The crisis of forced labour in Xinjiang has become one of the most urgent global human rights concerns. Although many Western countries have enacted trade bans targeting goods linked to Xinjiang, China has found increasingly sophisticated ways to evade these restrictions, allowing products tainted by forced labour to continue entering global markets.
A May 2025 joint investigation by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ), Der Spiegel, and The New York Times revealed that under a so-called “labour transfer programme,” China has relocated over 11,000 ethnic minority workers, including Uighurs and Kazakhs from Xinjiang to at least 75 factories across 11 provinces, some thousands of kilometres from their homes to distance goods from the Xinjiang label.
Many relocated workers are employed in factories linked to major global brands across industries such as automotive, electronics, and home appliances. Suppliers include names like LG, Samsung, and Volkswagen. One case examined a chicken-processing plant in Hubei, part-funded by Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Group, which supplies McDonald’s, KFC and Walmart within China. Workers reportedly endure 15–16 hours a day for three years with no option to quit or refuse assignments, many longing to return home. Local authorities even offer each relocated worker a monthly subsidy of RMB 500 to incentivise participation in the programme.
German anthropologist Adrian Zenz explained that this is part of a broader, systematic campaign of surveillance and control designed to manage Uighur communities outside of detention centres. Workers have no choice over their destination, nor can they resign, which are clear indicators of forced labour.
“Cotton Washing”: From Xinjiang to Your Plate
To bypass global bans on Xinjiang cotton, authorities exploit regulatory loopholes by processing banned Xinjiang cotton into cottonseed meal, a by-product used in animal feed. This “laundered” product is then to countries like the UK, Netherlands, and New Zealand. Once softened by this transformation, the cotton sidesteps import restrictions and stealthily enters global supply chains.
These animal feeds may ultimately be used to raise chickens destined for multinational food chains, like KFC and McDonald’s, linking fast food to forced labour. With over 90% of China’s cottonseed coming from Xinjiang, the risk of indirect exposure is vast—and nearly undetectable under current global monitoring systems.
With China’s methods becoming increasingly complex and widespread, forced labour is no longer confined to Xinjiang. It has permeated the global supply chain.
Unless international regulatory and inspection frameworks are revamped, everyday consumers could unknowingly purchase goods produced under an authoritarian regime’s forced-labour practices.
It’s vital for governments and companies worldwide to enhance supply chain transparency and tighten oversight to ensure products linked to forced labour are kept off the market.
Full investigation:
🔗 China’s Economy Runs on Uyghur Forced Labour – TBIJ
🔗 The World Sanctioned Xinjiang Cotton. China Turned It Into Chicken Feed – TBIJ