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March 7, 2022 10:55 pm

Amazon Suppliers Linked To Forced Labor In China, Watchdog Group Says

Amazon has continued to work with companies in China accused of using forced labor despite public warnings about their work practices, according to a report published Monday by a nonprofit watchdog group. NBC News reports: The report from the Tech Transparency Project, a research group that is run by the nonprofit Campaign for Accountability and is often critical of large tech companies, found that Amazon's public list of suppliers includes five companies previously linked by journalists and think tank researchers to "labor transfer" programs in China. The suppliers help produce Amazon-branded devices and products sold under house labels like Amazon Basics. The report also warned that some of Amazon's third-party sellers may be offering products made using labor from the western Chinese region of Xinjiang, such as cotton imports that are already the subject of U.S. sanctions. The Tech Transparency Project identified three Amazon suppliers that have been linked to forced labor in China directly: Luxshare Precision Industry, AcBel Polytech and Lens Technology. It's not clear what specific Amazon items they may be responsible for producing. According to its public supplier list, Amazon works with two subsidiaries of Luxshare: Dongguan Luxshare Precision Industry and Shenzhen Luxshare Electro Acoustic Technology. Chinese government documents reported by The Information in May showed Luxshare Precision Industry, an electronics manufacturer, had allegedly accepted "as many as hundreds of Xinjiang laborers" between 2017 and 2020. Lens Technology, a company known for producing glass screens for laptops and smartphones, has accepted thousands of Uyghur workers in recent years, according to Chinese government documents first reported by The Washington Post. After receiving negative attention about its labor practices, the company reportedly began phasing out Uyghur workers from its factories. [...] The Tech Transparency Project identified two additional Amazon suppliers -- GoerTek and Hefei BOE Optoelectronics -- that were themselves accused of working with companies that have allegedly used forced labor. Neither supplier responded to requests for comment. The Tech Transparency Project researchers also found that Amazon continued listing two subsidiaries of the textiles manufacturer Esquel on its supplier list over a year after another subsidiary was sanctioned by the Department of Commerce for allegedly using forced labor. The U.S. government placed sanctions on Changji Esquel Textile in July 2020. But the other subsidiaries remained on Amazon's website until as recently as December 2021, according to the Tech Transparency Project. [...] The Tech Transparency Project also found evidence of Xinjiang labor on Amazon's third-party marketplace. The Tech Transparency Project said the findings raise "questions about Amazon's monitoring of such sellers."

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