Amazon Basics and Essentials products are being made using forced labour, report claims

Amazon’s public list of suppliers has ‘been linked directly or indirectly to forced labour of ethnic minorities from China’s Xinjiang region’

(AFP via Getty Images)

Amazon has allegedly worked with Chinese companies accused of forced labour, according to a new report.

The Tech Transparency Project, a research group managed by the nonprofit Campaign for Accountability, said that Amazon’s public list of suppliers “that have been linked directly or indirectly to forced labor of ethnic minorities from China’s Xinjiang region”.

The programs, known as “labour transfers”, move workers from the predominantly Muslim area to factories across the country, campaigners say.

“Three Amazon suppliers are reported to have used forced labour directly: Luxshare Precision Industry, AcBel Polytech, and Lens Technology. Another two, GoerTek and Hefei BOE Optoelectronics, are themselves supplied by factories that have been implicated in forced labour”, the report alleges.

None of the aforementioned companies responded to The Independent’s request for comment before publication. BOE Optoelectronics, listing only a full voicemail inbox as their contact information, was not immediately available for comment.

According to the report, these suppliers produce goods for the Amazon Basics and Amazon Essentials brands, which covers  clothing, appliances, pet supplies, cables and more.

The report lists a number of articles – including videos - that it claims link these suppliers to forced labour. Amazon has said in the past that it expected all items to comply with its supply chain standards, but has reportedly continued to include subsidiaries that do not on its supplier list.

“Amazon complies with the laws and regulations in all jurisdictions in which it operates, and expects suppliers to adhere to our Supply Chain Standards”, a spokesperson said in a statement.

“We take allegations of human rights abuses seriously, including those related to the use or export of forced labor. Whenever we find or receive proof of forced labor, we take action.”

This is not the first time that Amazon has been embroiled in a labour controversy. In 2018, a factory in China that manufactures Amazon Kindle e-readers and Echo Dot smart speakers came under investigation over alleged mistreatment of workers.

Closer to home, workers at Amazon warehouses were infamously forced to urinate in plastic bottles rather than go to the toilet during their shifts, it is claimed – which led to protests over the world.

Amazon claimed that workers were “conjuring misinformation to work in their favour” and that “the people who attend the events are simply not informed.” It has maintained this claim despite constant claims that there is evidence to the contrary.