A number of fashion and apparel companies are under investigation by a Canadian regulator into complaints about alleged forced labor at their manufacturing facilities.
The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) released its first reports for each of the affected companies, responding to a series of complaints filed in June 2022 by a coalition of 28 civil society organizations.
The organization will investigate Hugo Boss Canada, Ralph Lauren Canada and Diesel Canada, as well as Walmart Canada and the Canadian mining company GobiMin, among others.
According to the complaints, the five companies are said to have contracted factories or supply chains in the Xinjiang region of the People’s Republic of China that used or benefited from forced Uyghur laborers.
The region, which produces around a fifth of the world’s cotton production, has been the subject of increasing reports in recent years that around 1.6 million Uyghur Muslims are being held in detention camps and doing forced labour.
In response, a number of Western garment retailers, particularly those who source their cotton locally, have voiced their concerns at the allegations, with some denouncing the country’s alleged methods and others cutting ties with their Xinjiang-based suppliers altogether.
The United Nations (UN) then officially investigated the allegations related to Xinjiang and concluded that there are signs of possible forced labor in the region.
Companies “are not responding adequately” to the allegations
According to CORE, each of the companies it named has denied the allegations, but either failed to provide an adequate counter-statement or did not participate in CORE’s original assessment.
In the case of Ralph Lauren, the brand’s US parent company responded on behalf of Ralph Lauren Canada that the Commission had no jurisdiction as it was a subsidiary and was not responsible for decision-making.
Ultimately, the organization decided to launch investigations into each of the five companies to investigate the allegations.
The news follows another CORE investigation last month into sporting goods giant Nike Canada over similar allegations of using or profiting from Uyghur forced labour.
This translated post previously appeared on FashionUnited.uk