Lovely clothes but at what cost?

[WaltzingBetty]

A bit of a heavy thread for style and beauty but I think it's important to be informed

Reports coming out of China are suggesting mass internment, rape and genocide of Uighur women. 83 high street and luxury goods companies including Gap and H&M (and thus presumable &OS, cos etc) use cotton produced in forced labour factories where these women are held.

Sadly, by buying from these companies we are indirectly supporting racial abuse and torture of women.

The links below have more info, be warned the BBC report is deeply uncomfortable. But please don't turn away. Please contact these companies if you are a customer and ask for their policies on cotton sourcing and ask them to boycott China. Please.

https://www.saveuighur.org/83-companies-linked-to-uighur-forced-labor/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-55794071

Thank you - very useful and shocking to know.

Thank you for raising this OP. I've been making a big effort to buy secondhand or upcycle my own clothes and this just spurs me on. It really takes the joy out of clothes shopping thinking how the cotton is produced. Agree that we all need to write, tweet, raise awareness also.

Wirth writing to your MP as well, although the government have already taken some action, see Dominic Raab's statement in parliament here.

Thank you everyone - please do email/write/tweet these companies
And thanks so much for the support

Thank you for this. I don't use these brands. I tend to buy second hand then choose where l buy from using the Good on You app. It has clear scoring and really useful articles on what the issues are.

Thanks OP. I don’t use any of these brands but will share and keep on eye on things. I’ll also email my MP.

That is horrific, those poor women
And of course HM is on the list, they're in scandal after scandal despite trying to have a "conscious" image.

From Raab's statement:

Xinjiang’s position in the international supply chain network means that there is a real risk of businesses and public bodies around the world – whether it’s inadvertently or otherwise – sourcing from suppliers which are complicit in the use of forced labour...

We have already engaged with businesses with links to Xinjiang, we’ve encouraged them to conduct appropriate due diligence.
[...]
And today, I can announce a range of new measures to send a clear message that these violations of human rights are unacceptable, and at the same time to safeguard UK businesses and public bodies from any involvement or links with them.
[...]
And our aim, put simply, is that no company that profits from forced labour in Xinjiang can do business in the UK, and no UK business is involved in their supply chains.

Let me set out the 4 new steps we are now taking. First, today, the FCDO and DIT have issued new, robust and detailed guidance to UK businesses on the specific risks faced by companies with links to Xinjiang and underlining the challenges of conducting effective due diligence there.

A minister-led campaign of business engagement will reinforce the need for UK businesses to take concerted action to address that particular and specific risk.

Second, we are strengthening the operation of the Modern Slavery Act. The Home Office will introduce fines for businesses that do not comply with their transparency obligations.

And the Home Secretary will introduce the necessary legislation, setting out the level of those fines, as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Third, we announced last September that the transparency requirements that apply to UK businesses under the Modern Slavery Act will be extended to the public sector.

The FCDO will now work with the Cabinet Office to provide guidance and support to UK government bodies to exclude suppliers, where there is sufficient evidence of human rights violations in any of their supply chains.
[...]
Fourth, the government will conduct an urgent review of export controls as they apply specifically geographically to the situation in Xinjiang, to make sure that we are doing everything that we can to prevent the export of any goods that could directly or indirectly contribute to human rights violations in that region.
[...]
As ever, we act in coordination with our like-minded partners around the world and I welcome the fact that, later today, Foreign Minister Champagne will set out Canada’s approach on these issues.

I know Australia, the US, France, Germany and New Zealand are also considering the approaches they take. We will continue to work with all of our international partners.

@LadyTiredWinterBottom2

Thank you for this. I don't use these brands. I tend to buy second hand then choose where l buy from using the Good on You app. It has clear scoring and really useful articles on what the issues are.

I've not heard of this app - thanks will look into it

Is that H&M the store brand or the patent company? I only recently learned that H&M were more than their high street store.

@dudsville

Is that H&M the store brand or the patent company? I only recently learned that H&M were more than their high street store.

I would think the parent company - their international supply chains will apply to their subsidiary businesses

@PerkingFaintly I can easily pass on the clothes brands on that list, but I had no idea that white goods brands such as Bosch were involved. That’s given me pause, I have several Bosch appliances.

Never bought H&M again since realising many years ago that their clothes are crappy quality.

[quote whataboutbob]@PerkingFaintly I can easily pass on the clothes brands on that list, but I had no idea that white goods brands such as Bosch were involved. That’s given me pause, I have several Bosch appliances.[/quote]
Me too.
I know better now. I guess I need to seek assurances and change my purchasing power

I have been learning to make my own clothes over this past year. The one thing that really, really becomes obvious is just how cheap clothes are to buy, compared to the cost of making them. Even taking into account the fact that home sewists pay a premium for fabric etc. It becomes clear that people must be exploited to keep costs so low. I’m definitely changing my buying habits now.

@dudsville

Is that H&M the store brand or the patent company? I only recently learned that H&M were more than their high street store.

I imagine it's the corporate group so will include: Cos &Other Stories Arket Monki Cheap Monday H&M Home

But let's ask them.

Thanks for sharing OP, this is sickening to the core.

Which would be the best way to contact H&M about this?

Sorry to ask.... but in what way is Bosch involved in cotton? Do they have a clothing brand?

[quote whataboutbob]@PerkingFaintly I can easily pass on the clothes brands on that list, but I had no idea that white goods brands such as Bosch were involved. That’s given me pause, I have several Bosch appliances.[/quote]
Same but I will not buy more. Also avoiding acer for a laptop now.

@Gubanc

Sorry to ask.... but in what way is Bosch involved in cotton? Do they have a clothing brand?

The list is a list of brands involved in forced labour.

In that region, cotton is a significant product but there are plenty of forced labour factories producing other goods

Thanks for this. I rarely buy from any of the companies listed but no doubt there are others that are just as appalling. I try to buy from sustainable British companies ( but that makes me feel like a xenophobe) to reduce the incidence of me supporting such practices but until everyone can do so, it won't stop.

@Lampan

I have been learning to make my own clothes over this past year. The one thing that really, really becomes obvious is just how cheap clothes are to buy, compared to the cost of making them. Even taking into account the fact that home sewists pay a premium for fabric etc. It becomes clear that people must be exploited to keep costs so low. I’m definitely changing my buying habits now.

I absolutely agree that's a good way to go but how do you know ( genuine question) how the fabric you use is manufactured?

@Sooverthemill to be quite honest I don’t. Sometimes I can use ‘recycled’ fabric such as using sheets/tablecloths etc and turning them into clothes, but I’m under no illusion that fabric for sale has possibly been made unethically. But at least I know that the garment itself hasn’t been made unethically!

To think women are going through that for stuff that's going to landfill.