The award for the biggest #ForcedLabourFashion cowards goes to….
The Chinese government is threatening commercial consequences against apparel brands that have taken a public stance against Uyghur forced labor. Inditex, the parent company of ZARA, has responded by removing its policy on forced labor from its own website.
Inditex’s behavior emboldens the Chinese government in its crimes against humanity in the Uyghur Region.
Placing human rights over profits carries a price. Millions of consumers worldwide who do not want to be made complicit in Uyghur forced labor are going to be watching to see how companies react to this bullying. Will they reaffirm their opposition to forced labor and crimes against humanity or will they follow Inditex’s footsteps and cave to pressure?
This is a moral test for the world’s apparel brands. It is time to see who passes and who fails.
Forced Labour Fashion Cowards:
L BRANDS (Victoria Secret +)
June 21: Wall Street Journal article reports:
“L Brands […] said on its website earlier this year that it was committed to eliminating forced labor, including in Xinjiang. Its website has since deleted the reference to Xinjiang.”
INDITEX (Zara, Massimo Dutti +)
March 25, 2021: Inditex takes down forced labour statement.
PVH (Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger +)
March 25, 2021: PVH takes down Xinjiang statement.
MUJI
March 25, 2021: Promotes use of Xinjiang cotton.
HUGO BOSS
March 25, 2021: Promotes use of Xinjiang cotton.
March 28, 2021: Hugo Boss tells Bloomberg that social media post promoting Xinjiang cotton was “unauthorized” and has now been deleted.
FILA
March 25, 2021: Promotes use of Xinjiang cotton.
ASICS
March 25, 2021: Promotes use of Xinjiang cotton.
VF (Northface, Vans +)
March 25, 2021: Takes down Xinjiang statement.
March 27, 2021: Uploads a new diluted version of Xinjiang statement. Mentions of “forced labour” have been scrubbed in this new statement.
April 1, 2021: VF clarifies in a letter that, despite having taken down its Xinjiang statement out of an “abundance of caution,” at no point did the company change any policy or practice with regard to sourcing products from the Uyghur Region.
Kelme
March 25, 2021: Promotes use of Xinjiang cotton.