Imports: Ethics

(asked on 16th December 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that UK businesses do not use (a) cotton from Xinjiang and (b) other unethically sourced products.


Answered by
Paul Scully Portrait
Paul Scully
This question was answered on 13th January 2021

The UK has taken a leading international role in holding China to account for its human rights violations in Xinjiang, including in respect of credible evidence of forced labour. As set out in our National Action Plan for the UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights, the Government’s clear and strong expectation is that businesses act responsibly to ensure their products are sourced ethically, that they conduct due diligence on their supply arrangements to ensure this, and that they are transparent about where their materials and products are sourced from.

The Government has issued guidance and Ministers and officials hold regular meetings with businesses and industry stakeholders to underline the need for vigilance against any supply chain abuses.

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