Hugo Boss reportedly cut ties with Xinjiang linked manufacturer

Premium fashion label Hugo Boss has reportedly cut ties with a Chinese clothing manufacturer that has been linked to cotton production in Xinjiang.

The US banned cotton from the region in late December 2021 following increasing evidence that uncovered the use of mass imprisonment and forced labour by the Chinese government against Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim minorities.

Despite bans, a Buzzfeed news report published last month stated that Hugo Boss and several other clothing brands were shipping clothes made by Esquel Group, a company the publisher has said spins cotton at factories in Xinjiang.

The group’s Guangdong located companies worked with Hugo Boss and other brands on importing clothes to the US to sell. However, procurement records and company statements reviewed by Buzzfeed showed the branch worked closely with Xinjiang-based cotton spinning factories.

It noted that since the ban against all cotton imports, around 17 Esquel shipments have arrived in the US for Hugo Boss, according to shipping records by Panjiva.

Following the report, the publisher has now said the fashion brand has seemingly distanced itself from the supplier, removing Esquel from its archived supplier list sometime between January 15 and 24. Other shipments were slated to be addressed to PVH Corp and Ralph Lauren, who have also both removed the manufacturer from their supplier lists.