Major retailers must stop sourcing from China’s Xinjiang region due to the “grave risk of forced labor”, a coalition of civil society groups say, amid mounting global pressure on Beijing over its treatment of the Uighur Muslim minority.
More than 180 organizations urged brands from adidas to Amazon to end sourcing of cotton and clothing from the region and cut ties with any suppliers in China that benefit from the forced labor of the ethnic Uighurs and other Muslim groups. United Nations experts estimate that at least a million Uighurs and other Muslims are held in detention centers in Xinjiang. China has denied mistreatment and said the camps offer vocational training and help to fight terrorism and extremism.
The United States this month hit senior Chinese officials with sanctions over alleged rights abuses against the Uighurs, and Britain and France have recently condemned their treatment.
While most fashion brands do not source from factories in Xinjiang, many of their supply chains are likely to be tainted by cotton picked by Uighurs that is exported across China and used by other suppliers, the rights groups said in a letter. More than 80% of China’s cotton comes from northwestern Xinjiang, which is home to about 11 million Uighurs.
“Brands and retailers recognize there is a massive problem in the region, and that their supply chains are exposed to a grave risk of forced labor,” said Scott Nova, head of the U.S.-based Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), which signed the letter.
All the companies that responded – including Gap, Patagonia and Zara-owner Inditex – said they did not source from factories in Xinjiang, but the majority could not confirm that their supply chain was free of cotton picked from the region.
Japanese retailer Muji said it used cotton from Xinjiang but that independent auditors had found “no evidence of accusations of forced labor … at their mills”.
U.S.-based PVH – owner of brands from Calvin Klein to Tommy Hilfiger – said it would cut ties with any factories or mills that produce fabric or use cotton from Xinjiang within a year.
Companies such as IKEA and H&M, who use BCI to source cotton, have previously said they backed the decision to suspend licensing in the region and would no longer source from there.
Source: Japan Today
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