• Email Us: [email protected]
  • Contact Us: +1 718 874 1545
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Medical Market Report

  • Home
  • All Reports
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Rights group files complaint against German retailers over Chinese textiles

September 6, 2021 by David Barret Leave a Comment

September 6, 2021

BERLIN (Reuters) – A human rights group filed a complaint to German prosecutors on Monday alleging that several fashion retailers profited from forced labour in China’s Xinjiang region.

The Berlin-based European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) accuses Lidl, Hugo Boss and other retailers of abetting and profiting directly or indirectly from forced labour in Xinjiang’s cotton industry, according to the 96-page complaint received by prosecutors in the Karlsruhe federal court.

China denies Western countries’ accusations that it mistreats minority Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, or that forced labour is carried out there. A spokesperson at the Chinese embassy in Berlin was not immediately available to comment.

“It is unacceptable that European governments criticize China for human rights violations, while European companies may be profiting from the exploitation of the Uyghur population,” said Miriam Saage-Maass, head of ECCHR’s Business and Human Rights program.

“It is high time that those responsible in the companies are held accountable if suspicions of forced labour are confirmed.”

The filing aims to convince the prosecutor to open an inquiry that, its authors say, could hold management of the retailers to account and make customers more aware of abuses in their supply chains.

A Lidl spokesperson said allegations relating to the company were “based on old supplier lists and relate to past orders or periods of time”. The company has a “zero tolerance” policy towards forced labour and child labour, obliging contractors along the supply chain to adhere to social standards.

“If we become aware of concrete facts regarding violations of these provisions, we will investigate and take appropriate steps. In this context, production facilities have been closed,” the Lidl spokesperson said.

A Hugo Boss spokesperson said: “We assume that our values ​​and standards have been complied with in the manufacture of our goods and that there are no legal violations. We therefore reject any other assertions made by ECCHR.”

“We do not tolerate any form of forced or compulsory labour or any form of modern slavery,” the spokesperson said, adding that it requires contractors to confirm that human rights and fair working conditions are observed along the supply chain.

The United Nations cites what it says are credible reports that 1 million Muslims held in camps have been put to work in Xinjiang. China initially denied the camps existed, but has since said they are vocational centres designed to combat extremism. In late 2019, China said all people in the camps had “graduated”.

In July, French prosecutors launched an inquiry into four fashion retailers suspected of concealing crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, according to a source. The case involves the Uniqlo France unit of Japan’s Fast Retailing, Zara owner Inditex, France’s SMCP and Skechers.

In January, the United States announced an import ban on all cotton and tomato products from Xinjiang over allegations that they are made with forced labour by Uyghurs.

Several Western brands including H&M, Burberry and Nike have been hit by consumer boycotts in China after raising concerns about suspected forced labour in Xinjiang. China holds roughly 20% of the world’s cotton market and 85% of its cotton comes from Xinjiang.

(Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Sabine Wollrab)

Source Link Rights group files complaint against German retailers over Chinese textiles

David Barret
David Barret

Related posts:

  1. Exclusive-Apple hit with antitrust case in India over in-app payments issues
  2. Get 50B of data for just £12 a month with this unbeatable Smarty SIM only deal
  3. FTC bans spyware maker SpyFone, and orders it to notify hacked victims
  4. The only one way to tackle ransomware: Zero Trust

Filed Under: News

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

  • New Nimbus COVID Variant Present In The UK, Infections Could Spread This Summer
  • Scientists Have Finally Measured How Fast Quantum Entanglement Happens
  • Why Earth’s Magnetic Pole Reversals Are So Fascinating
  • World First Artificial Solar Eclipse Created, The “Closest Thing” To HIV Vaccine Gets FDA Approval, And Much More This Week
  • “Remarkable” Pattern Discovered Behind Prime Numbers, Math’s Most Unpredictable Objects
  • People Are Only Just Learning What The World’s Most Expensive Cheese Is Made Of
  • The Physics Behind Iron: Why It’s The Most Stable Element
  • What Is The Reason Some People Keep Waking Up At 3am Every Night?
  • Michigan Bear Finally Free After 2 Years With Plastic Lid Stuck Around Its Neck
  • Pangolins, The World’s Most Trafficked Mammal, May Soon Get Federal Protection In The US
  • Sharks Have No Bones, So How Do They Get So Big?
  • 2025 Is Shaping Up To Be A Whirlwind Year For Tornadoes In The US
  • Unexpected Nova Just Appeared In The Night Sky – And You Can See It With The Naked Eye
  • Watch As Maori Octopus Decides Eating A Ray Is A Good Idea
  • There Is Life Hiding In The Earth’s Deep Biosphere, But Not As You Know It
  • Two Sandhill Cranes Have Adopted A Canada Gosling, And It’s Ridiculously Adorable
  • Hybrid Pythons Are Taking Over The Florida Everglades With “Hybrid Vigor”
  • Mysterious, Powerful Radio Pulse Traced Back To NASA Satellite That’s Been Dead Since 1967
  • This Is The Best (And Worst) Sleep Position
  • Artificial Eclipse, Dancing Dinosaurs, And 50 Years Of “JAWS”
  • Business
  • Health
  • News
  • Science
  • Technology
  • +1 718 874 1545
  • +91 78878 22626
  • [email protected]
Office Address
Prudour Pvt. Ltd. 420 Lexington Avenue Suite 300 New York City, NY 10170.

Powered by Prudour Network

Copyrights © 2025 · Medical Market Report. All Rights Reserved.

Go to mobile version