Leading brands could be unknowingly using cotton produced with forced labour, according to a new study
A new report shows how cotton produced by forced labour in the Uyghur Region is circumventing import bans, a UN human rights expert warns Greece against criminalizing migrant rescue work, and Albanian trafficking survivors win a landmark case against the UK’s Home Office.
A new study by Sheffield Hallam University’s Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice shows that Target, Walmart, Lululemon, Kohl’s, Anthropologie, C&A and Uniqlo could be at risk of violating U.S. bans on cotton from the Uyghur Region.
By analyzing link-by-link supply chain connections identified through shipping records, the report Laundering Cotton: How Xinjiang Cotton is Obscured in International Supply Chains shows how cotton from the Uyghur Region circumvents supply standards and import bans to end up on clothing racks around the world. The findings indicate that more than 100 well known retailers are at risk of using cotton that is produced or processed by forced labour.
To better understand how Xinjiang cotton might be entering into transnational supply chains, the researchers used publicly accessible customs data to investigate five leading textile companies (Huafu Fashion, Lianfa Textiles, Luthai Textiles, Texhong Textiles, and Weiqiao Textiles) to identify some of the routes by which Xinjiang cotton may be reaching international consumers, including routes that go through some of China’s top cotton textile export partner countries.
Through an analysis of the bills of lading, shipping records, and corporate disclosures of these five companies alone, the report identifies 53 contract garment suppliers – in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Kenya, Ethiopia, China and Mexico – which purchase fabric and yarn from five leading Chinese manufacturers that use Uyghur Region cotton. The suppliers use the fabric and yarn in the clothes they make for leading apparel brands, without giving consumers any indication of the cotton’s origin.
The research concludes that, at the same time as Xinjiang cotton has come to be associated with human rights abuses and considered high risk for international brands, China’s cotton industry has benefited from an export strategy that obscures cotton’s Uyghur Region origins.
In January 2021, US Customs and Border Protection imposed a Withhold Release Order prohibiting the importation of all cotton goods from the Uyghur Region, unless importers can affirmatively prove that no forced labour was used in the production of the goods. Therefore, the brands’ actions raise not only grave moral concerns but, if their use of Uyghur Region cotton is proven, could make them an appropriate target for US regulatory and law enforcement authorities. Among other possible consequences is the seizure of future clothing shipments belonging to these brands.
The Coalition to End Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region is calling on world leaders to enhance restrictions around the import of goods from the area. Legislation, such as the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in the U.S., is critical for putting pressure on the Chinese government to end the cycle of abuse by cutting off demand for materials made with forced labour. Most recently, the coalition called upon the European Commission to ensure forthcoming proposals on sustainable corporate governance, including efforts to combat forced labour in supply chains, are fit for the purpose of tackling corporate complicity in Uyghur forced labour.
Last week, the Canadian Border Service Agency (CBSA) intercepted a shipment of women’s and children’s clothing originating from China on the grounds that the products were made using forced labour. This is the first confirmation of an interception since Canada amended the Customs Tariff to ban the import of goods made wholly or in part by forced labour.
The report concludes with recommendations for legislative action that address the forced labour programs and complex supply chains that are presented in the paper, including seven principles for mandatory human rights due diligence that it recommends be adopted by all countries. It also includes responses from some of the companies named.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy news and initiatives:
U.S. government investigators have interviewed workers at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co’s Malaysian factory about their working conditions, employees have told reporters, intensifying scrutiny of potential labour abuses by the tyre maker in the country. The questioning by the Department of Homeland Security could lead to U.S. prosecutions of one of the world’s biggest tyre makers, which faces related lawsuits and two ongoing investigations by regulators in Malaysia and the United States, each looking into potential exploitation of foreign workers.
In Greece, the trial of 24 activists accused of helping refugees reach Europe by boat has started, but was adjourned soon afterwards due to procedural errors. Among other things, they are charged with human trafficking and espionage and, if found guilty, face 25 years in prison. A UN human rights expert warned judicial authorities in Greece against criminalizing the work of migrant rescuers in the Mediterranean Sea, saying a guilty verdict in this court case could translate into “death sentences” for countless more migrants.
Two Albanian women, who are survivors of human trafficking, won a landmark UK High Court compensation case after their children were forced to listen to their accounts of abuse during Home Office interviews because no childcare was available. The Home Office admitted to the court that they treated female asylum seekers differently, but still believed they were not entitled to any remedy.
Shared Hope International released its inaugural Report Cards on Child & Youth Sex Trafficking last week. Taking its State Report Cards project to the next stage, these new cards shift the focus from criminal law to the next level of legislative change, ensuring that robust and trauma-informed protections are in place for vulnerable trafficking victims and populations. Both Kansas and Missouri received failing grades with prevention and training being their weakest areas.
Hong Kong’s PathFinders, which offers support for migrant domestic workers ranging from case management to legal information, will next year expand its services for hundreds of women and children to include postnatal depression support and early learning opportunities.
ECPAT International and TACTEENNAEIL have completed their joint research on the sexual exploitation of South Korean boys during 2021. The research reveals gaps between recently updated laws and people’s knowledge, harmful gender stereotypes, and limited confidence in working with boys among frontline workers.
Ahead of Universal Children’s Day 2021, Freedom United sat down with children’s rights advocates Mavuto Banda, a former child worker and University of Hull doctoral student, and Jonathan Blagbrough, Co-Director of Children Unite, to ask a crucial question: Is child labour always exploitative? Watch the recording here.
The Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism is currently looking for speakers and moderators for two sessions on human smuggling and human trafficking as part of its Global Compact for Migration certificate program. If you are interested, please get in touch via email.
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