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STOCKHOLM: Swedish clothing giant H&M said on Tuesday (September 15) that it was ending its relationship with a Chinese yarn producer over “forced labor” allegations involving ethnic and religious minorities in China’s Xinjiang province.
The fashion retailer specified that it did not work with any garment factories in the region and would no longer source cotton from Xinjiang, which is China’s largest cotton growing area.
A report by the Australian Institute of Strategic Policy (ASPI) think tank, released in March, singled out H&M as one of the beneficiaries of a forced labor transfer program through its relationship with yarn-dyed producer Huafu’s factory. in Anhui.
However, H&M said in a statement that it had never had a relationship with the factory in Anhui, nor with Huafu’s operations in Xinjiang.
LEE: The United States blocks Chinese products of Uighur ‘forced labor’
H&M admitted that it has an “indirect business relationship with a factory” in Shangyu, Zhejiang province, owned by Huafu Fashion.
“While there is no indication of forced labor at the Shangyu plant, we have decided, until we have more clarity on the forced labor allegations, to phase out our indirect business relationship with Huafu Fashion Co, regardless of unit and province, in the next 12 months. “
The company also said it had carried out “an investigation at all the garment factories we work with in China with the aim of ensuring that they are not employing workers … through what are reported as labor transfer programs. or employment schemes where forced labor is an increased risk. “
International pressure is mounting on the ruling Communist Party of China for its actions in the resource-rich region of Xinjiang, and on Monday the European Union pressured China to let its independent observers into Xinjiang, linking human rights to futures. trade and investment agreements with Beijing.
READ: China says EU observers can visit Xinjiang
Human rights groups say more than a million Uyghurs languish in political re-education camps, which Beijing describes as vocational training centers where education is provided to lift people out of poverty and eliminate Islamic radicalism.
China says the criticisms of its handling of Xinjiang are politically motivated and based on lies about what is going on in the vast facilities it has built.
On Monday, US Customs said it would ban a number of Chinese products, including cotton, clothing and hair products, from Xinjiang for fear they would be made through forced labor.
China on Tuesday criticized the US move as “intimidation” and dismissed the forced labor accusations as “a complete fabrication.”
