(Ottawa) Clothing maker Zara Canada joins a growing list of companies suspected of using forced labor of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
The Canadian Ombudsman for Corporate Responsibility (CORE) announced Monday the launch of an investigation into the supply chain of the world-famous clothing company.
She is suspected of having a commercial relationship with three Chinese companies which allegedly used forced labor of Uyghurs or who profited from it, we read in the OCRE report.
The 28 civil society organizations that filed the complaint rely on designations from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) and the Helena Kennedy Center for International Justice (HKCIJ).
They allege that the use of forced labor of Uyghurs by Zara, through its suppliers, “began before 1er May 2019 and continues.
An eighth investigation
This is the eighth investigation by Ombudsman Sherry Meyerhoffer into the use of the fruits of forced labor of Uyghurs in the operations of Canadian companies.
Among them are the companies Ralph Lauren Canada, Nike Canada, Walmart Canada, Levi Strauss & Co. Canada, as well as the mining company Dynasty Gold Corp.
Many deny the allegations; this is the case of Zara Canada, whose lack of cooperation is broadly highlighted in the OCRE report.
Zara Canada contests
The company “maintains that the complaint is frivolous or vexatious because it is unfounded in fact and does not provide sufficient factual information,” it explains.
She also challenges the jurisdiction of the OCRE, arguing that “the Chinese entities are not “overseas activities” of Zara Canada”.
And according to the company, “relevant information will likely be considerably limited given the difficulty of conducting an investigation in the country.”
Light must be shed, according to the ombudsman
The OCRE agrees on “the difficulty of obtaining information from Xinjiang”, but argues that research “using experts” will be carried out, and that Zara Canada will have a say.
Because if the company denied having commercial relations with any factory in the region, the declaration “is directly contradicted by the conclusions of the ASPI”, underlines the ombudsman.
The company had not reacted to the announcement of the launch of an investigation at the time of publishing these lines, Monday noon.
Created in 2019, the ombudsman does not have powers to discipline companies that turn a blind eye, intentionally or not, to forced labor practices.
The agency can turn off the spigot of federal aid, but it cannot impose fines.