( CNN ) -- The company that owns Victoria 's Secret vowed a full investigation Thursday after a report said cotton used in some of its products is grown using child labor . `` We are very concerned , '' parent company Limited Brands said in a statement , noting that the cotton in question , which comes from the West African nation of Burkina Faso , is `` used in a small portion of our Victoria 's Secret panty styles . '' `` If this allegation is true , it describes behavior that is contrary to our company 's values and the code of labor and sourcing standards that we require all of our suppliers to meet , '' the statement said . `` These standards expressly prohibit child labor . '' The company said it immediately `` began working with key stakeholders internally and externally to fully investigate this matter . Depending on the findings , we are prepared to take swift action to prevent the illegal use of child labor in the fields where we source Fairtrade-certified organic cotton in Burkina Faso . '' Victoria 's Secret , known for its underwear and lingerie , describes itself as `` one of the most powerful , sexy and glamorous stores in the world . '' Its fashion show recently aired in more than 90 countries . The statement from Ohio-based Limited Brands on Thursday followed an extensive report from Bloomberg that describes the life of a 13-year-old-girl who is beaten by the farmer she works for on a cotton field in Burkina Faso . The cotton picked by the girl went to factories in other countries , `` where it was fashioned into Victoria 's Secret underwear , '' the report said . While forced labor and child labor are not new to African farms , Bloomberg noted , the girl works on a farm certified as organic and fair trade . Such farms `` should be free of such practices , '' the report said . `` Perversely , '' the article said , the lucrative premiums paid for organic and fair-trade cotton have `` created fresh incentives for exploitation . The program has attracted subsistence farmers who say they do n't have the resources to grow fair-trade cotton without violating a central principle of the movement : forcing other people 's children into their fields. `` The report cited the leader of Burkina Faso 's organic and fair-trade program and the head of fair-trade organization Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation as saying that Victoria 's Secret purchased all of Burkina Faso 's organic crop from last season . A report earlier this year from the U.S. Labor Department found that child labor is used in cotton production in more than a dozen countries , including Burkina Faso . A press attache for the Burkina Faso Embassy in the United States had no immediate comment Thursday . In its statement Thursday , Limited Brands said that in 2007 , it `` established a pilot program to purchase Fairtrade-certified organic cotton from primarily women farmers in Burkina Faso , a landlocked country in West Africa that struggles with endemic poverty . We were committed to this initiative because of its potential to generate life-changing opportunities for some of the world 's poorest women . '' The `` Charter of Fair Trade Principles , '' published in 2009 by the World Fair Trade Organization and Fairtrade International , states that the rights of children are to be respected . `` The importance of children 's involvement in the work of family-based production units , and the learning of skills required for their working life is recognized , but any involvement must be disclosed and monitored and must not adversely affect the child 's well-being , security , educational opportunities and need for play , '' it says .
A UN report says fair - trade cotton has brought ` ` fresh incentives for exploitation '' The company that owns Victoria 's Secret promised to investigate the child labor allegation . The U.S. Labor Department says more than a dozen countries use child labor in cotton production . The government says its program is aimed at helping some of the world 's poorest women .