Latest news with #EthicalSourcingProgram
Epoch Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Epoch Times
Kmart in Legal Crosshairs Over Suspected Ties to China's Forced Labour Camps
An Adelaide-based Uyghur group is taking Australian retail giant Kmart to court for allegedly sourcing its products from factories connected to forced labour camps in China. The Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women's Association (AUTWA) filed its application in the Federal Court to compel Kmart to produce documents demonstrating what it knows about two clothing suppliers listed on its 2024 and 2025 factory lists with links to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The Region is home to systemic state-sponsored forced labour camps and well-documented atrocities against Uyghur and Turkic Muslim people. 'Kmart, and all companies, must ensure they are not profiting from forced labour in China. China's mass imprisonment, repression and forced labour of Uyghur people is well-documented. Our community has lost family members, friends, and loved ones because of China's brutal treatment of Uyghurs,' said Ramila Chanisheff, president of AUTWA, in a statement. 'Kmart is a go-to store for so many people in Australia. If the company has profited in any way from this sort of systematic repression, I am sure Australians would be horrified.' Jennifer Kanis, the principal lawyer representing AUTWA from Maurice Blackburn, said this is the first case seeking to hold Australian retailers accountable for forced labour in their supply chains, and urged Kmart to be transparent. 'Kmart tells customers that it supports ethical sourcing and the protection of human rights – but we know there are credible links between two of its factories/suppliers and the use of Uyghur forced labour in Xinjiang,' she said. 'Documents will be sought from Kmart to determine whether Kmart engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct about the use of Uyghur forced labour… and the Court will be asked to compel Kmart to hand over information about what due diligence it has conducted on suppliers with links to Xinjiang. Kmart Says It Provides Details of Factories, Sourcing Kmart has denied the AUTWA's allegations, saying it was disappointed the group took the legal action, and that it 'invited the AUTWA to meet' with them several times. 'Kmart has been in correspondence with the applicant's lawyers for over 12 months and has provided extensive details of our Ethical Sourcing Program,' a spokesperson for the Wesfarmers-owned retailer told The Epoch Times. 'For over 15 years, we have had in place an Ethical Sourcing Program, which helps us to identify and mitigate modern slavery risks, including the risk of forced labour, in our operations and supply chains. 'Suppliers in the Kmart Ethical Sourcing Program are regularly monitored through activities including our site visits, audit programs and investigations if we receive any reports or complaints of concern,' they said. 'We encourage any organisation to raise its concerns with us, so we can investigate in line with our policy and commitments.' Kmart's website has details on its stance on slavery and a list of where it sources products. Weaknesses in Australian Laws Highlighted Freya Dinshaw, the associate legal director of Human Rights Law Centre, which is representing AUTWA along with Maurice Blackburn, said that the case highlights some of the weaknesses in Australia's modern slavery laws. 'It shouldn't be left to members of the public to take companies to court and force them to open their books where there are suspicions of links to modern slavery,' said Dinshaw. 'Australian companies should be legally required to investigate and prevent forced labour in their supply chains and face hard consequences if they don't. Australia should also follow the example of other countries like Canada and the U.S. and ban imported goods made with forced labour, so they don't end up on our shop shelves.' The United Nations and human rights organisations have long accused the ruling Chinese Communist Party of crimes against humanity and possible genocide against Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups in China's Xinjiang region. Unlike the United States and several European nations, Australia has yet to enact laws banning goods tied to the abuse of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities, despite repeated calls from human rights groups and a Senate inquiry recommending action.
Sky News AU
2 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
Kmart sued by Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women's Association over alleged links to forced labour from China's Xinjiang region
Kmart is being sued in Federal Court to determine whether the retailer misled customers about its ethics claims and sourced some of its clothes from suppliers that allegedly used slave labour. Class-action law-firm Maurice Blackburn has filed a suit on behalf of the Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women's Association (AUTWA) against Kmart. The association wants the retailer to release documents that show what it knows about two suppliers with alleged links to factories in China's Xinjiang region. Kmart has rejected these claims. Human rights abuses in the area were the subject of a landmark report in 2022 where the United Nations recommended Beijing investigated allegations of human rights violations, 'including allegations of torture, sexual violence, ill-treatment, forced medical treatment, as well as forced labour and reports of deaths in custody'. It also called for the Chinese government to take 'prompt steps' to release all individuals arbitrarily imprisoned. The AUTWA is seeking the documents to determine whether Kmart has abided by its ethical sourcing procedures and if it misled consumers. Ramila Chanisheff, president of the AUTWA, said the association was 'demanding answers from Kmart' to determine whether the retailer's actions 'live up to its words'. 'Kmart, and all companies, must ensure they are not profiting from forced labour in China,' Ms Chanisheff said in a statement. 'China's mass imprisonment, repression and forced labour of Uyghur people is well-documented. 'Our community has lost family members, friends and loved ones because of China's brutal treatment of Uyghurs. 'Kmart is a go-to store for so many people in Australia. If the company has profited in any way from this sort of systematic repression, I am sure Australians would be horrified.' A Kmart spokesperson said the retailer was 'disappointed' by the court action and had invited AUTWA to meet and discuss the concerns on several occasions. 'Kmart has been in correspondence with the applicant's lawyers for over 12 months and has provided extensive details of our Ethical Sourcing Program,' the spokesperson said. The spokesperson noted Kmart has had its 'ethical sourcing program' in place for 15 years which helps the company identify and mitigate modern slavery risks across its supply chains. They noted the program takes from Kmart's 'ethical sourcing code' which adopts the standards under the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation. 'Compliance with our Ethical Sourcing Code is required under our contracts with our Suppliers,' the spokesperson said. 'Suppliers in the Kmart Ethical Sourcing Program are regularly monitored through activities including our site visits, audit programs and investigations if we receive any reports or complaints of concern.' AUTWA is also represented by the Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) alongside Maurice Blackburn. HRLC's associate legal director Freya Dinshaw said 'alarm bells' had been 'ringing for a long time' about the risk of forced labour being used in the Chinese garment sector. 'This court case is about Kmart coming clean on whether it is really doing everything it claims to be doing to ensure that its products are slavery-free,' Ms Dinshaw said in a statement. She stressed the case was also an opportunity to highlight 'weaknesses' in Australia's modern slavery laws. 'It shouldn't be left to members of the public to take companies to court and force them to open their books where there are suspicions of links to modern slavery,' Ms Dinshaw said. 'Australian companies should be legally required to investigate and prevent forced labour in their supply chains and face hard consequences if they don't. 'Australia should also follow the example of other countries like Canada and the US and ban imported goods made with forced labour, so they don't end up on our shop shelves.' China rejected the claims in the UN's 2022 report. In August 2024, the UN said it has faced 'difficulties posed by limited access to information' with its investigations into the human rights abuses. It also noted many who spoke about the abuses with the UN had 'fear of reprisals'.
