Committee says firms should be required to say how they will tackle modern slavery in supply chains
The government must close loopholes that enable firms exploiting workers to undercut British businesses or risk the UK becoming a “dumping ground” for goods made in poor conditions, MPs have said.
In a report published on Monday, the business and trade select committee calls on the government to make it mandatory for companies to say how they will tackle modern slavery in their supply chain and to introduce bigger penalties for firms that do not comply, including “naming and shaming” businesses.
It says action to toughen up the Modern Slavery Act is now a pressing need as Europe and the US are getting tougher on blocking the import of goods made under poor conditions.
The call comes after MPs said they were “pretty horrified” by the failure of Shein, the cut-price online fast fashion business, which mostly manufactures in China, to answer questions about whether its products included cotton produced in the Xinjiang region of China, which has been linked to forced Uyghur labour.
Shein, which is hoping to list on the London Stock Exhange this year, wrote to the committee admitting that items heading to the UK were not subject to the same extra checks as those sent to the US, where there are strict rules banning imports of goods made in Xinjiang.
“The UK is really now in peril of becoming a dumping ground,” said Liam Byrne, the committee chair, warning that the country was “in...
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