A group of religious and socially conscious investors and other funds are ramping up pressure on Western companies over alleged human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region, highlighting the challenges for brands trying to maintain their business ties amid rising tensions.
The group of more than 50 investors, backed by the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, said it is in the process of contacting more than 40 companies, including H&M, VF Corp, Hugo Boss and Zara-owner Inditex, requesting more information about their supply chains and urging them to quit situations that could lead to human rights abuses.
Anita Dorett, program director for the Investor Alliance for Human Rights, which put together the request to the fashion brands and other big corporate names, said she was worried that some companies had moved to scrub language about policies on forced labor from their websites, or pledged to buy more cotton from Xinjiang, in fear of a backlash from Chinese social media and companies.
“Companies do not prioritize resources to digging into their supply chains and mapping them out. As investors, we want transparency and accountability,” Dorett said in an interview. She added that “This is their business. If they don’t know what’s happening, who will?”
Over the past week, H&M, Burberry, Nike, Adidas, and other Western brands have been hit by consumer boycotts in China after raising concerns about forced labor in Xinjiang.
The wave of boycotts coincided with Britain, Canada, the European Union, and the United States over what they say are human rights abuses taking place in Xinjiang.
The investor alliance alleged that companies removing or moving statements concerning Xinjiang were doing so in fear of commercial retaliation from the Chinese government. It also said compliance rules were being developed in other markets, including the European Union, obliging them to disclose their supply chains fully.
The Human Rights section of H&M’s website hmgroup.com on Friday no longer carried a link to a 2020 statement on Xinjiang. The statement could still be accessed through the page’s direct address.
Inditex’s statement on forced labor on its website was no longer available as of last Thursday. H&M and Inditex did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the investor group’s approach. H&M has declined to comment on the removal of details from its website. Inditex has not responded to requests to comment on the removal of information from its website.
VF Corp’s original statement on Xinjiang was no longer available, with a new statement published on a different site section. ON TUESDAY, a VF spokeswoman said the company had “not changed our position, our policies or our practices” but did not address the new location of its statement.
Hugo Boss said last week on Chinese social media that it would continue sourcing Xinjiang cotton. Company spokeswoman Carolin Westermann said on Friday an undated English-language statement on its website stating that “so far, HUGO BOSS has not procured any goods originating in the Xinjiang region from direct suppliers” was its official position and that the Chinese statement was not authorized.
Westermann reiterated the company’s position on Tuesday, adding that it was in “active exchange with NGOs and other key stakeholders, including investors, to outline our standards, values and sustainability initiatives in more detail.”
Among investors, environmental, social and governance funds have taken in big inflows of cash, putting companies on the spot and prompting new financial disclosures on topics that were once considered fringe issues best left to governments to address.
Assets in sustainable funds hit a record $1.7 trillion in 2020, based on data from fund management industry tracker Morningstar.
The Investor Alliance for Human Rights has more than 160 institutional investors and other organizations as members, representing more than $5 trillion in assets under management currently, its website said.
The New York-based Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, which is backing the companies’ approach, has a broad range of members, including religious groups, public and union pension funds, and several other asset managers.
Both companies have ramped up their ESG efforts by publishing more details of their engagements and proxy votes at portfolio companies and introducing new funds using ESG criteria to pick holdings.