Brands sourcing from Uyghur forced labour in China

In this article we explore the Chinese government’s ongoing persecution of the Uyghur population, the brands and products accused of being linked to forced Uyghur labour, and the campaign groups taking action.

Who are the Uyghur people?

Uyghur people have lived in a region in northwest China, now called Xinjiang (formerly East Turkistan), for centuries. The Uyghurs are culturally and linguistically different to the Chinese population, and most are Muslim.

Tension has long existed between the Chinese government and Uyghur population. The Uyghurs previously established two independent republics, seeking freedom from Chinese rule, but in 1949 the Chinese military marched into the region and ended the republic.

The Uyghurs are the largest community affected by the Chinese government’s persecution of Muslim-majority communities. But other ethnically Turkic and Muslim communities, such as Kazakhs and Kyrgyz, are also affected.

Over the past century, increasing numbers of Han Chinese people have moved into the Xinjiang region. In 2017 the Chinese government decided that 300,000 settlers should move into Xinjiang by 2022, through a strategy involving attracting Han Chinese citizens from other parts of the country through promises of free land, housing and government jobs. Academics say efforts such as this demonstrate a deliberate attempt by the government to dilute the population of Uyghur and other mostly-Muslim ethnic groups.  

Tensions escalated after the U.S. government announced its ‘War on Terror’ following the attacks on the World Trade Centre in 2001. Experts and Uyghur advocates say the Chinese government adopted the concept and began to brand all Uyghur people as terrorists in the following years.

Since 2017, the Chinese government has arbitrarily imprisoned large numbers of Uyghur people. Estimates vary, with Amnesty International estimating at least one million detainees, while Uyghur advocacy groups place the figure at over three million. Internal Chinese police records point to an estimate of 1-2 million.

The Chinese government claims that it is, in fact, educating these Uyghur people in schools across the region – but as we explore below, the evidence suggests a very different picture. 

Life inside a Uyghur ‘re-education’ centre

In 2017 the Chinese government began sending Uyghur people to what it refers to as ‘re-education centres’, or ‘vocational training centres’. It claimed that participation in them was voluntary, and that the centres helped counter terrorism and extremism, increased job opportunities, and alleviated poverty. Other Uyghurs were detained directly in prisons, including for ‘crimes’ such as ‘using WhatsApp’.

However, satellite imagery and investigations, alongside testimonies from family members and people who have managed to escape, show that the Uyghur people detained within ‘re-education’ camps or just in prisons have been tortured, banned from practising the Muslim faith, and are not allowed to leave.

In 2019 the Chinese government said that re-education centres had been shut down, with all those held inside having ‘graduated’, but in 2025 Uyghurs are still being held in detention, with international media reports suggesting that former re-education camps had been converted into high-security prisons.

The Xinjiang Police Files, a major cache of leaked documents published in 2022, “provide some of the strongest evidence to date for a policy targeting almost any expression of Uyghur identity, culture or Islamic faith,” according to the BBC.

The files showed that:

• Uyghur people were detained in a mixture of ‘re-education’ camps and formal prisons
• State police enacted a shoot-to-kill policy for people trying to escape.
• Many are detained just for having outward signs of Islamic faith.
• Relatives are routinely detained for the “crimes” of their families.
• The youngest recorded prisoner was just 15 when arrested, and the oldest 73.

Amnesty International says the camps aim to erase the beliefs and practices of the Uyghur people, with those detained given classes about the “evils” of Islam, and promoting the wealth, power and benevolence of the Chinese government.

Amnesty International also reports widespread torture in the camps. Guards, employed by the Chinese state, are reported to deprive detainees of sleep and food, and beat, rape  and sometimes kill them. People have reported being physically punished if they spoke anything other than Mandarin Chinese.

Witnesses have also testified to say that the Chinese authorities administer unknown drugs and injections to Uyghur women in detention, forcibly implant contraceptive devices, and coerce women into surgical sterilisation. Organ harvesting has also been reported, with organisations from the UN to the British Medical Association expressing concern.

Campaigners, legal experts, and academics have accused China of committing genocide.

In 2021, an independent UK tribunal led by a prominent British barrister and endorsed by former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith found China guilty of genocide, citing its birth control and sterilisation measures. Though the tribunal was unofficial, as it did not have government backing or powers to sanction or punish China, its organisers “hoped the process of publicly laying out evidence” would compel international action, according to The Guardian.

The French Parliament have denounced the situation as one of genocide.

The UN, however, continues to avoid use of the word genocide to describe the Chinese government’s actions against the Uyghur people, but it published a report in 2022 which documented and condemned many abuses in the region.

Forced to work

Some Uyghurs and other ethnic groups within re-education camps and prisons are forced to work while inside detainment facilities, or in nearby factories.

According to researchers, “Detainees coercively receive skills training during internment and are then coercively placed into work”, for example at textile factories. Ex-detainees told AP News that they were forced to sign job contracts and barred from leaving factory grounds during weekdays, working long hours for low pay.

The government also targets those living in the region through “labour transfer” programmes. Under these programmes, government officials go door-to-door and coerce individuals to join the programme through “relentless insistence”, and the possibility of being sent to an internment camp if they refuse.

In 2023 the Chinese president visited Xinjiang and encouraged local authorities to transfer Uyghurs outside of their home regions and into other provinces elsewhere in China. Uyghur people who say no risk detention.

Under the labour transfer programmes workers may end up working in sectors ranging from electronics, cars, textiles, cotton picking and agriculture, often after being put through short bouts of “military-style” job training. Some workers are paid a decent wage, but their inability to refuse the work still means their condition meets the definition of forced labour. Other workers in the scheme report receiving no pay at all for months of work.

Rushan Abbas, founder of Campaign for Uyghurs says: “Uyghurs are not 'employees'... They are victims of forced labor, stripped of their rights, language, and dignity under an authoritarian regime bent on erasure.”

Academic Adrian Zenz told Ethical Consumer that the Chinese government operates the world’s largest system of state-imposed forced labour, potentially affecting up to three million Uyghurs and other ethnic group members.

The products they make are sent all over the world.

More than a hundred global brands are linked to factories using forced labour from Uyghur and other ethnic minority workers, according to an investigation by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism in 2025.

Which products and brands are linked to Uyghur forced labour?

The Uyghur Forced Labor Database, published by the non-profit Jewish World Watch, claims that over 2000 multinational corporations use Uyghur forced labour in their supply chains.

Here we list some of the consumer brands that have been named in human rights reports for links to forced Uyghur labour, several of which deny the allegations (follow the links to specific reports for details). 

Cotton

20% of global cotton production originates in Xinjiang, so Uyghur forced labour is often linked to clothing.

In 2020, a group of nearly 200 human rights groups released a ‘call to action’, saying that virtually the “entire fashion industry” was complicit in Uyghur forced labour. It said one in five cotton products contained cotton linked to forced labour.

The call to action named brands such as Adidas, Amazon, Calvin Klein, Gap, H&M, Marks & Spencer, Nike, Patagonia, Puma and Zara, and called on them to “cut all ties with suppliers implicated in forced labour and end all sourcing from the Uyghur Region”.

For more information on less compromised brands to choose from, see our clothing guides.

Clothing companies' responses: 

The following brands appear to have stopped sourcing from China: Adidas, Calvin Klein and Patagonia. 

GAP, H&M, M&S, Nike, Puma and Zara claim they do not source directly from the Uyghur region or tolerate forced labour. 

Amazon says it does not tolerate forced labour.

Solar energy

Xinjiang is home to 35% of global production of polysilicon - the key raw material in solar panels.

In 2025, the US government said that the solar panel brands JA Solar and HY Solar were linked to forced labour. Manufacturers JinkoSolar and Trina Solar were also among brands named in reports by Bloomberg and Sheffield Hallam University in 2021.

All these brands, except HY Solar, are available for individuals to buy on the UK market and feature in Ethical Consumer’s guide to solar panels. 68% of the 19 solar panel companies reviewed in our guide had no policy or action to avoid sourcing from the Uyghur region of China. Just two brands had taken action to avoid sourcing from the region.

Company responses:

JA Solar does not appear to have responded to allegations, but one investigation suggests it has exited the Xinjiang region. 

HY Solar and Trina Solar do not appear to have responded. 

JinkoSolar said it does not tolerate forced labour.

Tomato paste

14-15% of global tomato paste production originates in Xinjiang, and research has directly linked the harvesting and processing of tomatoes to Uyghur forced labor.

In 2024 the BBC reported that several UK supermarkets including Tesco and Asda sold own brand tomato purees that came from forced Uyghur labour (despite being advertised as ‘Italian’ puree’). Lidl, Morrisons, Rewe and Waitrose were also named in the report.

Company responses: All the supermarkets whose products the BBC tested disputed its findings, with Waitrose, Morrisons and Rewe claiming their own tests did not show the presence of Chinese tomatoes.

Aluminium (often used in cars)

12% of global aluminium production originates in Xinjiang.

In 2024 Human Rights Watch said that General Motors, Tesla, Toyota and Volkswagen could be using aluminium from forced Uyghur labour, and should be doing more to minimise the risk. The Bureau for Investigative Journalism also named Tesla and Volkswagen in 2025 reports.

Company responses: 

General Motors and Toyota did not respond to the allegations. 

Tesla claimed it had “in several cases” mapped its supply chain back to the mining level and not found evidence of forced labour but did not specify further. 

Volkswagon says it does not tolerate forced labour or have evidence that it exists in its supply chain.

PVC

10% of global PVC production originates in Xinjiang. PVC is one of the most widely used plastic materials, used in items ranging from doors and medical tubing to synthetic clothing.

The 2020 ‘call to action’ by nearly 200 human rights groups named the following brands as high risk for sourcing PVC linked to Uyghur labour: Adidas, Amazon, Calvin Klein, Gap, H&M, Marks & Spencer, Nike, Patagonia, Puma and Zara.

Company responses: 

The following brands appear to have stopped sourcing from China: Adidas, Calvin Klein and Patagonia. 

GAP, H&M, M&S, Nike, Puma and Zara claim they do not source directly from the Uyghur region or tolerate forced labour. 

Amazon says it does not tolerate forced labour. 

Other products

While these are some of the key products, there are many other types that are also linked to Uyghur forced labour. Wool, cashmere, leather, peppers, walnuts, grapes, dates, supplements, spices, food additives, electronics, alloys, coal, PPE, batteries, artificial hair, railroad parts, pharmaceuticals, furniture, home appliances and car parts have come from the region – to name just a few.

2025 reports by the Bureau for Investigative Journalism named brands such as Apple, LG, Samsung, Subway, and TCL as sourcing from companies that use Uyghur forced labour, too.

Company responses: 

Apple and Samsung said their suppliers are regularly independently audited and that recent audits found no instances of forced labour. Apple also said it is investigating the alleged link to forced labour. 

LG, Subway and TCL did not respond.

Brands supplying surveillance technology

Several companies have also been accused of providing technology that helps the Chinese state monitor Uyghur minorities.

In 2021, Alibaba – one of the world’s largest retailers and e-commerce companies – marketed facial recognition software that could alert clients when it detected a Uyghur person. On the product listing on Albibab’s website, the company outlined several “face attributes” that could be detected by the software, including “Is it Uyghur”. The software would be able to identify Uyghur people through photos or videos posted on the internet.

According to IPVM, the research group behind the investigation, Alibaba Cloud quickly deleted mentions of Uyghurs and minority detection on its website after it was contacted for comment, and claimed, “without evidence or explanation”, that these features were only used "within a testing environment". Alibaba later said it was “dismayed” that its subsidiary Alibaba Cloud had developed the technology, but maintained that it was used in a “testing environment”.

Alibaba runs the AliExpress retail platform, which is available in the UK, as well as being used by UK businesses to import goods from China.

It is not the only company that has been linked to possible surveillance. Electronics giant Huawei filed a patent in 2018 for a system which could identify people who appear to be of Uyghur origin “among images of pedestrians”, according to a 2021 BBC report. A “confidential” document on Huawei’s website also referenced a Uyghur “alert” system.

After initially denying the allegation, Huawei later stated it planned to alter the patent, saying it opposes discrimination and that identifying race should never have featured.

In mid-2022, surveillance technology company Hikvision was awarded a Chinese government contract that alerted administrators of ethnic minority students suspected of fasting. The project tender included “Assisted Analysis Of Ethnic Minority Students”, whereby school management could log the daily behaviours of ethnic minority students, including whether they participated in Ramadan fasting, what books they borrowed from the library, vacation destinations and more.

The company alleges that the alerts were never actually developed, but provided no evidence confirming this.

Legislation to end the Uyghur genocide

The US Forced Labor law

Several countries including the UK and the EU have introduced regulations aiming to crack down on forced labour products.

But the most impactful legislation so far has come from the US.

In 2021 former US President Joe Biden signed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) into law, bringing it into effect from 2022. The law aims to ensure that US entities are not funding Uyghur forced labour, and means that any company importing from Xinjiang must certify that those goods were not produced using forced labour.

One year after its enforcement, US Customs had detained over 4000 shipments, valued at almost $1.4 billion dollars. These shipments included large amounts of electronics, aluminium, textiles and fruit, which had been prevented from entering the US because of the risk of forced labour.

Anti-Slavery International – one of the key groups campaigning on the issue – says that the law has significantly impacted China’s ability to benefit economically from Uyghur forced labour, with a decline in global demand for Uyghur Region cotton and companies making efforts to diversify supply chains that rely heavily on the region (e.g. solar).

That said, this law only applies to the United States and there are loopholes and limitations even there (read more on Anti-Slavery International’s website).
 

Ways to take action against the Uyghur genocide

The best way to avoid sourcing from Uyghur labour is to buy from brands whose whole supply chains are transparent, and have detailed discussions on how they tackle the risk.

We explore this issue in a variety of detail for consumers in the following shopping guides on this website:

• Cars
• Digital cameras
• Designer clothing
• Fridges & freezers
• High street clothes shops
• Menstrual products
• Mobile phones
• Solar panels
• T-shirts
• Trainers
• Travel booking companies
• Video conferencing
• Washing machines    

Although we do contact brands to ask for information on this for our reports, it's good if consumers can contact them directly too, as it shows the brand that customers care about Uyghur human rights – and can prompt them to take action.

There are also several ways to support campaign groups that focus on this issue.

For example, campaign group Forced Labour Fashion has listed eight ways to take action, including talking to someone you know about the issue or emailing a company. They provide talking points and an email template for this.