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AAFA advises member firms over US govt advisory on XUAR
13 Jul '20
2 min read
Pic: Shutterstock
The American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) recently advised its member companies to be sensitive to the possibility of additional sanctions in the light of a recent government advisory that said businesses with potential exposure in their supply chain to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) or to facilities outside Xinjiang that use labour or goods from Xinjiang should be aware of the reputational, economic and legal risks of involvement with entities that engage in human rights abuses.
The groundwork has been set for a possible increase in withhold release orders (WRO) on products originating from targeted facilities in, or having any nexus with, XUAR that would allow US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to seize shipments of products from those facilities. In fact, two of the three most recent WROs have been issued deal with forced labour (on hair products) from XUAR, AAFA said in a press release.
Though AAFA members have deployed extensive procedures—codes, audits, training, and more—to ensure that forced labour does not taint their supply chains, the effectiveness of these procedures with specific reference to XUAR has been called into question by this advisory, AAFA noted.
AAFA has also learned that a coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and labour groups will soon launch a campaign calling on brands to cease any nexus with XUAR or Uyghur workers. “Even if your supply chain does not cross XUAR, you could still be implicated if one of your suppliers, or even that supplier’s parent company, has a nexus with XUAR,” AAFA said.
The association requested the government to develop and implement a more holistic approach to address this critical issue that involves all stakeholders as well as ally nations.
It urged member companies to immediately evaluate their exposure to XUAR, from finished products to inputs and raw materials (XUAR produces 85 per cent of the cotton produced in China) even if they do not source from XUAR or China.
It also urged members to determine if any of their suppliers in other parts of China are using trafficked Uyghur workers in their factories. AAFA clarified that it is not urging any of its member to discontinue conducting business with any suppliers that, it reasonably believes, has no forced labour in their supply chains.
The groundwork has been set for a possible increase in withhold release orders (WRO) on products originating from targeted facilities in, or having any nexus with, XUAR that would allow US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to seize shipments of products from those facilities. In fact, two of the three most recent WROs have been issued deal with forced labour (on hair products) from XUAR, AAFA said in a press release.
Though AAFA members have deployed extensive procedures—codes, audits, training, and more—to ensure that forced labour does not taint their supply chains, the effectiveness of these procedures with specific reference to XUAR has been called into question by this advisory, AAFA noted.
AAFA has also learned that a coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and labour groups will soon launch a campaign calling on brands to cease any nexus with XUAR or Uyghur workers. “Even if your supply chain does not cross XUAR, you could still be implicated if one of your suppliers, or even that supplier’s parent company, has a nexus with XUAR,” AAFA said.
The association requested the government to develop and implement a more holistic approach to address this critical issue that involves all stakeholders as well as ally nations.
It urged member companies to immediately evaluate their exposure to XUAR, from finished products to inputs and raw materials (XUAR produces 85 per cent of the cotton produced in China) even if they do not source from XUAR or China.
It also urged members to determine if any of their suppliers in other parts of China are using trafficked Uyghur workers in their factories. AAFA clarified that it is not urging any of its member to discontinue conducting business with any suppliers that, it reasonably believes, has no forced labour in their supply chains.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
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