What's Going on in Xinjiang, China?
Since 2017, more than a million Uyghurs have been transferred to "re-education camps" in Xinjiang. These victims have been forced to learn political and Mandarin ideologies, participate in "patriotic education", renounce their religion and culture, live in segregated dormitories, and do slave work for at least 82 well-known global brands. This is only the first step to the "Xinjiang Aid" (援疆) policy, which is meant to alleviate poverty in the Xinjiang region by employing "re-educated" Uyghurs right after they complete the camp. Newly educated factory workers are again subject to having their behaviors and ideologies reformed, and are forced to express "gratitude" for the Chinese Communist Party and Han Chinese (the largest ethnic group in China). Any violations, misbehaviors, or refusals to conform to the Chinese government can result in torture, detentions, or even threats towards the subjects' loved ones.
The Genocide
Forcing sterilizations, separating children from their parents, and torturing laborers and their family members are all behind the scenes of China's poverty alleviation mission in Xinjiang. These acts along with measures to eradicate religious practices and to replace speaking Uyghur with Mandarin are defining characteristics of genocide and ethnocide.
Testimonials from Uyghur refugees reveal how women are forced to have IUDs, abortions, and sterilizations. Many refugees have been unable to speak to their children for years because the refugees either had an excessive number of children or were thrown into prisons, re-education camps, or factories/fields. Separated children are thrown into barb-wired state-run orphanages or boarding schools (also known as "welfare centers" and "protection centers") where they are not allowed to speak Uyghur or practice religion in any way.
Who is involved?
There at least 82 well-known global brands from multiple industries that exploit Uyghur labor. The lists below are only a handful of major clothing companies and it goes without saying that their use of exploited labor also occurs in many other developing and developed nations. According to ASPI: "The data is based on published supplier lists, media reports, and the factories’ claimed suppliers."
Keep in mind that the brands denying accusations are denying that they use manufacturing or cotton sourced in Xinjiang. There is nothing said about factories outside of Xinjiang that may also have Uyghur forced labor.
Forced Labor for Fashion
Since 2003, millions of Uyghur women, children, and men have been exported in batches across Xinjiang and China for cotton harvesting and textiles manufacturing. Although poverty alleviation is the Chinese government's mission, testimonials from Uyghur refugees describe how they were either underpaid or not paid at all for their work. Factory workers are confined to prison-like facilities and dormitories (see image below) with walls and watch towers, and agricultural workers are "offered" 24/7 "services" by government cadres. Constant surveillance and inaccessible transportation has lead to restricted travel outside factories and dorms and has prevented Uyghurs from visiting their homes for years. Family members back at home are also surveilled by government authorities, who provide them "household care" and "special personnel to manage them."
Satellite image of the Haoyuanpeng Clothing Manufacturing Co. Ltd in Yengixahar County, Xinjiang reveals guarded and isolated work and living quarters of Uyghur laborers
One of the most cited statistics for global cotton output is that China produces the most cotton (23% of the world's cotton) and that the majority of China's cotton is grown in Xinjiang (84%). I am a firm believer that statistics are often cherry picked and have biases, but it is worth noting that China's Government website also cites the 84% statistic.
This is very significant, considering how government officials admit that most of China's cotton is produced in China's Uyghur dominant region. Thus, it could be surmised that the majority of clothing made in China is sponsored by the Uyghur genocide and utilizes forced labor.
COVID-19 Masks
The most obvious addition to clothing wear since the COVID-19 pandemic is medical grade Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), more specifically, masks. The amount of slave labor involved has been uncovered via satellite imagery of Chinese medical factories, Uyghur news sources, Chinese news sources, and Chinese government data sources. Back in February 2020, China's National Development and Reform Commission stated that daily surgical mask production exceeded 20 million a day. While this is the only available production statistic I've been able to find, this early statistic can at least give perspective on to what manufacturing looked like since the early pandemic. Who knows how many reusable masks are also made with forced labor, but relying more on reusable masks is one way to reduce the number of mask demand.
Starting the Rebellion
Boycott the companies that rely on Uyghur slave labor and oppression. Buy second hand at thrift stores or use online ones like Depop or try sustainable, slave labor-free companies like Cotopaxi. Go on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and whatever social media to call out the big name companies and famous people who endorse them. Denouncing them is our best chance at pulling the fashion industry out of one of the worst genocides since the Holocaust.
Sources
* Sources in Chinese were translated via Google Translate
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Uyghurs for Sale report
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What is Genocide?
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China cuts Uighur births with IUDs, abortion, sterilization
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China treats Uighur kids as 'orphans' after parents seized
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“Eradicating Ideological Viruses” (Human Rights Watch)
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Forced Labor and Detainment Transfer
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China's System of Oppression in Xinjiang
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新疆阿克苏地区沙雅县迎来大批拾花工“淘金”
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人物 | 为改变家庭命运 这些新疆农村女工来到青岛 她们经历了什么？
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多措并举探索提升农村劳动力疆外有组织转移就业新模式
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全球市场看好中国棉业
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福建省口罩日产量突破2000万
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China Is Using Uighur Labor to Produce Face Masks