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Corporate giants, including Nike, face growing calls to cut ties with suppliers who are allegedly using “forced labor” from China’s Uyghurs.
Activists have launched a campaign accusing companies of “reinforcing and profiting” from the exploitation of the Muslim minority group.
The United States has also increased economic pressure, warning companies not to do business in Xinjiang due to abuse.
Nike and other brands have said they are tracking the problem.
Nike said it was “conducting ongoing diligence with our suppliers in China to identify and assess potential employment-related risks to Uighurs or other ethnic minorities.”
He said he does not source materials directly from Xinjiang, the region in western China that is home to much of the country’s Uighur population and that many of the factories say they use labor.
Apple also said it had investigated the claims. “We have found no evidence of forced labor on Apple’s production lines and we plan to continue monitoring,” the firm said.
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Politicians and activists say companies must do more if they do not want to be complicit in the Chinese government’s human rights abuses.
“Brands and retailers should be long gone, but they haven’t, and that is why this public call to action is important and necessary,” said Chloe Cranston of Anti-Slavery International, one of more than 180 organizations involved in the pressure. Bell.
“It’s not just about ending a relationship with a supplier. It’s really about taking a holistic approach.”
What’s going on in Xinjiang?
Reports from the Australian Institute for Strategic Policy (ASPI) and the US Congress, among others, have found that thousands of Uighurs have been transferred to work in factories across China, under the conditions that the ASPI report It says “strongly suggest forced labor.” It linked those factories to more than 80 high-profile brands, including Nike, Apple, and Gap.
China, believed to have detained more than a million Uighurs in internment camps in Xinjiang, described its programs, which reportedly include forced sterilization, such as job training and education.
Authorities say they are responding to the risks of extremism and have dismissed the concentration camp claims as “false.”
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Omer Kanat, executive director of the Uyghur Human Rights Project, said getting companies to move their businesses away from Xinjiang is critical to persuading the Chinese government to change its policies.
“So far, there have been convictions for what the Chinese government has been doing, but there has been no action,” he told the BBC. “The Chinese government will do nothing unless there are some real impacts, so attacking companies means a lot.”
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Xinjiang produces about 80% of China’s cotton
What are governments doing?
The call to action comes when the United States has also increased economic pressure on the issue.
This month, he sanctioned Chinese officials who oversee the region and warned companies against doing business in Xinjiang.
US border officials also seized a shipment of 13 tons of hair products from the region worth an estimated $ 800,000 (£ 628,000), while the Commerce Department blacklisted 11 more companies, suppliers who are He says they work with companies like Apple, a measure that limits the ability of those companies to buy American products, citing abuses.
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One of the products seized in the U.S.
Lawmakers in the United States Congress are considering legislation to explicitly ban Xinjiang imports, while politicians in the United States and Europe have also threatened legislation that would compel companies to monitor the issue more closely. .
“Businesses around the world must re-evaluate their operations and supply chains and find alternatives that do not exploit the workforce and violate the human rights of Uighurs,” said US Congressman James McGovern, who heads a committee on China.
Kanat said he believes an international movement is growing, noting recent comments from UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who accused China of “serious and egregious” human rights abuses and said sanctions could not be ruled out. .
“This is encouraging,” he said. “It is the first step”.
What do companies say?
The activist campaign focuses on clothing brands because Xinjiang produces most of China’s cotton, which accounts for about 20% of the world’s supply.
Clothing companies said they were taking the issue seriously.
Nike said that after confronting one of its suppliers, Taekwang Group, over the issue, the company stopped recruiting Xinjiang employees at one of its factories. The sportswear company said Taekwang said those workers “had the ability to terminate or extend their contracts at any time.”
“This remains a critically important issue,” said the firm. “We continue to use expert guidance and are working with brands and other stakeholders to consider all available approaches to responsibly address this situation.”
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A Taekwang Group factory
Gap also said that it has policies that prohibit involuntary work in its supply chain and that it does not obtain clothing directly from Xinjiang.
“We also recognize that a significant amount of the world’s cotton supply is grown and spun there,” he added. “Therefore, we are taking steps to better understand how our global supply chain may be indirectly affected.”
- UK accuses China of “serious” abuses against Uighurs
- Chinese ‘forced labor’ hair imports seized by the US
Other companies disputed claims that their supply chains were tainted.
Adidas said it had never obtained products from Xinjiang and that the company cited in the ASPI report had falsely claimed it was a supplier.
“Adidas workplace regulations strictly prohibit all forms of forced and prison labor and apply to all companies throughout our supply chain,” he added. “The use of forced labor by any of our partners will result in the termination of the partnership.”
Apple said it had found no problem, despite having conducted several surprise audits of its former supplier O-Film, one of the firms cited by the United States Department of Commerce.
Some of the Chinese companies accused of using forced labor by Uighur workers have also disputed the claims.
“Absolutely not, we will not, and we will never use forced labor anywhere in our company,” said Esquel Group, a Hong Kong-based shirtmaker, a maker of a brand like Lacoste.
He added that he was “deeply offended” by the United States’ decision to add it to its export blacklist this week.
“We are working with all relevant authorities to resolve the situation, and we remain committed to Xinjiang as we are proud of our contribution in the region for the past 25 years.”
