US lawmakers query firms over Uyghur rights concerns

NEW YORK

Multiple groups of U.S. lawmakers have sought reassurances this week about clothing giant Shein and other brands facing allegations their products use forced Chinese labor or material from regions where such conditions allegedly occur.

On May 2, a group of lawmakers sent letters to the CEOs of Adidas, Nike, Shein and Chinese shopping app Temu with questions about their supply chains.

In the letters, seen by AFP, the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party cited witness testimony that alleged Nike and Adidas might be sourcing materials from China’s Xinjiang region, in possible violation of U.S. law.

“We would like to offer” Nike and Adidas “an opportunity to respond to these serious allegations and to provide information regarding” compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, the letters read.

The committee also reached out to Temu and Shein, asking their executives to explain how they verify the compliance of their supply chains with U.S. law.

The letters to brands came just a day after a separate bipartisan group of US lawmakers urged securities regulators to require Shein to attest it does not use forced Chinese labor as a condition of a public offering.

Citing reports that the fast-growing discount apparel company uses cotton from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, two dozen members of the House of Representatives urged action from the head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.