Tell Urban Outfitters: Stop Profiting from Uyghur Forced Labor
Urban Outfitters President and CEO, Richard Hayne
Help Free Uyghurs from Forced Labor in China
People belonging to ethnic, cultural, and religious groups in northwestern China, including Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and Hui, are currently the target of the largest organized detention of an ethno-religious minority the world has seen since World War II. Since 2017, over one million have been detained.
Detainees are made to work under constant surveillance, with assigned minders and no freedom to leave. Their forced labor contributes to the production of goods for numerous multinationals.
Countless Western companies are also profiting from this system of forced labor in their supply chains. Over 20 percent of the global apparel industry’s cotton supply is grown in the Uyghur Region, the source of 84 percent of China’s output.
American retailer Urban Outfitters, like almost all companies, claims to prohibit forced labor in its supply chains, yet offers no credible explanation as to how it can do this considering its links to a region where all goods are likely to be tainted by forced labor. By continuing to operate in and maintaining links to the region, fashion brands like these are complicit in what many have widely recognized as crimes against humanity.
For More Information:
"Eight things you can do to help Uyghurs in a time of genocide," Uyghur Human Rights Project
End #ForcedLabourFashion Now - campaign website
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To:
Urban Outfitters President and CEO, Richard Hayne
From:
[Your Name]
I demand that Urban Outfitters end its complicity in Uyghur forced labor.
Urban Outfitters has this on its website:
"URBN (Urban Outfitters) does not knowingly carry products originating from Xinjiang Uighur AutonomousRegion (XUAR). URBN does not knowingly source any private label or own-brand products from XUAR and continues to take measures to ensure that cotton in URBN's products is not sourced from XUAR. Vendors cannot supply goods made in XUAR or made from materials produced in XUAR.
"Vendors are expected to take reasonable precautions to ensure that their supply chain does not include any cotton from entities that have been sanctioned by the U.S. government."
Despite these strong words, no proof has been provided. These words are meaningless without evidence and we expect more to be done. Forced labor is widespread in the Uyghur Region, which accounts for 20% of the world’s cotton. There is an enormous risk that the cotton used to sew apparel for Urban Outfitters comes from Uyghur forced labor.
We are tired of hearing Urban Outfitters’ empty words. It needs to take real action and prioritize the lives and dignity of the Uyghur people over their own profits. The only way to ensure that Urban Outfitters is not complicit in Uyghur forced labor is by committing to each of the steps of the Brand Commitment to Exit the Uyghur Region.
Please write back and tell me what actions you will take to ensure that none of your clothes are connected to Uyghur forced labor in China.