BERLIN, 19 May. - (ANA) - Traces of cotton sourced from the Chinese province of Xinjiang have been found in clothes made by Adidas, Puma and Hugo Boss by German researchers. 

 

The major fashion brands have denied sourcing cotton from the region in which China is accused of carrying out widespread human-rights violations. 

 

Markus Boner from Agroisolab told the broadcaster about an “unambiguous” signature in the cotton made by the climate and geology of a place. 

 

He said such signatures are isotopic fingerprints to differentiate cotton sourced from other countries and other Chinese regions as well. 

 

Cotton is a big business for China as its Xinjiang province accounts for 84 per cent of global supplies. 

 

The region’s government has come under intense criticism for allegedly detaining Uyghur Muslims in the camps and is accused of some of the worst human rights violations, including forced labour on minorities. 

 

Since 2017, China is widely reported to have detained more than a million – some estimates put the figure at three million – Uyghur Muslims in detention facilities that Beijing has described as vocational training centres.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/19 May 2022 — - -