Beijing Olympics Merchandise May Be Tainted, Coalition Says – WWD

A coalition of activists has criticized the International Olympic Committee, saying the Olympics organizers failed to ensure that there were no forced Uyghurs. labor will participate in the production of goods of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Coalition to End Coercion Labor in the Uyghur Region, a joint campaign of 400 organizations from 40 countries, said they had been trying to join the IOC for eight months to seek due diligence on Olympic-branded goods. but was ultimately rejected by the committee.

Scott Nova, executive director of the Worker Rights Consortium, one of the union’s member bodies, said: “The IOC is not aware of the thousands of Olympic-branded products that corporate sponsors and partners use. whether the other seller is selling was made with Uyghur forced labor. “What’s worse, Olympic leaders don’t seem to care, as evidenced by their failure to perform and reveal meaningful due diligence.”

The IOC lists supplier codes on its website, outlining the minimum environmental and social requirements for its suppliers. It covers human rights, working conditions, waste reduction, vehicle optimization and ethics. However, for example, the official IOC sports uniform supplier Anta Sports is among the many apparel companies in the world that source cotton from Xinjiang. Countless Chinese domestic companies in the aftermath of Better Cotton Initiative supporter last March made every effort to specifically list “Xinjiang cotton” in its listing and product description to show support for the national spirit.

The Chinese government has always maintained that no abuses have taken place in the region, however, the US and several European legislatures claim to have evidence of genocide and oppression on a large scale. ongoing expansion of ethnic Muslim populations. On December 22, the Biden administration passed legislation banning all imports from Xinjiang.

The problem has led to a diplomatic boycott of the Olympics by the United States, Great Britain, Canada and Australia, which is scheduled to begin on February 4. Japan has also announced it will not send a main government delegation. aware of the Olympics but stopped short of calling it a boycott.

As early as April last year, the union said it had explicitly “called on the IOC to articulate its human rights due diligence plan” and specifically emphasized that “the procurement of any goods must comply with labor standards.” core work of the International Labor Organization,” including not being forced to work.

“However, there is no evidence that the IOC has conducted such due diligence or human rights impact assessment – ​​involving forced labor by Uyghurs or otherwise. There is also no indication that the IOC has engaged with the Beijing Organizing Committee – essentially the Chinese government – ​​over forced labor or other labor or human rights risks,” it said.

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