FD: Julia Cornelissen Lisa van der Velden 16 Jan
A fifth of all cotton clothing in the world can be linked to Uighur forced labour in China. The US and the UK took concrete action last week. British retailer Marks & Spencer promises to eliminate any form of forced labour in its chain in a year's time. And in the Netherlands? We have not reached that point yet there, according to a roundup by the FD.
Dutch people also wear clothes made of cotton picked by forced labourers.
Read more at fd.co.uk: https://fd.nl/weekend/1370036/nederlandse-winkelketens-tegen-wil-en-dank-in-frontlinie-tegen-dwangarbeid
In short
- Cotton from China's Xinjiang region ends up all over the world; including in the Netherlands.
- In the region, Uighurs are used for forced labour and tortured.
- Unlike other countries, the Netherlands is not introducing its own legislation for the time being.
- Dutch retail chains struggle with their responsibility in the region.
- Forced labour. Torture. Re-education. Compulsory sterilisation. Last year, several investigations revealed what the Chinese government is doing to over a million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in factories and detention camps. The Xinjiang Uyghur region in particular is notorious.
Original link of the article: https://fd.nl/weekend/1370036/nederlandse-winkelketens-tegen-wil-en-dank-in-frontlinie-tegen-dwangarbeid