Fila

Clothing
Written By Lina K

In March 2020, Fila was named in ASPI’s report as one of at least 82 global brands whose supply chains were highly likely to contain Uyghur forced labour.

Fila, a retailer that is headquartered in Italy but whose brand in China is controlled by Chinese retailer Anta, has issued two separate stances on the matter—one from its representatives in Italy and another from its Chinese entity.

In a statement to Fortune in March 2021, the Italian Fila said that it was reviewing its supply chain after seeing reports of forced labour in Xinjiang in 2020. Shortly after, Fila China said in a statement that it was pulling out of the Better Cotton Initiative, a sustainability non-profit organization that last year stopped approving products sourced from Xinjiang due to human rights concerns.

“FILA China has always purchased and used cotton produced in China, including from the Xinjiang region,” the statement said.

Reading:

Featured
Investigation
Uyghurs for Sale: ‘Re-education’, forced labour and surveillance beyond Xinjiang
Investigation

(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.

Investigation
Reporting
There’s a good chance your cotton T-shirt was made with Uyghur slave labor
Reporting

China is by many measures now the world’s largest economy, and in the wake of this boycott, major global apparel companies including Inditex and PVH have removed policies against forced labor from their websites. So far these companies are in the minority, but they own global brands such as Zara, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein. As long as there is a market for goods sourced from the Uyghur region, the Chinese government will be emboldened to keep operating the mass detention camps where Uyghur people are being held in indentured servitude.

Reporting
Reporting
China steps up pressure on brands to reject reports of Uyghur abuses
Reporting

H&M, Nike, Adidas and other brands are caught in a spiraling conflict over allegations of forced labor in the production of cotton in China's Xinjiang region.

Reporting
Reporting
How brands are responding to China’s Xinjiang boycotts: deleting past statements or all-out flip-flops
Reporting

Some of the world’s largest apparel companies are facing an unprecedented reckoning in China as state media outlets and social media campaigns call for consumer boycotts in protest of the brands previously saying they were concerned about reports that China uses forced labor to produce cotton in its Xinjiang province. Now, some companies are deleting those statements or telling different stories about their products depending on whether the audience is Western or Chinese.

Reporting
Lina K
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