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Banned Chinese Cotton Found in 19% of Products, Study Shows

Traces of cotton from Xinjiang were found in nearly a fifth of samples from American and global retailers, highlighting the challenges of complying with a US law aimed at blocking imports that could be linked to forced labour in China.
A pair of hands hold a handful of cotton buds.
The US enacted a law in 2021 to safeguard its market from products potentially tainted by human rights abuses in Xinjiang. (Shutterstock)
By
BoF PROFESSIONAL

Traces of banned Chinese cotton were found in 19 percent of a sample of merchandise selling at US and global retailers in the past year, a study showed, highlighting the challenges of complying with the US law aimed at blocking imports of cotton linked to forced labour in China.

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