cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/45649428
[…]
Ultra cheap e-commerce platforms Temu and fast fashion brand Shein are selling products made from Chinese cotton despite the high risk of links to slavery.
More than 80 per cent of Chinese cotton is produced in the Xinjiang province where an estimated more than 800,000 Uighurs are enslaved.
This masthead has seen multiple examples of cotton products made in China available for sale on Temu and Shein, including clothing and bedding.
Australian Human Rights Institute director Justine Nolan said there was a heightened risk of slavery with any cotton products made in China.
“You just couldn’t say the risk is low when you’ve got over 80 per cent of cotton coming from Xinjiang,” she said. “That’s a high risk.”
[…]
China produces about 20 per cent of the world’s cotton, with about 84 per cent coming from the Xinjiang province. The US banned cotton from the Xinjiang province in 2022 under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
Ms Nolan said retailers and manufacturers would need to ascertain whether the cotton was produced in China or was sourced from a supply chain outside of China.
“The reality of actually finding that out is very difficult,” she said. “There’s a heightened risk for any cotton products coming out of China that they are tainted by forced labour.”
Conversely, Ms Nolan said Australia had a very strong cotton industry. “I would say cotton coming out of Australia is a hell of a lot safer than cotton coming out of China.”
[…]
Who the fuck said slavery is ok?
Literally the person I replied to. The fuck has Amazon got to do with anything. If it’s wrong for Amazon to do it. It’s wrong for shein/temu to do it. Exploitation is wrong. One exploitative capitalist group isn’t going to save us from the other. There’s no reason to even bring Amazon etc in. Apart from whataboutism/justification.
The point is that this has nothing to do with slavery, it’s a part of the massive campaign underway to discredit temu and shein because they are disrupting amazon and the like. The same shady shit has been on sale on amazon for years and no one batted an eye
It has plenty to do with slavery. Plenty people have noticed. There’s been articles for years about Amazon. Just because someone calls out shein/temu and China’s complicitness doesn’t make it a defense of Amazon. Temu and Shein aren’t going to save us from Amazon, or make Amazon better. And even if they did, it doesn’t justify the exploitation.
Fuck Amazon, Shein, and temu. They’re all exploitative capitalist ghouls.
Jajajajajajajaja