Charles Tyrwhitt was one of dozens of companies named in a 2020 report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute identifying global brands whose supply chains potentially contain Xinjiang-linked forced labour.
In January 2021, the Charles Tyrwhitt’s founder stated that the company would be ending contracts with cotton suppliers in Xinjiang province from July, citing human rights issues for the move.
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(First published 1 March 2020) The Chinese government has facilitated the mass transfer of Uyghur and other ethnic minority citizens from the far west region of Xinjiang to factories across the country. Under conditions that strongly suggest forced labour, Uyghurs are working in factories that are in the supply chains of at least 82 well-known global brands in the technology, clothing and automotive sectors, including Apple, BMW, Gap, Huawei, Nike, Samsung, Sony and Volkswagen.
Charles Tyrwhitt is curtailing production in China after receiving customer pressure. The contract with a cotton supplier in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region ended in July, reducing the number of shirts manufactured in China. “We are responding to customer demands,” Wheeler said. “Many customers say they don’t want to make shirts in China.”