Ralph Lauren probed in Canada over Uighur forced labour claims
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An investigation was launched over allegations the fashion giant Ralph Lauren’s Canadian unit used forced labour from China’s Uighur minority.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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Ottawa – Canada’s corporate watchdog on Tuesday launched an investigation of Ralph Lauren’s Canadian unit over allegations that the fashion giant used forced labour from China’s Uighur minority.
The announcement follows similar probes of Nike Canada and Canadian mining firm Dynasty Gold, which the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise began in July.
A coalition of 28 civil society organisations in 2022 filed a complaint with the watchdog alleging that “Ralph Lauren Canada has supply relationships with Chinese companies that use or benefit from the use of Uighur forced labour”.
“I have decided that the Ralph Lauren complaint warrants an investigation,” ombudsman Sheri Meyerhoffer said in a statement.
The brand’s United States parent company, she noted, has disputed Canadian jurisdiction over the matter, arguing that its subsidiary “is not responsible for decision-making” and all of its operations are overseen by the company’s US headquarters.
The Ottawa-based Uighur Rights Advocacy Project welcomed the investigation in a statement.
“There is credible evidence that Ralph Lauren is linked to numerous Chinese companies that use Uighur forced labour in their supply chains,” it said.
Rights groups say more than one million Uighur and other mostly Muslim minorities have been held in re-education camps in China’s western Xinjiang region, with a slew of abuses that include forced labour.
Lawmakers in Western nations, including Canada, have called the crackdown in Xinjiang a genocide, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has referred to the treatment of Uighur as crimes against humanity.
Beijing denies the accusations, describing the facilities as vocational centres designed to curb extremism. AFP
