In the west, Egyptian cotton has become a byword for luxury. No five-star hotel in central London or downtown Manhattan is complete without starched white sheets from the Nile Valley on its beds. Marks & Spencer, John Lewis, Habitat, Ikea, even Tesco now carry luxury Egyptian cotton ranges. Then there are the ubiquitous Egyptian cotton towels. In Britain alone the cotton business, from sheets to high street clothing, is worth billions.

According to Juliette Williams, spokeswoman for the campaigning British charity Environmental Justice Foundation, which has investigated the cotton industry across the world, 'Egyptian cotton is synonymous with luxury, yet the reality behind its production is endemic child labour – up to 1m children are working in the cotton fields each year. This is a scandal the companies need to address. Yet when we have pressed companies on their supply chains many tend to fudge the issue, and simply say they require their suppliers to meet certain standards within the factories that produce clothing.
This misses the point. Companies need to get out of the factories and look to the fields. The whole cotton supply chain, unless you choose reputable organic or fairtrade, is so murky, ' she adds. 'The irony is that Egyptian cotton is the only cotton that is sold with the country of origin as a selling point, as top-of- the range quality, yet the luxury bedsheets we buy may well be linked to entrenched poverty and rampant child labour. '