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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.”

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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.”

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