Over two-thirds of the world’s cotton is grown in developing countries and the former Soviet Union. Valued at over $30 billion every year, global cotton production should be improving lives. But this ‘white gold’ too often brings misery to rural communities. Unsustainable, inequitable and abusive conditions under which much of the world’s cotton is produced, continues across many countries. In Uzbekistan – the world’s 2nd largest cotton exporter – thousands of children, some as young as seven, are ordered by the government to harvest the annual cotton crop. In Andhra Pradesh, India, over 100,000 children have been documented working for 13 hours a day for just US50 cents. In West Africa, children are trafficked to work in cotton fields. Cotton is responsible for the release of over US$2 billion of chemical pesticides each year, of which nearly half are considered 'hazardous' by the World Health Organisation. Cotton is the world’s thirstiest crop – 20 litres of water are needed to produce the equivalent of one Johnsons cotton bud, and precious fresh water resources are being drained so that cotton fields can be irrigated. The Environmental Justice Foundation is campaigning to raise consumer awareness and to encourage clothing manufacturers and retailers to only sell "clean cotton", and to know how and where the cotton they buy and sell was produced. EJF investigates human rights and environmental abuses, working with grassroots organizations and experts to document the issues and find real-world solutions to them. Our work is supported by policymakers, companies, fashion designers and supermodels, and has featured in the media in over 20 countries around the globe. Together we can change the way cotton is grown, and support rural communities in some of the world’s poorest countries.