Forced Labour, China - 2024
According to information by Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLET), the footwear manufacturer also known as Dongguan Luzhou Shoes Co. and Dongguan Lvzhou Shoes Co., cooperated with the paramilitary Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) to recruit, transfer and employ Uyghurs from Xinjiang at its factory. It was therefore put on the UFLPA list of entities „working with the government of Xinjiang to recruit, transport, transfer, harbor or receive forced labour of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or members of other persecuted groups out of Xinjiang.“ Dongguan Oasis is an entity headquartered in Guangdong Province, China, that produces and manufactures shoes and shoe material products. Background information given by journalist Jasmin Malik Chua (Sourcing Journal, 2024/06/12) stated that according to a July 2022 report from the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice at Sheffield-Hallam University „the XPCC started dispatching Uyghur and Kyrgyz farmers, herdsmen and industrial workers to Dongguan Oasis in 2016 as part of a “Xinjiang Aid” pairing between the cities of Tumshuq and Dongguan. By 2019, the factory had facilitated at least 270 such transfers.“ In 2021 housing of Uyghur workers at Dongguan Oasis were found „fenced by barbed wire and patrolled by men in “police-style uniforms” who appeared to restrict access to the dormitories. Uyghur workers were also kept apart from Han and Hui employees, with their own line bosses.“ A 2020 report by Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) linked Dongguan Oasis to mass transfer of Uyghurs to companies in other Chinese provinces. This linkage suggests conditions of forced labour and named Dongguan Oasis as a supplier to US based footwear brand Skechers. Skechers products are also offered in Germany and Europe, in own shops but also at companies like Deichmann or Amazon. Read more on: https://sourcingjournal.com/topics/labor/skechers-dongguan-oasis-luzhou-uflpa-xinjiang-uyghurs-forced-labor-514393/
Basic Information
Case ID: 2024-005
Identification Number from Open Supply Hub (OS-ID): CN2024008PW3XG3
Affected Country: China
Date of occurrence: 2024-06-12
Social Sector Risks concerned:
- Forced labour (Conventions Nr. 29 and PO 29 & 105)
Supplier Details
Dongguan Oasis Shoes Co., Ltd
No.5, Yihuan Road, Hiling Industrial park, Houjie Town
Guangdong
Dongguan City
China
Production Site
No information available
No gender specific information available.
Workers movement
No information about unions available.
No information about workers commitee available.
Business Relations
Known Buyer/Brands:
- Skechers USA Deutschland GmbH
None of the buyers has the duty to report according to the Supply Chain Act / CSDDD.
Follow up
Known Reaction by Buyer(s):
According to Sourcing Journal Skechers reacted with a statement in March 2021, saying the supplier (Dong Guan Lu Zhou) had acknowledged Skechers code of conduct and that Audits between 2017 and 2020 have shown no signs of forced labour.
Sources
Name of reporting organisation: Forced Labour Enforcement Task Force (FLET)
FLET chaired by US Department for Homeland Security (DHS) is in charge of implementing the US Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) .
Source of information about the case:
Contributor: SÜDWIND
- Last updated on .