Xinjiang cotton found in German fashion brands

Researchers say they have found traces of Xinjiang cotton in shirts and T-shirts made by Adidas, Puma and Hugo Boss, appearing to contradict the German clothing companies’ promises to revise their supply chains after allegations of widespread forced labour in the Chinese region.

Recent reports suggested more than half a million people from minority ethnic groups such as the Uyghurs have been coerced into picking cotton in Xinjiang, which provides more than 80% of China’s and a fifth of the global production of cotton.

The US banned cotton imports from the autonomous region in north-west China last year, a move also debated in the European parliament but not enacted by the European Commission. Nonetheless, several large western clothes and fashion brands vowed to no longer use Xinjiang cotton.

However, German researchers say an isotope analysis has found traces of Xinjiang cotton in Puma and Adidas T-shirts, shirts by Hugo Boss and outdoor wear brand Jack Wolfskin, and a pullover by the fashion company Tom Tailor.