The US has banned imports of cotton or products made with cotton from Turkmenistan after discovering the reality of state-orchestrated forced labor.
While direct trade between the US and Turkmenistan is relatively small, the Central Asian country exports cotton to Turkey, Pakistan, India and China.

Apparel brands producing garments from those nations will need to pay attention to their cotton sources.

Similarly when forced labor was discovered in cotton harvesting in Uzbekistan, nearly 300 brands and retailers, including Adidas, H&M and Fruit of the Loom, signed a pledge to eliminate Uzbek cotton from their supply chain.

Knowing the origin of a garment isn't as simple as taking a look at the Made In label. While a T-shirt may be manufactured at a factory in Asia, the raw materials could come from all over the world.

More than 80 countries worldwide produce cotton, and spinners blend a lot of their cotton and mix it together from several different countries to maintain consistency and quality.

The challenge for apparel brands is knowing the source of cotton in their products — or they risk having their products turned away at the border. Most brands don’t buy yarn. And they don't have the relationships with yarn and textile mills.

In addition to working with suppliers, brands need to assess risk. Nearly three quarters of cotton exports from Turkmenistan go to Turkey. If an apparel brand has a production facility in Turkey, there's a higher risk Turkmenistan cotton is in their products.