US lawmakers have sent letters to the companies. (Representative)
New York:
Several groups of US lawmakers have demanded assurances this week from clothing giant Shein and other brands that their products use forced Chinese labor or materials from regions where such conditions allegedly occur.
On Tuesday, a group of lawmakers sent letters to the CEOs of Adidas, Nike, Shein and Chinese shopping app Teemu with questions about their supply chains.
In papers seen by AFP, the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party cited witness testimony that alleged Nike and Adidas may have been sourcing ingredients from China’s Xinjiang region, in possible violation of US law Are.
“We would like to offer “Nike and Adidas” an opportunity to respond to these serious allegations and provide information regarding their compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act,” the letter read.
The committee also reached out to Teemu and Sheen and asked their executives to explain how they verify their supply chains’ compliance with US law.
The letter to the brands comes just a day after a separate bipartisan group of US lawmakers urged securities regulators to require Shein to certify that it does not use forced Chinese labor as a condition of the public offering.
Citing reports that the fast-growing discount apparel company uses cotton from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, two dozen members of the House of Representatives urged the head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission to take action.
“Sheen is aggressively raising capital and plans to execute an IPO before the end of this calendar year,” he said in the May 1 letter.
“We request that you set forth the rules and oblige Shein to certify through independent verification that the company does not use Uyghur forced labor as a condition of being registered to issue securities in the United States.” does.”
fast fashion
Human rights groups say that China’s Muslim-majority Uyghurs are largely imprisoned in forced labor camps and banned from expressing their culture.
Beijing says ethnic minorities are not being repressed and any security measures in its northwestern region of Xinjiang are a response to the threat of terrorism.
The letter was organized by Virginia Democrat Jennifer Wexton and Tennessee Republican John Rose and signed by 24 House members.
A spokesman for Sheen said the company has no suppliers in the Xinjiang region and that it has “zero tolerance” for forced labor.
“We take visibility seriously throughout our supply chain, and we are committed to respecting human rights and complying with local laws in each market,” the spokesperson said.
“Our suppliers must adhere to a strict code of conduct that is aligned to the core conventions of the International Labor Organization.”
Founded in 2008 in China and currently based in Singapore, Shein has been called an example of “fast fashion”, using TikTok and other online platforms to market its goods.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)