Fashion can bear the costs of virtue cotton

RYOHIN KEIKAKU

25/08/2020 09:14

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.  The opinions
expressed are her own.)
    By Dasha Afanasieva
    LONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Most of China’s
crop comes from the persecuted Uighurs’ home region. Forced
labour may taint some of that, but clothes makers do not yet
trace their complex supply chains back to the farms. Scrutiny
from politicians and investors means careful sourcing makes
financial sense.            
    Full view will be published shortly.
    On Twitter https://twitter.com/dasha_reuters
    
    CONTEXT NEWS
    - China is one of the world’s largest cotton
producers, representing a quarter of global lint production
according to United Nations agency the Food and Agriculture
Organization in 2018, and supplying major global brands. More
than 80% of the cotton produced there is made in Xinjiang, a
region home to 11 million Uighurs.
    - In a letter to the British government dated April 23, the
World Uyghur Congress and the Global Legal Action Network said
there was “overwhelming evidence” that Uighurs were being used
for forced labour in China’s cotton industry.    
    - A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in London told
Reuters in July that “the Chinese side has repeatedly responded
to and rebuked false reports and accusations surrounding
Xinjiang”.   
    - “The so-called ‘forced labour’ is just a concoction by
some U.S. and Western institutions and personnel,” the
spokesperson said in an emailed statement.   
    - The UK and U.S. governments have accused China of human
rights abuses against Uighurs.  
    - Breakingviews asked 10 major apparel retailers and brands
about their approach to Xinjiang cotton. 
    - The UK government announced on Aug. 25 that it would
consult on a potential new law which would force larger
companies operating in Britain to show that any commodities they
used in their supply chain, such as cocoa, rubber, soy and palm
oil, are produced in accordance with local laws protecting
forests and other ecosystems. 
    - For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can
click on  AFANA/ 
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UPDATE 1-UK urged to stop cotton imports made in Chinese 'prison
camps'     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2CB45D
Uyghur report    https://www.ituc-csi.org/apparel-brands-Uyghur-forced-labour#:~:text=the%20Uyghur%20Region%3A-,The%20Coalition%20to%20End%20Forced%20Labour%20in%20the%20Uyghur%20Region,local%20people%20as%20East%20Turkistan
UK government statement    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/world-leading-new-law-to-protect-rainforests-and-clean-up-supply-chains
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 (Editing by Edward Hadas and Oliver Taslic)
 ((dasha.afanasieva@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
dasha.afanasieva.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))