While a number of Western clothing brands such as H&M in Sweden and Nike in the United States boycotted Xinjiang cotton, Skechers, the second largest footwear brand in the US market after Nike, conducted an independent investigation of Chinese supplier labor and expressed an objective position. According to China Daily, Skechers said in the "Skechers Statement on Uighurs" that the company did not find so-called "forced labor" after conducting an independent investigation of Chinese suppliers.
Skechers said in its Statement on Uighurs, published in March this year, that after noting Xinjiang-related reports from organisations such as the Australian Institute for Strategic Policy Studies (ASPI), the company hired a dedicated corporate social responsibility team to conduct two rounds of public and undisclosed surveys of all factories directly linked to the company, "the main objective of these surveys is to check the situation of local workers and ensure that there is no form of child or forced labor in our factories."
It is understood that Skechers' investigation included Dongguan Oasis Shoes Co., Ltd. mentioned in the ASPI report, and the statement pointed out that "after learning of the relevant report, Skechers immediately confirmed and learned that Oasis Shoes, like all factories and suppliers, knew and complied with the relevant regulations of our company." Oasis Shoes also provided Skechers with a social responsibility commitment and statement reaffirming its corporate social responsibility policy, which includes respecting workers' freedoms, prohibiting any form of forced labor, and providing equal and fair treatment for all employees.
According to the statement, Skechers conducted public and non-public routine reviews of Oasis Footwear in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, and did not once find the so-called "forced labor" of the company being accused.
Skechers said that there are indeed Uighurs among oasis shoes employees, but their working environment and conditions are no different from those of Han Chinese employees. All workers, including Uighurs, are free to leave their jobs if they do not want to continue working in Oasis Shoes. Skechers conducted two field trips to Chinese companies in June and November 2020, but none of them found any signs of forced labor or forced labor problems.
Skechers said in a statement that based on these facts, the company has no reason to believe that Oasis Shoes has any form of forced labor. In the future, the company will continue to closely supervise and review all factories and suppliers. (Beijing Daily client)