Factories supplying clothing to Dunnes Stores and Penneys import cotton from companies linked to Chinese forced labour

"Untraceable cotton, some of it linked to Uyghur forced labour, continues to make its way into European supply chains and the shops of Irish retailers, including Dunnes Stores, Penneys, Tesco and Marks & Spencer. At least 15 Bangladeshi factories that imported hundreds of tons of cotton fabric last year from two companies linked to a Chinese forced labour programme are supplying some of Ireland's major clothing retailers."

"The new documentary, RTÉ Investigates: Forced Fashion, found that two Chinese companies, the Equel Group and Jiangsu Lianfa Textiles, have long-established operations in Xinjiang, a region that grows up to 30pc of the world's cotton. This region is also home to a persecuted minority group called the Uyghurs, who have been subject to "severe human rights violations", according to the UN, including mass arbitrary detention, rape, forced abortion and forced sterilisation."

"A certification body, Better Cotton, told RTÉ the system called mass balance, used by Tesco, Marks & Spencer, and Dunnes Stores, was "not designed, and cannot be used, to give assurances about the actual cotton that is used in a product". Tesco, Penneys and Marks & Spencer told RTÉ they received declarations from the Bangladeshi factories that the cotton used in their clothes was not from Xinjiang."

Untraceable cotton, including material linked to Uyghur forced labour, continues to enter European supply chains and reach Irish retailers. At least 15 Bangladeshi factories imported hundreds of tonnes of cotton fabric last year from two Chinese companies with long-established operations in Xinjiang. Xinjiang grows up to 30% of the world’s cotton and is home to the persecuted Uyghur minority, who have faced severe human rights violations according to the UN. Both Chinese companies supply cotton to factories that supply major Irish retailers and did not respond to requests for comment. Retailers pledged not to source Xinjiang cotton, but mass-balance certification cannot assure the actual cotton used, and declarations from suppliers were not authenticated; one retailer provided no supply chain information.

Read at Irish Independent