102.60) for a replacement worker—about twice the average monthly salary. In some cases, workers must borrow money to make up the difference.
Findings also indicate that child labour continues despite the government in 2024 prohibiting workers under the age of 18 from cotton picking. Increasing poverty and a rise in pay rates for picking has resulted in entire families picking cotton, with children working on small, family plots or as replacement pickers alongside parents who are mobilised workers.
According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), Türkiye is the main destination for Turkmenistan’s cotton exports, receiving 93% of its cotton yarn, 57% of its raw cotton, and 71% of its pure cotton fabric. Turkmen cotton yarn accounts for 13% of Türkiye’s total cotton yarn imports, indicating a moderate level of exposure. In contrast, Turkmen raw cotton makes up just 0.6% of Türkiye’s overall cotton imports, suggesting minimal reliance in this category.
Beyond Türkiye, of key garment producing countries, Turkmen cotton, yarn and fabric are exported to the following countries:
- Raw cotton: Belgium (14% of Turkmen exports), Pakistan (13%), Portugal (10%)
- Pure cotton yarn: China (2% of Turkmen exports), but this accounts for only 0.05% of China’s imports
- Pure cotton fabric: Italy (5% of Turkmen exports) and Morocco (4%), but this accounts for <1% of these countries’ imports.
The Cotton Campaign Coalition is a coalition of human rights NGOs, independent trade unions, brand associations, responsible investors and academics working on forced labour in cotton production, with a focus on Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The Cotton Campaign Coalition and Responsible Sourcing Network launched the Turkmen Cotton Pledge in 2018 calling on brands to prohibit the use of cotton from Turkmenistan in their products.