Latest news with #Disclose
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NBA in touch with Decathlon over China forced labour accusations
The NBA Friday said it "took very seriously its code of conduct" for companies marketing its licensed products and was speaking to French firm Decathlon over accusations it has benefited from forced labour in China. Sports equipment retailer Decathlon, which has 1,700 stores in more than 70 countries, sells NBA-branded sweaters, t-shirts and trainers. "More than 20 years ago, the NBA instituted a Licensee and Supplier Code of Conduct that all NBA licensees and their suppliers are required to follow to ensure their businesses are conducted in a socially responsible and ethical manner," the National Basketball Association said. "We take compliance with our Code of Conduct very seriously and are addressing the allegations regarding Decathlon with the company directly." Two French media outlets, Disclose and France 2, said in reports released Thursday that Decathlon had benefited from forced labour by China's Uyghur minority, which rights groups say is the target of grave human rights abuses by the Beijing government. Specifically, Decathlon has sourced textiles from the Qingdao Jifa Group, a garment manufacturer that, according to Disclose, until 2023 had a subsidiary that "relies on a network of forced labour in China". Decathlon said on Thursday it "firmly condemns all forms of forced labour". It confirmed it works with the Qingdao Jifa Group, and would "not hesitate to take action and all necessary measures should these claims turn out to be correct". Decathlon told AFP it did not sell any products made in China in the United States. US Congress in 2021 voted to ban the import of all goods from the Xinjiang region unless companies offer verifiable proof that production did not involve forced labour. The NBA is set to return to China for the first time in six years in October, with two pre-season games in Macau between the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns. No NBA games have been held in China since two pre-season contests in 2019 after a tweet from then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey in support of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. bur-cda/ah/as/cw Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Decathlon on back foot over China forced labour accusations
French company Decathlon, the world's biggest sports equipment retailer, on Thursday defended its human rights record after reports it had benefited from forced labour in China. Decathlon, regularly cited as among French people's favourite brands, employs around 100,000 people in 1,700 stores in more than 70 countries. Two French media outlets, Disclose and France 2, said in reports released Thursday that Decathlon had benefited from forced labour by China's Uyghur minority, which rights groups say is the target of grave human rights abuses by the Beijing government. Specifically, Decathlon has sourced textiles from the Qingdao Jifa Group, a garment manufacturer that, according to Disclose, "relies on a forced labour network in China". In a France 2 documentary to be broadcast Thursday evening, a local manager says that cotton stored at a company producing for Decathlon could well be from Xinjiang, home to the mostly Muslim Uyghur community. AFP has been unable to verify allegations made by NGOs and western experts that Uyghurs have been coerced into forced labour. Decathlon confirmed Thursday that it works with Qingdao Jifa Group, but told AFP that it is "committed every day to guaranteeing the integrity and the respect of fundamental rights within our businesses and our value chain". The company said it "firmly condemns all forms of forced labour" and "will not hesitate to take action and all necessary measures should these claims turn out to be correct". The company added that "100 percent of the cotton" used by Decathlon was being supplied by sources "committed to the most responsible practices, which guarantees the absence of all forms of forced labour". Founded in 1976 in Lille, northern France, Decathlon steadily grew its model of big-box stores first across Europe, and then into Asia, Africa and the Americas. Decathlon generated a net profit of 931 million euros ($965 million) in 2023, on turnover of 15.6 billion euros. bur-cda/jh/sjw/lth
