[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1646879618792{margin-top: 30px !important;margin-bottom: -20px !important;}”]

The Xinjuan Story.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row dfd_row_config=”full_width_content” css=”.vc_custom_1592711876147{margin-top: 90px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text]China is the most populous country globally and the third-largest country in landmass. China is divided into semi-autonomous regions. Xinjiang is one of China’s most extensive regions. Xinjiang is the northwest of the country and is bordered by Russia, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia. The region hosts a population of 25.8 million people. Xinjiang has historically been a disputed territory. In the 18th century, it came under the influence of the Chinese Qing dynasty. The largest ethnic minority group in this region is the Uyghurs. They speak a language related to Turkish and are predominantly Muslim. After September 11, 2001, control over the political, social, and religious activities of minority groups in Xinjiang strengthened to combat terrorism. Controls became even stricter after clashes in 2009 between Uyghurs and Han Chinese in the regional capital Urumqi. The repression radicalized a marginal minority of the Uyghurs, which the Chinese authorities used to strengthen their grip on the population. ( Amnesty,2021)

In 2017, the Chinese government established reeducation camps. As of 2017, an estimated one million-plus Uyghurs and members of other ethnic groups were detained without trial. In August 2018, the United Nations confirmed that there was compelling evidence for the existence of these camps. The UN called on the Chinese government to account for this. The Chinese authorities told the outside world that these are voluntary Vocational Skills Education and Training Centers. In reality, it is a form of administrative detention. The Chinese government detains the Uyghurs for various reasons: traveling or contacting Muslim countries, having more than three children, and practicing religion. (Maizland, 2021) Once inside the camps, Uighurs are trained to do specific jobs; they receive patriotic education and Mandarin language classes. The students are subjected to political indoctrination and can’t leave the camps until they complete their reeducation. Once they complete the training, they are sent to various factories all over the country to become factory workers to create apparel, electronics, and automotive components. Inside the factories, they receive the same type of patriotic training and cultural schooling.

The New York Times published a series of leaked documents in 2019: The Xinjiang Papers. The leaked documents prove the existence of reformation and reeducation camps/ The idea, according to Xi Jinpeng, is to diminish the threats of terrorism, Muslims, and extremism. The Uyghur people are also surveilled and controlled by government officials. (Ramsey & Buckley, 2019)The International Consortium of Investigative journalists also published a collection of secret Chinese government documents detailing how to regime handles Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. The leaked papers are called the China Cables.(International Consortium of Investigative Journalism, 2019) The Xinjiang Papers and the China Cables contain classified government documents and describe the government’s policy in Xinjiang.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row dfd_row_config=”full_width_content” css=”.vc_custom_1592711876147{margin-top: 90px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_raw_html]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ4amRwLmFzcGkub3JnLmF1JTJGbWFwJTJGJTNGJTIyJTIwc3R5bGUlM0QlMjJib3JkZXIlM0EwcHglMjAlMjNmZmZmZmYlMjBub25lJTNCJTIyJTIwJTIwc2Nyb2xsaW5nJTNEJTIyeWVzJTIyJTIwZnJhbWVib3JkZXIlM0QlMjIxJTIyJTIwbWFyZ2luaGVpZ2h0JTNEJTIyMHB4JTIyJTIwbWFyZ2lud2lkdGglM0QlMjIwcHglMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjI2MDBweCUyMiUyMHdpZHRoJTNEJTIyMTIwMHB4JTIyJTIwYWxsb3dmdWxsc2NyZWVuJTNFJTNDJTJGaWZyYW1lJTNF[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]Source: Australian Strategic Policy Institute[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1646952420625{margin-top: 20px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1646936542786{margin-bottom: 60px !important;}”]

Xinjiang’s Cotton Industry

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1647019871810{margin-top: -10px !important;}”]China is one of the two largest cotton producers globally; it is the largest exporter of yarn and the largest manufacturer and exporter of textiles and clothing. The Xinjiang region accounts for more than 20% of the global production. Eighty-four percent of China’s cotton comes from Xinjiang. Most of Xinjiang’s cotton industry is serviced by forced ethnic minority laborers. These laborers are forced to work under strict surveillance. They work in fenced, highly secured workplaces. They can’t practice their religion, must follow Mandarin language classes, and are threatened and abused. (Uyghur Human Rights Project, 2022)

The international community, including the EU, Canada, UK, and the US, spoke out about the human rights violations against the Uyghurs and other ethnic groups. They issued sanctions against Chinese officials involved in the practice. On Dec. 23, 2021, President Biden signed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act into law, which bans imports from Xinjiang and imposes sanctions on foreign individuals responsible for forced labor in the region. Despite the international critique and bans against forced labor cotton, coalitions such as the End Ughur Forced Labor coalition claim that it is straightforward to circumvent any ongoing restrictions against Xinjiang cotton. Many clothing manufacturers don’t receive cotton directly from China but work with intermediaries who make their clothes. These intermediary companies still receive the majority of their cotton from Xinjiang. There is deliberate obscurity in the supply chain over the origins of cotton. The fashion companies that sell apparel made from Xinjiang cotton include many well-known brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Adidas, Amazon, Calvin Klein en Tommy Hilfiger (PVH), Costco, Esprit, Fila, Gap, H&M, Ikea, Jack & Jones, Only, Vero Moda (Bestseller), L.L.Bean, Lacoste (Maus Freres), Marks & Spencer, Nike, Patagonia, Polo Ralph Lauren, Puma, Skechers, Caterpillar, Uniqlo (Fast Retailing), Victoria’s Secret (L Brands) and Zara (Inditex). A study from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute confirmed 83 different multinational companies. (ASPI, 2020)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1647112289515{margin-top: -20px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1647111905523{margin-bottom: 60px !important;}”]

Fashion Industry

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1647122078464{margin-top: 30px !important;margin-bottom: 60px !important;}”]Almost every fashion company understands the importance of sustainable practices. Fashion companies sway consumers with green tags, stories about reducing waste, and showcase using innovative materials (organic, recycled, and good for the environment). They also understand the importance of taking a sociopolitical stance and supporting good causes. Under the Influence of governmental pressure, and after publishing numerous leaked documents, interviews, and research papers, big fashion companies felt they needed to make a statement about the Uyghur human rights abuses. Companies Like H&M, Nike, and Adidas issued statements that they would no longer source cotton from Xinjiang in march of 2021. This led to a backlash from the Chinese government. The companies disappeared from Chinese e-commerce platforms, maps, and consumers boycotted them. Many companies retreated their statements against the human rights abuses in Xinjiang. H&M, Zara, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger removed the comments against Xinjiang cotton from their websites.
Furthermore, some companies like Hugo Boss, Asics, and Fila proudly announced using Xinjiang cotton in their supply chain. (Forced Labour Fashion, 2021) Because China is the world’s largest consumer market, profit loss in Asia has a significant impact on the overall revenue of many global fashion brands. The rift between China and the West is a difficult choice for retailers. Stick with Xinjiang cotton and alienate yourself from Western markets, or move production elsewhere and face backlash in China.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1647113706685{margin-bottom: 60px !important;}”]

Better Cotton?

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1647123001231{margin-top: 30px !important;margin-bottom: 60px !important;}”]To help improve the crops and the socio-economic situation of the actors in the industry, stakeholders created cotton certifications. The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), Cotton Made in Africa (CmiA), Fairtrade, US Cotton Trust Protocol are just a few examples of international or regional certifications for the cotton industry. The difference between the certifications lies in the traceability and methods for certification.
One of the largest Non-Profit multilateral stakeholder organizations created to improve the sustainability of the cotton trade is the Better Cotton Initiative. The Better Cotton Initiative is active in 23 countries and has over 2000 members. Better cotton is produced under farm-level standards covering pesticide use, water use efficiency, and worker health and safety. To trade Better Cotton, several supply chain partners must also be members of BCI. These include producer organizations, cotton traders, yarn spinners, brands, and retailers. The BCI translated its standards into a certification scheme, which allows farmers to let auditors evaluate their soil, farming, management, and labor practices. In exchange, they become a certified producer. Up until now, the BCI worked with the principle of mass Balance. (BCI,2021) ( see table below)
International organizations heavily criticized BCI, and governments for first not acknowledging the problems with the cotton industry in China, and then following international pressure, the BCI stated that they oppose the human rights abuses in Xinjiang. Because of the Chinese government’s coercion, BCI withdrew its statements and stopped its operations in China.

Due to technological innovations, such as Blockchain and IoT devices, it becomes easier to create a traceability system. BCI will roll out its traceability system this year. In order to understand the supply chain better, and to combat problems such as forced labor, or bad working conditions, cotton needs to be 100% traceable. Currently, there are four systems for traceability: Identity Preservation, Bulk Segregation, Mass balance, and certificate trading.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1647111674630{margin-top: -20px !important;}”][vc_column][dfd_spacer screen_wide_spacer_size=”30″ screen_normal_resolution=”1024″ screen_tablet_resolution=”800″ screen_mobile_resolution=”480″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][dfd_tta_tabs style=”collapse” active_section=”1″ tab_background=”#eaeaea” css=”.vc_custom_1647115760621{margin-right: 50px !important;margin-left: 50px !important;background-color: #f7f7f7 !important;}”][vc_tta_section title=”Identity Preservation” tab_id=”1647114274239-023c5d0c-d2e2″][vc_column_text]

This allows us to trace cotton from a farm or group of farms to the gin or final users. Each batch of the certified product is treated separately. It is physically separated from other certified or non-certified products throughout the supply chain, as is its associated documentation. This model does not allow the mixing of non-certified materials anywhere in the supply chain. Identity preservation is the most expensive traceability model and is not currently feasible for all industry players. 

Cotton made in Africa (CmiA): traceability from gin level (cotton bale) to finished product possible

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Each batch of the certified product is treated separately, but it can mix with certified cotton from different producers. Information about place of origin is kept.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Mass Balance” tab_id=”1647115619694-848ebde3-cd4e”][vc_column_text]The Mass Balance model makes large scale production of more sustainable cotton possible. The certified cotton is mixed with the non-certified cotton, so buyers can’t be sure that they will receive certified cotton. It is cheaper, and faster to produce certified cotton via this method, and it allows retailers to make sustainability claims without knowing if it is sustainable or not.

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Bibliography

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Icij (2019, November 24). Read the China cables documents. ICIJ. Retrieved March 1, 2022, from https://www.icij.org/investigations/china-cables/read-the-china-cables-documents/

Ramzy, A., & Buckley, C. (2019, November 16). ‘absolutely no mercy’: Leaked files expose how China organized mass detentions of Muslims. The New York Times. Retrieved March 1, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/16/world/asia/china-xinjiang-documents.html

Australian Strategic Policy Institute 2020 ‘Uyghurs for Sale’ Report – Xinjiang Data Project. https://xjdp.aspi.org.au/explainers/uyghurs-for-sale/.

Uyghur Human Rights Project. 2022. “They Sent Her to a Concentration Camp Because She Came to Turkey”: The Persecution of Uyghurs Based on their Turkic and Muslim Identity – Uyghur Human Rights Project. Available at: <https://uhrp.org/report/they-sent-her-to-a-concentration-camp-because-she-came-to-turkey-the-persecution-of-uyghurs-based-on-their-turkic-and-muslim-identity/> [Accessed 1 March 2022].[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]