Not doing the sales in support of the Uyghurs? Not so easy for these consumers

SALES - The question surprised the customers. At the exit of major ready-to-wear brands, in Paris, on the first day of the winter sales and in the midst of a health crisis, The HuffPost interviewed consumers on the issue of forced labor of the Uyghurs in China. Would they be ready to boycott a brand if it turned out that it had recourse to this workforce? Not so simple, as you can see in the video above.

The question of price, of course, is mentioned. Like that of information, which is not clear enough on the supply chains of the textile industry, which are often very opaque. And that of habits, difficult to change... If in theory, customers are for the boycott, not sure that in practice it is so easy.

The issue of forced Uyghur labor in China is regularly raised in the fashion world. Worldwide, 20% of the cotton used is grown in Xinjiang, a region of China populated by Uyghurs, a Muslim minority repressed by Beijing. The textile industry is struggling to show its credentials and few brands respond to the accusations.

“Forced labor is widespread”

For the NGO Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP), based in Washington, “the supply chains of most major clothing brands are sullied by the forced labor of Uyghurs”.

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— Niv Tue Mar 09 10:25:42 +0000 2021

She called on the textile industry to stop sourcing from Xinjiang, saying that while “big groups say they don't tolerate forced labor from their suppliers, they don't provide a credible explanation of how they fulfill this condition by continuing to do business in an area where forced labor is prevalent”.

The United Kingdom and Canada have decided to ban imports of goods suspected of being made from forced labour. For its part, the United States had taken restrictive measures in December concerning cotton imports from Xinjiang.

In 2020, reports from NGOs and think tanks have followed one another to denounce the exploitation of Uyghurs in fields, workshops and factories supplying raw materials or finished products.

Brand reactions are rare

Gap, Nike, Adidas, Calvin Klein, H&M, Zara, Puma, Uniqlo, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Abercrombie & Fitch, Uniqlo, Fila, Victoria's Secret and Lacoste were notably accused in March by the NGO Australian Strategic Policy Institute to have sourced “potentially directly or indirectly” (between 2017 and 2019) from structures using Uyghur labor from “re-education camps”.

Some of these brands have never reacted, others have denied. Few have announced changes to their supply chain. At the beginning of January 2021, the British Marks & Spencer - which uses 40,000 tonnes of cotton fibers per year - pledged not to use cotton from Xinjian. Adidas also claimed to have from 2019 “explicitly instructed its suppliers not to source yarn” in this province.

See also on The HuffPost: These Uyghur refugees denounce the “silence” of France