Clothed in Slavery: New Report Reveals EU’s Ongoing Complicity in Uyghur Forced Labour

The latest ​“Tailoring Responsibility Report: Tracing Apparel Supply Chains from the Uyghur Region to Europe” offers a dystopian glimpse into the intentionally intricate business structures and terrifying ties between European fashion markets and the forced labour of Uyghurs, North Korean refugees and other minorities in China.

This joint effort involving the Uyghur Rights Monitor, the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice at Sheffield Hallam University, and the Uyghur Center for Democracy and Human Rights has uncovered that a significant amount of clothing, compromised by the systematic forced labour of Uyghurs, amongst other vulnerable minorities, is entering the European Union without any limitations. Despite the issue reaching global proportions four years ago, business as usual has continued.

Major Chinese Suppliers Exposed: A Deep Dive into Systematic Fundamental Human Rights Abuses

The report, focusing on four major Chinese suppliers—Zhejiang Sunrise Garment Group, Beijing Guanghua Textile Group, Anhui Huamao Group, and Xinjiang Zhongtai Group — reveals ongoing systematic ideological training, surveillance, forced relocation and labour, amongst numerous other human rights breaches.

This report is a critical and kaleidoscopical window into the systematic oppression leveraged against Uyghur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, North Koreans and other minoritised citizens in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). The PRC government’s use of forced labour is not an isolated instance of exploitation. Instead, maze-like subsidiary and cross-ownership structures aim to cloak government-funded repression, characterised by forced migration, cultural erasure, and intensive surveillance.

The Uyghur forced labour system operates through three primary mechanisms: forced labour transfers, labour in internment camps, and prison labour. The scale of these programs is staggering, with millions of people subjected to this oppressive apparatus. The PRC’s approach is not merely exploitative but culturally genocidal. It aims to dismantle the cultural and communal bonds that define the Uyghur people.

EU Fashion Brands: Unwitting Accomplices in Uyghur Forced Labour

The European Union’s supply chains, top brands and our wardrobes are deeply implicated in this human rights crisis. EU-based companies, including numerous luxury brands like Boss, Prada, Ralph Lauren or Max Mara, and high-street favourites like Zara, Massimo Dutti and Mango, are directly tied to forced labour through their suppliers. Despite claims of due diligence, these connections persist. This is mainly due to the political and regulatory environment in the region that makes meaningful audits impossible. However, this is industry-wide knowledge.

Four years ago, drastic legislative measures were needed to prevent the influx of forced-labour-made goods into the EU market. The US has already effectively implemented the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act. Since the initial exposure of this unabated scandal, the issue remains unresolved within the EU. This is unacceptable. Brands are clearly not conducting thorough due diligence and continue to merely trust their suppliers. Both parties are raking in profits that are, bluntly put, stolen from millions of unpaid workers subjected to slave-like conditions. Through complex and opaque business structures, Chinese manufacturing businesses can easily state that their records show ​“no contamination from the Uyghur Region” as responsibility is strategically shifted.

Legislative Inertia: The EU’s Delayed Response to a Growing Crisis

Thankfully, this situation has catalysed efforts to fast-track a critical directive on corporate diligence and a regulation banning forced labour. The adoption of these laws is expected in the upcoming weeks and months despite anticipated challenges from powerful lobbies and certain EU member states.

The imminent ​‘trialogue’ negotiations among the European Commission, Parliament, and Council will be key in creating and implementing effective legislation. Continued support and awareness are essential to ensure the successful implementation of these laws. Therefore, we can no longer avert our eyes and conscience to the human cost embedded in our clothes through Uyghur forced labour.

As a global leader in advocating for human rights and sustainability, the EU must rise to the challenge and ensure that its markets and our closets do not become a haven for products borne of oppression and suffering. As consumers, we can add pressure by creating awareness and signalling our outrage to ensure the issue is not swept under the rug. The Uyghur Human Rights Project presents eight impactful steps that individuals can undertake to actively contribute to ending the continuous exploitation and repression of the Uyghur diaspora.