Each year tens of thousands of children and students see their schools close for weeks on end while they are forced, by their Government, into fields to harvest Uzbekistan’s cotton...For the past 3 years the UK based non-profit the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) has lobbied clothing retailers and manufacturers...The response was slow, but now, Tesco...has announced a pioneering ban on the purchase of Uzbek cotton. Crucially however, Tesco also announced a new process to allow them to examine their supply chain to be sure they really do know where their cotton comes from. At almost the same time Marks & Spencer announced a similar move to ban Uzbek cotton from their products. Both these companies deserve praise for their action.