Context

The report examines labour conditions on cotton farms in the Khargone and Barwani districts of Madhya Pradesh, India. Between June 2022 and March 2023, Transparentem identified child labour (including the worst forms of child labour as defined by the ILO), debt bondage, abusive working conditions, and wages below state minimums. These issues were linked to structural factors including low rural wages, limited employment opportunities, and entrenched poverty. Families commonly relied on children’s labour to service debts or supplement income.

Children were found performing tasks that exposed them to significant hazards. Even when not handling pesticides directly, they worked in fields shortly after spraying, facing long-term health risks including impaired neurological development and reproductive harm. The report also identified potential concerns around the organic integrity of cotton on farms connected to Pratibha Syntex.

Investigation map

Transparentem mapped supply chain pathways connecting investigated farms to regional ginning mills and, subsequently, to three India-based suppliers—Pratibha Syntex, Remei India (Remei AG), and Maral Overseas. These suppliers in turn sold cotton-based products to multiple international buyers. The farms were not owned or directly operated by the suppliers.

The report emphasises that supply chain connections indicate risk exposure, not proof that cotton from investigated farms entered specific products.

Transparentem’s investigation

Investigators accessed evidence connecting farms to the three suppliers either through direct participation in supplier farming programmes (Pratibha Syntex and Remei) or indirect links through ginning mills (Maral Overseas). Cotton from many farms is mixed at the ginning stage, complicating traceability.

From September 2023 onwards, Transparentem engaged suppliers and buyers to encourage remediation for affected workers and strengthen due diligence. Confidentiality policies prevented the sharing of interviewee names or precise farm locations, which limited suppliers’ ability to verify or remediate specific cases. However, Transparentem stated that the findings represent systemic rather than isolated issues requiring sector-wide responses.

Supplier responses varied.

• Pratibha Syntex acknowledged persistent risks and the need for continuous improvement despite existing programmes.
• Remei AG reported full farm-level visibility and stated it invests in training, transparency, and organic farming systems. It shared its child labour remediation plan and noted ongoing structural risks.
• Maral Overseas questioned the directness of its link to the farms but recognised limited visibility due to cotton mixing at ginning mills. It cited social development initiatives aimed at reducing unethical labour practices.

A timeline of engagement from 2023–2025 documents outreach, formation of buyer working groups, the involvement of the Fair Labor Association (FLA) in developing a remediation roadmap, and the release of interim and final reports.

Corporate engagement and responses

Buyers took varied actions after being contacted. Several joined certification or traceability initiatives such as YESS, Better Cotton, OCA, Textile Genesis, and amfori. Some developed new policies, compliance guides, or responsible sourcing frameworks. Others conducted farm-level audits, launched helplines, or piloted traceability trials.

Examples include:

Adidas nominating Maral Overseas to its YESS mill program.

Carrefour beginning audits of farm groups for its organic line and launching a helpline with Ulula.

G-Star developing physical traceability trials and community programmes in India.

Inditex expanding partnerships with ILO projects targeting child and forced labour, with goals for sourcing exclusively from preferred cotton producers by 2030.

Multiple buyers initiating risk assessments, due diligence upgrades, and expanded supplier mapping.

Transparentem’s call to action

Transparentem urges suppliers and buyers to accelerate efforts to strengthen due diligence, remediation, and risk mitigation across Madhya Pradesh’s cotton sector. It highlights opportunities for collective action to set a global precedent for responsible sourcing. Key suggested actions include community- and worker-led remediation systems, improved monitoring, clear steps toward living wage standards, and measures to prevent child labour and forced labour.

The report also calls on non-responding buyers, and any other entities sourcing cotton from the region, to ensure they are not contributing to harmful labour practices and to participate individually or collaboratively in addressing risks.