I recorded a new online workout video wearing brand name clothing that I was about to publish and distribute when I found a report on forced labour practices among various companies’ (including the company whose clothing I was going to wear) suppliers (1). The report titled “Uyghurs for sale ‘Re-education’, forced labour and surveillance beyond Xinjiang” was published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (“ASPI”) on April  24th, 2020. It discusses modern forced labour practices in China that have impacted the integrity of global companies’ supply chains.

The report names “83 foreign and Chinese companies directly or indirectly benefitting from the use of Uyghur workers outside Xinjiang through potentially abusive labour transfer programs as recently as 2019: Abercrombie & Fitch, Acer, Adidas, Alstom, Amazon, Apple, ASUS, BAIC Motor, BMW, Bombardier, Bosch, BYD, Calvin Klein, Candy, Carter’s, Cerruti 1881, Changan Automobile, Cisco, CRRC, Dell, Electrolux, Fila, Founder Group, GAC Group (automobiles), Gap, Geely Auto, General Motors, Google, Goertek, H&M, Haier, Hart Schaffner Marx, Hisense, Hitachi, HP, HTC, Huawei, iFlyTek, Jack & Jones, Jaguar, Japan Display Inc., L.L.Bean, Lacoste, Land Rover, Lenovo, LG, Li-Ning, Mayor, Meizu, Mercedes-Benz, MG, Microsoft, Mitsubishi, Mitsumi, Nike, Nintendo, Nokia, The North Face, Oculus, Oppo, Panasonic, Polo Ralph Lauren, Puma, Roewe, SAIC Motor, Samsung, SGMW, Sharp, Siemens, Skechers, Sony, TDK, Tommy Hilfiger, Toshiba, Tsinghua Tongfang, Uniqlo, Victoria’s Secret, Vivo, Volkswagen, Xiaomi, Zara, Zegna, ZTE. Some brands are linked with multiple factories.”

An article from The Guardian titled “'Virtually entire' fashion industry complicit in Uighur* forced labour, say rights groups” (2) discusses the risks of human rights violations from suppliers in XinJiang, the region of China where the Uyghur ethnic minority knowingly occupies. Given this information, the simple solution for some companies might be to move to a supplier in a different region of China. However, according to the report by ASPI, XinJiang is no longer the only region using forced labour as Uyghurs are being physically moved or “transferred” to work in factories located in central and eastern China. By distributing workers under duress to suppliers in multiple regions, more factories are complicit in forced labour programs and publicly owned companies may not be publicly acknowledging this risk in their supply chain.

The ASPI report recommends “Consumers and civil society groups, including NGOs, labour unions and consumer advocacy groups, should:

• demand that companies that manufacture in China conduct due diligence and social audits to ensure that they’re not complicit in forced labour practices

• advocate for the recognition of continual, multilayered surveillance and monitoring of workers and their digital communications—both in and outside work hours—as an emerging and under-reported indicator of forced labour and an important human rights violation

• push brands to be more transparent about the make-up of their supply chains and the preventative measures they have put in place to ensure forced labour does not occur

• demand that companies make new public commitments, uphold current commitments, or both, to not use forced and coerced labour in their global supply chains and that they act quickly and publicly when such cases are identified.”

I would like to spread awareness to my fellow consumers that the companies listed may be using a compromised supply chain. Awareness is important to influencing change. I am seeking out information about companies’ operations so that I can try to discontinue purchasing and using products from companies benefitting directly or indirectly from human rights violations. I appreciate the value of this information for my own knowledge and I hope this article brings you awareness as well.

*spelling variations for the Uyghur minority group in China may vary

References

 1) Xu, Vicky Xiuzhong. Cave, Danielle. Leibold, James. Munro, Kelsey. Ruser, Nathan. “Uyghurs for sale ‘Re-education’, forced labour and surveillance beyond Xinjiang.” Policy Brief Report No. 26/2020. Australian Strategic Policy Institute (“ASPI”), 24 April 2020. 31 July 2020. https://www.aspi.org.au/report/uyghurs-sale/ .

 2) Kelly, Annie. “'Virtually entire' fashion industry complicit in Uighur forced labour, say rights groups.” Article. The Guardian. © 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 23 Jul 2020. 31 Jul 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/jul/23/virtually-entire-fashion-industry-complicit-in-uighur-forced-labour-say-rights-groups-china/ .

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