An international coalition of human rights and advocacy organizations is working to persuade popular fashion brands and clothing companies to separate from the Xinjiang region in northwestern China, where millions of Uighur people have been held in rehabilitation camps and forced to work. End Uyghur Forced Labor, a coalition of more than 190 organizations, announced in late July an action to take action, calling on markets to formally commit to taking back all supply chains from the region.
“There is a significant risk that markets and retailers in sectors will benefit from human rights violations, including forced labor, both in and out of the Uyghur region,” the call for action reads. “This is especially true in the clothing and apparel sector, which has been the focus of the majority of forced labor surveys in the region.” It’s not just T-shirts and jeans; the urgent demand for face masks helped shed light on these circumstances.
As Jen Kirby reported for Vox, Chinese officials from America’s Xinjiang, the province where most Uighurs live, have turned into a high-tech police state and implemented mass surveillance programs, in addition to members of the Muslim ethnic minority group by force be retained. “Uighurs inside and outside the camps are being used for cheap labor, forced to make clothing and other products at home and abroad,” Kirby wrote. In July, a New York Times investigation revealed how some medical-grade face masks sold in the U.S. were produced in Chinese factories driven by labor in Uighur. Before the coronavirus pandemic was reported, the Times reported, only four companies in Xinjiang medical class produced personal protective equipment (PPE). That number had grown to 51 by the end of June, and at least 17 of those factories relied on the Uighur program for labor transport.
Advocate groups claim that the problem does not start and end with PPE manufacturers; they say any company that relies on Uighur workers could benefit from forced labor. In March, the nonpartisan think tank Australian Institute for Strategic Policy published a report detailing how 82 foreign and Chinese companies have direct or indirect ties with the Xinjiang region and beyond, based on its supply chain. “The contaminated global supply chain that results from these practices means that it is now difficult to guarantee that products produced in China are free from forced labor,” the report concludes.
Several companies listed by ASPI include Amazon, Apple, Dell, Nike, Nintendo, Uniqlo, Victoria’s Secret, and Zara. End Uyghur Forced Labor has focused its efforts largely on revealing the potential for abuse in the clothing and textile sector, said Penelope Kyritsis of the Worker Rights Consortium, a coalition-based group.
“The demands of the coalition were based on the principle that everything that comes from that region, whether it is a garment, mask or machinery, can be accused of forced labor, because there is no way to prove otherwise,” told Kyritsis Vox. “This is largely due to the set up surveillance device; The actions of people are monitored whether they are at work or in their homes. This makes it difficult for a worker to tell an independent labor investigator what her real circumstances are, and apart from that evidence, there is no certainty that Uighur labor will not be forced. ”
According to a report by Human Rights Watch researchers, Chinese authorities are using a mobile app that allows local police to collect personal information and data from Xinjiang residents, from their religious affiliation to blood type and height. Investigators who reverse-manipulated the app used by officials discovered that the system “monitors people’s relationships, identifying them as suspects traveling with anyone on a police checklist, or with anyone related to someone who recently made a new one” phone number has been obtained, “and can then” generate lists of people who are being evaluated by detention officials. “
Given China’s status as the second largest cotton producer in the world, many retailers and markets that sell cotton products are likely to have direct or indirect ties with Chinese suppliers. About 84 percent of China’s cotton is produced in the Xinjiang region, according to China Daily, and it accounts for about one in five bales of cotton on the world market. According to Jernigan Global, a company that provides global supply chain management between cotton producers and retailers, the amount of Chinese government subsidies targeted at the sector has “created a modern mechanized cotton production operation that has also boosted production and quality,” Xinjiang said. as “The heart of both cotton and textile production in China.”
As more reports of human rights abuses in Xinjiang are uncovered, international leaders are becoming increasingly vocal about the political pressure to be placed on China. The Kirby of Vox reported that the United States has imposed sanctions on Chinese officials and companies believed to be dependent on forced Uighur labor, including suppliers to international markets such as Apple, Ralph Lauren, and Tommy Hilfiger. Now, though, key companies are being asked to take responsibility for the work going on in their supply chains, especially since the coronavirus pandemic brought greater control over the relationship between suppliers and brands.
“There’s a lot of injustice baked into the structure of global supply chains, specifically between brands, retailers and suppliers,” Kyritsis added, acknowledging how the coronavirus has affected these production conditions. ‘Where we stand from, when brands do not know where their cotton or textile comes from, they choose not to know. They must do their due diligence and commit themselves to ethical delivery standards. ”
In recent years, consumers have become active in the call for supply chain transparency among popular markets. The onus is now heavier on retailers and businesses, who have become desperate to support mission statements and campaigns to support sustainability and ethical sourcing to please customers. Now that the average American is apparently more informed about the Chinese treatment of the Uighurs, large companies can no longer brush the problem under the rug.
It has taken years for the international community to be as vocal as it is now about the fate of the Uighurs, said Peter Irwin of the Uighur Human Rights Project. Now, American consumers are beginning to become aware of the extent of forced labor, as the issue has received more attention in the mainstream press. “The fact that this work touches the supply chain of global companies could very well be worn by the average American consumer of a T-shirt or jeans produced or sourced from the region,” Irwin Vox said. “Forced labor is just one aspect and extension of the Internet camp system run by the Chinese government.”
While countries like the United States, Canada and parts of Europe have condemned China’s human rights, the pandemic has made it difficult for some smaller states to speak out, Irwin added. “Many companies or states rely on Chinese-made PPE and masks for their hospitals, and in many cases these products are shipped to the West.”
The coalition is currently putting pressure on about 80 markets to issue a statement of commitment and map out their supply chain to show how they have cut ties from the Xinjiang region. “Some brands have been more responsive than others,” Irwin said, adding that the group has not made the list of companies with its communications public. The sluggishness of the supply chain, especially when it comes to clothing brands, makes it difficult for consumers to track and understand where their products come from, Kyritsis said.
“It is not the job of the consumer to dig into the supply chain of a business, although I understand that they do not want their money to contribute to exploitative labor,” she said. “However, there are certain things that cannot be changed by collective action, if the company is not ready to change its supply chain.”
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