News Coverage

October 31, 2025 ChinaFile

Renewable Energy Still Comes at the Cost of Forced Labor. It Needs to Be Stopped.

Solar power is critical for reducing emissions and mitigating the climate crisis. But it’s important to understand the darker side of the industry in China: widespread human rights violations, including forced labor. The transition to renewable energy is essential, but the urgency of the climate crisis is not an excuse to ignore forced labor and gross human rights abuses.

---

October 29, 2025 Sourcing Journal

Do the Labor Provisions in Trump’s Southeast Asian Trade Deals Have a Point?

Murphy, who previously advised the Department of Homeland Security on forced labor issues, was referring to the trade agreements that the United States inked with Cambodia and Malaysia, and, to a lesser extent, the frameworks of deals with Thailand and Vietnam. Buried within them, she noted, were easily missable provisions that could have far-reaching consequences for labor rights around the world.

---

October 12, 2025 The Wire China

Laura Murphy on Enforcing America’s Ban on Uyghur Forced Labor

The academic talks about why governments need to redouble their efforts to keep products made using forced labor in Xinjiang off store shelves.

---

October 9, 2025 Sourcing Journal

Three Years On, Does the UFLPA Still Make Sense?

But the UFLPA’s implementation, more than reflecting an evolution in U.S. policymaking on forced labor, has created bigger ripples in the broader regulatory landscape, a recent report argued. Three years later, Canada and Mexico have outlawed goods made using forced labor, and the European Union’s forced labor ban is poised to take effect in 2027. Other jurisdictions, too, are considering similar efforts of their own.

---

September 24, 2025 RTE

Suppliers to Major Irish Retailers Linked to Forced Labour Cotton

The investigation found that the two Chinese companies, the Esquel Group and Jiangsu Lianfa Textiles, have long-established operations in Xinjiang, a region that grows up to 30% of the world’s cotton and is home to a persecuted minority group called the Uyghurs.

---

September 24, 2025 RTE

How Forced Uyghur Labour Could be Woven into Your Wardrobe

At least 15 Bangladeshi factories that imported hundreds of tons of cotton fabric in 2024 from two companies linked to a Chinese forced labour programme are supplying some of Ireland's major clothing retailers, an RTÉ investigation has found.

September 16, 2025 The Capitol Forum

Trump’s U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Has Dramatically Reduced Policing of Forced Labor Violations as the Agency Focuses More Resources on Tariffs

Customs and Border Patrol’s (CBP) policing of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) has fallen dramatically since the act was first implemented in 2022, according to publicly available statistics published by Customs and Border Patrol.

---

August 25, 2025 The iPaper

UK’s £800m ‘Slave Labour’ China Imports Revealed – From Bras to Lawnmowers

Almost £1bn of goods from the Chinese region infamous for widespread slave labour have been imported into the UK in the last 12 months.

---

August 23, 2025 The Guardian

Kmart Supply Chains Under Scrutiny for Potential Uyghur Forced Labour Links in Australian Court Case

Retailer says it has systems to identify and mitigate modern slavery risks and is ‘committed to respecting human rights.’

---

August 19, 2025 Reuters

US Targets Steel, Copper, Lithium Imports Under Uyghur Forced Labor Law

The Trump administration on Tuesday said it was targeting more imports of Chinese goods, including steel, copper and lithium, for high-priority enforcement over alleged human-rights abuses involving the Uyghurs.

---