Investigation Lina K Investigation Lina K

Laundering Cotton: How Xinjiang Cotton is Obscured in International Supply Chains

An investigation into how forced-labor-produced cotton and cotton-based goods from the Uyghur Region wend their way into international supply chains. Based on international trade and customs data, the report concludes that at the same time as Xinjiang cotton has come to be associated with human rights abuses and to be considered high risk for international brands, China's cotton industry has benefited from an export strategy that obscures cotton's origin in the Uyghur Region.

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Investigation Lina K Investigation Lina K

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

(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.

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Reporting, Statement Lina K Reporting, Statement Lina K

Adidas is trying to have it both ways on Xinjiang

Adidas is trying to win back Chinese shoppers after it was caught up in an uproar in March with several Western companies over their stances on China’s Xinjiang region. US and European authorities say forced labor of Uyghurs and other Muslim groups is widespread in the region’s giant cotton industry, charges fiercely denied by the Chinese government and consumers who boycott companies they accuse of slandering China.

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Reporting Lina K Reporting Lina K

Inditex accused of turning a blind eye amid rising tensions in China boycott crisis

On Thursday, China, backed by the Chinese government itself, started retaliating against the Western boycott of cotton produced in the ‘Uyghur labor camps’ of Xinjiang, calling for its own boycott against international fashion companies. The boycott primarily affected Swedish retail giant H&M on Thursday, but is now also being launched against the parent companies of Nike, Adidas and Uniqlo, which decided to stop using cotton sourced in Xinjiang in their apparel, in light of the recent accusations of human rights violations by the Chinese authorities.

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Reporting, Statement Lina K Reporting, Statement Lina K

Here’s what foreign brands have to say about Xinjiang

Nike. The Gap. Uniqlo. Major clothing and footwear brands are under attack in China after Europe, the U.S. and other countries sanctioned Chinese officials this week over alleged human rights abuses. The companies, under pressure from activists, have tried to distance themselves from reports of forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. Such statements have drawn attacks from state media and others.

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Reporting Lina K Reporting Lina K

Western Companies Get Tangled in China’s Muslim Clampdown

Western companies, including brand name apparel makers and food companies, have become entagled in China's campaign to forcibly assimialte its Muslim population. Adidas AG, Hennes & Mauritz AB, Kraft Heinz Co., Coca-Cola Co. and Gap Inc. are among those at the end of the long, often opaque supply chains that travel through China's northwest region of Xinjiang.

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