‘Let us see the audits': Kmart faces legal battle over alleged links to Uyghur forced labour
The Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women's Association (AUTWA) filed a Federal Court application on Monday seeking documentation from Kmart about what it knew of two clothing suppliers linked to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where the Chinese government has systematically persecuted the Uyghur population and other Turkic minorities.
Represented by law firms Maurice Blackburn and the Human Rights Law Centre, AUTWA is looking to determine whether Kmart followed its ethical sourcing procedures and monitored risks to mount a future legal case that would allege Kmart breached consumer law by making misleading and deceptive statements.
In a statement, a Kmart spokesperson said the retailing giant had been corresponding with AUTWA's lawyers for more than 12 months and had provided 'extensive details' of its ethical sourcing program that had been in place for 15 years.
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'We invited the AUTWA to meet with us several times to help us understand their concerns,' said the Kmart spokesperson. 'Suppliers in the Kmart ethical sourcing program are regularly monitored through activities including our site visits, audit programs and investigations if we receive any reports or complaints of concern.
'Where we learn of an alleged non-compliance with our code through an audit, site visit or complaint, or by a worker in a supplier's factory, we take action to investigate and remediate the issue, working collaboratively with the supplier.
'When remediation isn't possible due to the supplier's refusal to do so, or repeated failures to make meaningful changes, we will exit the relationship.'
However, Maurice Blackburn principal lawyer Jennifer Kanis said the Australian retailer's response during the 12 months of correspondence was 'not satisfactory' because it had repeated public assertions about its ethical sourcing without providing any evidence.
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