"Fair Trade" Cotton in Burkina Faso

Three years ago, soon after my arrival in Burkina Faso, I learned about a deal that the US Embassy had helped broker between Victoria's Secret and local cotton growers to sell organic cotton for their line of fair trade undies. It was a big opportunity for farmers and the ambassador was excited to share what looked like a successful opportunity for many poor farmers.

I hadn't heard anything more about organic cotton in Burkina until recently. In the last few weeks there have been numerous stories picked up about child abuse among cotton growers in Burkina Faso that provide supposedly fair trade cotton to Victoria's Secret. Here's one article in the Seattle Times.

Its sad to see these reports but honestly its not surprising. Child labor is a common and accepted part of the society though usually not to this extreme. In my family, I saw the kids helping their parents in the field from a very young age. They took frequent breaks to play though and often their responsibility was to watch the babies and young kids while their moms worked. They would help plant and harvest for a bit but then would run around and play for a while. Working in the fields was a family activity and so everyone helped out. I know this isn't always the case and more serious issues arise when children are forced to work away from home or their parents sell them almost into slavery as is the case in this story. I didn't see open examples of this but know it happens.

At the same time, I am encouraged that their are any export opportunities in Burkina Faso since most agriculture is for personal use. Most families only produce enough food to eat over the next year and if its a good harvest, may have small amounts left to sell. My family grew a small patch of cotton that they sold but this only provided a small amount of income to cover a few expenses. More companies need to be willing to export products from Burkina in order for this nation to develop. Victoria's Secret is one of the few that currently is and they were at least trying to help the people of this country by buying a fair trade product. It seems that these certification processes are difficult to verify and there is always room for error. I'm not surprised by this story but am not giving up hope that more opportunities will arise for the farmers of Burkina Faso to sell their products and earn a fair income to support their families.

UPDATE: There have been several new articles contradicting these allegations and it looks like there were serious issues with the way the first story was investigated and reported.

Here is the response from Victoria's Secret.

And a resonse from the organization that certifies the cotton as fair trade.