Forced labour: clothing brands have the chance to press China amid post-virus slowdown, rights advocate says

Hundreds of global companies buy cotton and make goods in Xinjiang, China, where over 1 million Uygurs are estimated to be detained, some doing forced labour

Proposed US legislation targeting forced labour, and recent disruption to Chinese manufacturing, give brands leverage to effect change, labour rights body says

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Uygur women work in a cloth factory in Hotan county, Xinjiang province, China. Nearly a quarter of the world’s raw cotton is turned into fabric in Xinjiang. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 7:15am, 15 Jun 2020Updated: 10:04pm, 16 Jun 2020

It is chilling to think that many of us have at least one item of clothing in our wardrobes made by forced Uygur labour.

As consumers, it is a difficult issue to police. Nearly a quarter of the world’s raw cotton is turned into fabric in Xinjiang, a region in China where the Uygur minority group are persecuted and – according to human rights organisations – some are made to work in apparel factories against their will.

Hundreds of global companies buy cotton and make goods in Xinjiang, including Lacoste – which was found to be manufacturing gloves in a government detention centre – Muji, Uniqlo, H&M, Esprit and Adidas.

“You can’t ever be sure that you don’t have coerced labour in your supply chain if you do cotton business in China,” says Nathan Ruser, a researcher at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI). “Xinjiang labour and what is almost certainly coerced labour is very deeply entrenched into the supply chain that exists in Xinjiang.”

Buildings at the Artux City Vocational Skills Education Training Service Centre in Xinjiang, China, believed to be a re-education camp where most of the detainees belong to Muslim ethnic minorities. Photo: AFP

In a further escalation of the stand-off between the US and China, this summer the American government is taking steps to change the way garment manufacturers operate in the region – a move that could transform the fashion industry.