Handbags, bras, T-shirts, tomatoes, lawn mowers: what do they have in common? All are everyday items on British shelves that might very likely trace back to forced labour camps in Xinjiang.
Almost £1bn worth of goods from Xinjiang, the Chinese region synonymous with forced labour and mass human rights abuses, have entered the UK in the past 12 months. Despite repeated warnings from the UN and campaigners, thousands of tonnes of clothes, toys, furniture, and tech continue to be flown directly into British airports.
A new investigation has revealed that almost £1bn worth of goods from Xinjiang, the Chinese region synonymous with forced labour and mass human rights abuses, have entered the UK in the past 12 months. Despite repeated warnings from the UN and campaigners, thousands of tonnes of clothes, toys, furniture, and tech continue to be flown directly into British airports.
The scale of the problem
The i Paper uncovered more than 12,000 Chinese customs records detailing £809m of imports from Xinjiang between July 2024 and June 2025. Among the shipments were:
- Nearly 2 million T-shirts
- 243,000 bras
- 170,000 toothbrushes
- 30,000 hair dryers
- 6,000 lawnmowers
- 15,200kg of walnuts
The list also included artificial flowers (£12.4m), jewellery (£4.5m), handbags (£3.6m), massage equipment (£2.9m), and even more unusual items such as ship propellers, poultry incubators, and spaghetti-making machines.
Analysis showed that European Cargo and Titan Airways, two UK-based airlines, have flown at least 200 shipments directly from Ürümqi, Xinjiang’s provincial capital, into airports including Bournemouth, Cardiff, and London Stansted.
Why Xinjiang imports are high risk
Xinjiang has been at the centre of global concern since 2017, when mounting evidence showed Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities were detained in camps and subjected to forced labour. Survivor testimony, leaked police files, and independent investigations revealed widespread abuses:
- Cotton: Xinjiang accounts for over 80% of China’s cotton production. Reports suggest more than half a million people are coerced into harvesting and processing cotton. In the last year alone, over £30m worth of cotton-based goods, from tracksuits to underwear, were shipped directly to the UK. Although Beijing consistently denies the allegations, major international companies including Nike, Adidas, Uniqlo and H&M have refused to use Chinese cotton.
- Tomatoes: Uyghur workers have described being beaten and even subjected to electric shocks for failing to meet quotas in tomato fields. Yet the UK imported £2.3m worth of tomatoes from Xinjiang last year.
- Solar panels: Xinjiang produces around half of the world’s polysilicon, a key component in solar cells. Experts warn that much of Britain’s renewable energy infrastructure may be linked to forced labour. The UK government has already barred GB Energy from sourcing Chinese solar panels due to these risks, and the US maintains an outright ban on Xinjiang polysilicon products.
- Human hair: Wigs valued at over £34,000 have been imported, despite longstanding concerns that some may be cut from Uyghur prisoners. US Customs has previously seized shipments of human hair products traced back to Xinjiang, citing credible evidence they were sourced from detainees.
The US has responded by banning all imports from Xinjiang since 2022. The UK, however, has not followed suit. As Labour MP Sarah Champion has said, “the UK has become a dumping ground for goods made by state-imposed forced labour.”
Rising pressure on businesses and prosecutors
Campaigners, peers, and MPs argue that the UK’s current approach is inadequate. Lord Alton called the findings proof that Britain’s anti-slavery laws are failing “on a colossal scale”.
This aligns with a broader international trend. In the US, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act has effectively banned all Xinjiang-linked goods. The EU is also ramping up scrutiny: its new Forced Labour Regulation, adopted in late 2024, will ban products made with forced labour from the EU market, and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive requires companies to identify and address human rights risks across their supply chains. In the UK, by contrast, campaigners and parliamentarians warn that the government is lagging behind, even as courts and MPs push for stronger enforcement.
Nonetheless, recent cases and legislative moves highlight that businesses can no longer afford to look the other way:
- The Court of Appeal has made clear that companies are increasingly liable for supply chain compliance risks, especially where there is wilful blindness to forced labour.
- In the US, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act already bans Xinjiang-linked imports, creating a presumption of forced labour unless companies can prove otherwise. Lawmakers have also proposed mandatory forced labour audit bills, though these have not yet been enacted.
- In the UK, the Joint Committee on Human Rights has completed its inquiry into forced labour in supply chains, concluding that existing frameworks are inadequate and recommending mandatory due diligence and potential import bans.
- Globally, the “silent risk” in supply chains is being scrutinised by prosecutors, with enforcement bodies looking far beyond direct suppliers.
This reflects a broader compliance environment where prosecutors, regulators, and even consumers expect businesses to be proactive. As Professor Laura Murphy of Sheffield Hallam University put it: “Consumers in the UK don’t want to buy products made with Uyghur forced labour. And legislators should be protecting those consumers.”
What businesses should do now
While the UK government faces criticism for lagging behind the US, pressure from parliamentarians like Sarah Champion and from civil society groups is growing. Businesses should not wait for new laws before acting.
Practical steps include:
Conducting enhanced due diligence on suppliers, particularly where goods originate from or transit through high-risk regions.
Mapping the supply chain end-to-end to uncover indirect exposure to forced labour risks.
Providing modern slavery training so staff know how to spot red flags and escalate issues.
Leveraging technology to track supplier compliance and maintain defensible audit trails.
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