Residents at the Kashgar city vocational educational training centre attend a sewing class during a government organised visit in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China, Jan 4, 2019. WASHINGTON: An international coalition called on fashion and garment giants on Thursday to break supply chains from the Xinjiang region of China and cut ties with those implicated in Uighur forced labour within the next year.
Warning that"almost every major apparel brand and retailer selling cotton products is potentially implicated", it urged brands and retailers to exit the region"at every level of their supply chain" no later than one year after making the commitment.AdvertisementChina has come under increasing international pressure, including from the US, over its treatment of Uighurs, a Muslim-majority ethnic group who live mainly in western Xinjiang.
China contends that the facilities are vocational education centres where Uighurs learn Mandarin and job skills in order to steer them away from extremism following a spate of ethnic violence. However, a joint statement from the National Retail Federation, the world's largest retail trade association, and other industry groups, did not say if they would sign the call.