Forced labor from Uyghurs: H&M breaks with a Chinese supplier in Xinjiang
By Mélody ThomasShareSend by email
I certify that I do not send unwanted e-mailsThis Tuesday, September 15, the Swedish giant H&M took the floor and announced that it would cease its collaboration with a Chinese supplier located in Xinjiang province due to accusations of forced labor on Uyghurs.This Tuesday, September 15, H&M announced that it was severing all relations with a Chinese yarn producer. After adidas and Lacoste last June, the ready-to-wear brand thus becomes the third to announce that it will no longer work with subcontractors potentially involved in the exploitation of Uyghur forced laborers.
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Fashion undermined by the situation of the Uyghurs in China
On February 28, the Australian Strategic Police Institute think tank published its report according to which many brands, particularly fashion brands, benefit from the forced labor of Uyghurs through their collaboration with factories located in the Xinjiang region, the main production area of country's cotton. According to this report, since 2017 more than a million Uyghurs and Turkish-speaking Muslim minorities have disappeared in "re-education camps". According to them, their research “provides evidence of the exploitation of Uyghur labor and the involvement of foreign and Chinese companies, perhaps unknowingly, in human rights violations”. .Among the brands questioned, we find Abercrombie & Fitch, adidas, Calvin Klein, Gap, H&M, Lacoste, The North Face, Polo Ralph Lauren, Puma, Tommy Hilfiger, Uniqlo, Victoria's Secret, Zara* and Fila. Questioned by individuals or media and political personalities, the interested parties have no other choice but to respond, and at least to investigate the manufacturers they use. On September 14, the US government for its part announced a ban on the import of cotton and goods originating from the Chinese region of Xinjiang. We will not tolerate illegal, inhumane and abusive practices of forced labor among United States suppliers," said Mark Morgan, the head of Customs. In Brussels, Europe is asking the Chinese government to accept European observers in order to to shed light on the accusations made against him, to which China declared to accept, on September 15, 2020, the arrival of European observers.
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“Even though there is no sign of forced labor at this mill in Shangyu, we have decided, pending further information on these allegations of forced labor, to phase out this business relationship with Huafu Fashion. Co, regardless of the situation and the specialty, for the next 12 months”, thus indicated the H&M group, summoned to respond for weeks on its relationship with this supplier.
Quoted in the report by the Australian Strategic Police Institute, the manufacturer of dyed yarn Huafu is accused of sourcing from Xinjiang and therefore of being one of the beneficiaries of the exploitation of the Uyghurs. By breaking with its manufacturer, the group also assured that it would conduct "an investigation in all the clothing factories with which (it) works in China".
*Inditex Group says it has no business relationships with factories in Xinjiang and has zero tolerance for forced labor in its supply chain.
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