What a Folly?
Well, atrocities by CPC on the Chinese people are not new. It is embedded in the design of the CPC system, Xinjian and Uyghurs are no exception. In fact, human exploitation is a mild term. We all know Tiananmen Square, however, human memory is so fallible, we have forgotten the over 10-20 million intellectuals who have been killed since 1949, I call it the great Mao purge. It would have been understandable if these millions would have died due to natural calamities or some disease, however internment of intellectuals and killing in the camps is a well-established phenomenon, Uyghurs are no exception. In fact, Xinjiang and Tibet have been artificially re-established by migrating Hun from mainland China. The Hun have been subjected to such atrocities, that being docile has become a survival instinct and a second nature.
A brief revisit of the Cotton ‘Field to Fabric’ Value Chain?
Well, the entire value chain of cotton production from growing to cloth production is quite complex. Cotton and the bales are not tagged or retrospectively, cannot be tagged or traced for its origin. When raw cotton goes to the gin for processing, no one will know its origin, except when done in regional batches and tagged for the region where it originates. For the starters, I have included two links that provides a very simple and candid overview of the Cotton “Farm to Fabric” process. https://textileguide.chemsec.org/find/get-familiar-with-your-textile-production-processes/
According to Transparency-One.com the steps in the production of Cotton to Yarn Sale can be summarized in 8 steps.
he cotton ‘Field to Fabric’ value chain can be broken down into 8 steps:
- Raw cotton production
- The trader buys raw cotton from several farmers and combines all products into bulk before selling them to factories
- Factories extract the seeds, cleans the bolls, and spin the fibers into thread
- The trader buys spools of thread to be sold to mills
- Mills produce and dye the fabric
- The trader buys the fabric to sell to manufacturers
- Manufacturers create the products/textiles for retailers
- Products appear on shelves at the retail store
(Credits: https://www.transparency-one.com/transparency-can-unravel-cottons-supply-chain/)
A Failure of Blockchain
Blockchain is as strong as its data integrity and protection
Well, you may be presuming I am talking about Blockchain as a technology. Technology is as good as its weakest denominator. The weakest link in the Cotton To Yarn Supply Chain in China is its State Controlled Machinery with a lack of transparency and manipulation of data to suit the outcome. How can the best of Etherium help alleviate the problem of data suppression in China? (Read more on https://www.transparency-one.com/blockchain/)
A folly unearthed?
The US, or rather the Trump administration is banning cotton originating from Xinjiang. By saying that we ban the 30% cotton originating from China, either the Trump administration has not delved into the complexity of the value chain, or it is plain and simple rhetoric or possible making it difficult for the Biden administration’s efforts of holding ‘Olive Branch of Diplomacy’.
Irrespective, it’s half-hearted and it shows a meek response. Of course, devoid of an outcome.
References
US bans cotton from China’s Xinjiang region over ‘slave labor’
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/raw-fiber
mymilieu.org 