Home
/ Fashion / News style / One in five cotton garments are said to be the result of forced labor by Uyghurs in China
For several years, the world has been trying to break the silence around China's repression of Uyghurs. Many associations also denounce the complicity of fashion in the repression of this Sunni Muslim ethnic group.
Does the fashion industry profit from forced labor by Uyghurs? While NGOs are alerting the world's populations to the internment in camps of many Uyghurs by the Chinese government, associations, unions and human rights groups also denounce the complicity of many clothing brands in the repression of this Sunni Muslim ethnic group, minority in China but majority in the province of Xinjiang, located in the northwest of the country. Indeed, since 2017, more than 80,000 Uyghur prisoners have been forcibly transferred to factories of subcontractors of 83 world-famous brands. Nike, Adidas, Zara and H&M are particularly targeted …
An alarming report
In a report published on July 23, 180 NGOs estimate that around one in five cotton garments sold worldwide is linked to forced labor by Uyghurs. They call on all the complicit clothing brands to take their responsibilities. Faced with these revelations, some wanted to speak out. This is the case of the Inditex group, which notably detains Zara, and which claims to have conducted an international investigation into forced labor. "We take reports of inappropriate social and labor practices in any part of the apparel and textile supply chain very seriously (…) We can confirm that Inditex does not have any commercial relationships with factories in the Xinjiang", said the brand in a statement relayed by Novethic.
The massive mobilization of the French and the work of MEP Raphaël Glucksmann helped to break the indifference and silence of the world. Very recently, the brands Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein reacted even before being questioned. These undertake to terminate any commercial relationship with the suppliers questioned. "Dear Mr. Glucksmann, we have been informed of your interest in the reported situation in Xinjiang. (…) within the next 12 months we will end all business relationships with suppliers who produce clothing or fabric, or use cotton grown in Xinjiang"Said Samantha Critchell, vice-president of PVH, a group to which Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein belong, which are among the 83 brands benefiting from the enslavement of the Uyghurs. Proof that the mobilization pays, slowly but surely!