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SHANGHAI, March 26 (Reuters) - The China branch of the
cotton trade body Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) said on Friday
it had not found signs of forced labour related to cotton
production in Xinjiang.
The comments come as a number of overseas retailers face a
public backlash from Chinese consumers who circulated statements
from the brands on social media announcing they will cease
sourcing from Xinjiang. BCI counts many of the brands in
question, including H&M, Nike, and Adidas, as members.
"The BCI Shanghai representative office once again solemnly
reiterates that the China project team strictly abides by
BCI's audit principles," the trade body said in a statement.
"Since 2012, the Xinjiang project site has performed
second-party credibility audits and third-party verifications
over the years, and has never found a single case related to
incidents of forced labor."
The branch added it would remain in communication with its
Chinese partners in Xinjiang.
Earlier this week, Chinese citizens launched a social media
backlash against H&M by circulating a notice the company
published last year stating it would cease sourcing cotton from
Xinjiang. The backlash quickly extended to other overseas
brands.
Human rights organisations have accused China of running
forced labour camps for Uighur Muslims living in the western
region. Beijing has repeatedly denied the accusations, calling
the camps in question vocational training centres.
A number of major Chinese apps have joined the backlash by
removing H&M from their listings.
(Reporting by Josh Horwitz. Editing by Toby Chopra and Mark
Potter)
