XINJIANG news and archive

UK court rules against allegations that government failed to halt Xinjiang imports

The UK’s High Court has ruled against human rights campaigners that brought forward a case claiming British crime and customs authorities had failed to stop the importation of cotton from China’s Xinjiang region, which has been at the centre of allegations of forced labour. In the filing, the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) and World Uyghur...

Business

UK government sued over failure to block Xinjiang cotton

Authorities in the UK are set to appear in court at the end of October after they were sued for their failure to block products made with forced labour from China’s Xinjiang region. Human rights watchdogs Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) and Germany’s World Uyghur Congress (WUC) said in a joint statement that the suit brought against the...

Business

Nike shareholders told to vote against proposal to halt sourcing from China

Nike shareholders have been asked to reject a proposal that would stop the sportswear brand from sourcing its goods and raw materials from China. The proposal was put forward by the label’s activist shareholders Domini Impact Investments and Vancity Investment Management and comes amid accumulating allegations of forced labour and human rights...

BusinessFeatured

What to know about the UN’s Xinjiang human rights report

The United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published a detailed report following its assessment of China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, in which it said that “serious human rights violations have been committed”. The region, which produces around a fifth of the world’s cotton, has been the subject of an increasing...

Fashion

US Congress Passes the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act

The United States Congress passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act on Thursday in a rare showing of near unanimous bipartisan support. The bill establishes a rebuttable presumption that all goods mined, produced, or manufactured in Xinjiang—the autonomous region in northwest China—are done so by force and therefore banned from entering the...

Fashion Featured

Nike, Patagonia named in European lawsuit as being complicit in 'forced labour' practices in Xinjiang, China

A number of internationally renowned fashion brands, including Nike, C&A and Patagonia, are being sued by the European Center for Constitutional Rights (ECCHR) as being directly or indirectly complicit in the forced labour of the Uyghur population in the Xinjiang province in China. Filed by Dutch prosecutors with support from Prakken d’Oliveira...

Fashion

The Xinjiang cotton controversy has taken to the catwalk

The Xinjiang cotton-gate impasse has taken another turn, this time on the catwalk, as Chinese designers are pledging its use in their collections. At the end of China Fashion Week in March, Chinese brand Sun-Bird’s creative director Zhou Li took a bow at the end of her show – demonstratively holding a bouquet of cotton plants. Solidarity with...

BusinessFeatured

H&M confirms ‘long-term commitment’ to China amid boycott

H&M has emphasised its ‘long-term commitment’ to China amid a boycott launched against the Swedish fashion giant after it pledged to stop sourcing cotton from Xinjiang over reports of slave labour. “China is a very important market to us and our long-term commitment to the country remains strong,” H&M said Wednesday. It comes following the...

Report

Joint statement from AAFA, FDRA, NRF, RILA, USFIA in support of global approach to protect citizens in Xinjiang

The American Apparel & Footwear Association, Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, National Retail Federation, Retail Industry Leaders Association, and The United States Fashion Industry Association – representing a broad swath of the U.S. business community – applaud today’s announcement of a global approach to end the campaign of...

Fashion Featured

China accused of forcing over half a million people to pick cotton in Xinjiang

China has forced more than half a million Uighurs and other minorities into picking cotton in the country’s western region of Xinjiang, new research suggests. According to a new report released on Tuesday by the Washington-based Center for Global Policy, three Uyghur regions alone mobilized at least 570,000 people into cotton-picking operations...

Fashion

AAFA testifies during ways and means committee hearing on forced labor in Xinjiang

American Apparel & Footwear Association President and CEO Steve Lamar testified today as part of the House Ways and Means, Trade subcommittee hearing on “Enforcing the Ban on Imports Produced by Forced Labor in Xinjiang.” The hearing focused on responding to continuing reports of forced labor in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR)....

Business

US blocks imports of cotton and textiles from Xinjiang

US Customs will block certain products from Xinjiang because Washington believes they were made in the Chinese autonomous region with the help of slave labour. This is a “modern form of slavery,” said the Ministry of Homeland Security on Monday. The US Government accused China of curtailing human and civil liberties and using forced labour to...