As per a Sourcing Journal report, The Fair Labor Association (FLA) has prohibited the sourcing and production of goods, whether directly or indirectly, from Xinjiang in northwestern China.

The move is a first for the multi-stakeholder initiative, whose affiliates include Adidas, Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing, Gildan, Hanesbrands, Lululemon, Nike, Patagonia and Under Armour.

In March, the FLA’s board of directors urged the Chinese government to end its assault on Uyghur rights. It also asked its affiliates to review their sourcing relationships in Xinjiang, identify alternative sourcing opportunities and develop time-bound plans to “ensure that their sourcing is in line with the FLA’s principles” of improving worker conditions worldwide.

Evdence shows that Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities remain subject to horrendous, ongoing human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention and forced labor. Significantly, more than 100 international civil society organizations have joined forces in a call to action to stop forced labor in Xinjiang, an effort we believe is helpful in seeking to address these systemic rights abuses.”

In early December, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a new Withhold Release Order (WRO) on cotton goods from the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), a paramilitary organization that produces one-third of China’s cotton, employs 12 percent of Xinjiang’s population and generates 17 percent of the region’s gross domestic product.